DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Press Briefing

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Juan Carlos Brandt, Associate Spokesman for the Secretary-General, told correspondents at today's noon briefing that Security Council consultations began at 11:20 a.m. with a briefing by the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Kieran Prendergast, on the latest developments on Burundi. The briefing was in anticipation of the peace talks, convened by former Tanzanian President, Julius Nyrere, which were scheduled to take place in Arusha next Monday (25 August). The Secretary-General's Special Representative for the Great Lakes Region, Mohamed Sahnoun, would be present at the talks.

Mr. Brandt said the Council would also hear a briefing on Angola by the Assistant Secretary-General for Peace-keeping Operations, Hedi Annabi. The Secretary-General's progress report on Angola (S/1997/640) was issued last week.

The Associate Spokesman said he had received information on Angola from the World Food Programme (WFP). The Norwegian Government had recently donated $500,000 under a 1997 United Nations consolidated inter-agency appeal for Angola, in support of that country's passenger air services which contributed to humanitarian relief efforts. The WFP had indicated that, from January to June, a total of 26,400 passenger trips had been made throughout the country. Of the total number of passengers, 56 per cent were from the non-governmental organizations, 40 per cent were from United Nations agencies, 3 per cent were from the diplomatic community and 1 per cent were journalists.

Still on Angola, Mr. Brandt said WFP would soon sign a bilateral agreement with the Save the Children Fund in the United Kingdom for the clearance, handling, storage and transportation of seeds and agricultural tools during the 1997-1998 season. The main target of the effort would be displaced persons. It was expected that during the first agricultural season up to 30,000 resettling families would be supported by the programme.

The Associate Spokesman said the Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Somalia, Ismat Kittani, had completed his mission in Africa. He was in Nairobi yesterday and was presently on his way back to New York to begin working on his report for the Secretary-General. Mr. Brandt then informed correspondents that Mr. Kittani did not meet with Hussein Mohammed Aidid as he was expected to do yesterday. Mr. Aidid chose to send a delegation from his group, which included the Vice President and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, to represent him.

The new Iraq oil-pricing formula for the month of September was currently being reviewed by the Sanctions Committee set up under Council resolution 661 (1990). It had been submitted by the Iraqi Government on Tuesday afternoon to the United Nations Overseers, who in turn had submitted it to the Sanctions Committee along with their recommendation that it should be approved. Under the "no objection" procedure, the Sanctions Committee had 48 hours to approve or not approve the formula. If there were no objections, the formula would be approved by 4 p.m. today. The number of oil contracts approved remained at 21, of the 27 that had been submitted.

Mr. Brandt confirmed that the Secretary-General's Personal Representative for East Timor, Jamsheed Marker, would meet President Nelson Mandela of South Africa in Pretoria next Tuesday (26 August), to brief him on the recent talks held in New York on the territory. Correspondents were reminded that Ambassador Marker had said he would meet with President Mandela because of the President's initiative on the issue. It was, therefore, important to keep him apprised of the situation.

A press release of a briefing given this morning by the United Nations Spokesman in Sarajevo, Alexander Ivanko, was available in the Spokesman's Office, Mr. Brandt said. The release contained information on the latest developments regarding the police stations in Banja Luka, as well as information received by the Croatian Government about the arrest of Pero Skopljak on a warrant from the International Criminal Tribunal Court for the former Yugoslavia. Mr. Skopljak's case would be processed by the judiciary in Croatia, following which he would be put at the disposal of the court in The Hague.

Richard Holbrooke, the United States Special Presidential Emissary on Cyprus, visited Headquarters today, the Associate Spokesman said. He held a meeting with the Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Cyprus, Diego Cordovez, and Under-Secretary-General Kieran Prendergast in which they reviewed in detail the recent meeting in Gilon, Switzerland. Mr. Holbrooke and Mr. Cordovez agreed to remain in touch, to exchange views and information regarding their efforts to pursue a process of negotiations on Cyprus.

A correspondent asked about developments in Congo-Brazzaville and the whereabouts of Special Representative Sahnoun. Mr. Brandt said Mr. Sahnoun had "an extraordinary capacity for mobility, so it is difficult to keep tabs on his movements". He believed that, at the beginning of this week, he had been in Brighton and in London. After leaving London, he might have attended a conference in Sweden. Mr. Brandt said he would check on that information.

On the situation in Congo-Brazzaville, the Associate Spokesman said fighting continued and the situation remained tense. President El Hadj Omar Bongo of Gabon had a new proposal to resolve the situation. All the concerned parties would be studying it closely over the next few days.

Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 21 August 1997

Asked about the United Nations position on the conference due to take place in Panama next month on the future of the Panama Canal, Mr. Brandt said he believed that the United Nations would not participate. Asked why, in light of the General Assembly resolution on the matter, the United Nations had decided not to become involved, Mr. Brandt said United Nations participation would violate an Assembly resolution recognizing the People's Republic of China as the sole and legitimate representative of China in the United Nations. Since Panama had invited Taiwan to be present at the conference, as a guest of the Panamanian Government, it was decided that it would not be prudent for the United Nations system to be part of the conference. The same correspondent asked if China had asked the United Nations to withdraw from the conference. The Associate Spokesman said the Organization was being consistent with regard to General Assembly mandates on the matter. Although the Assembly had welcomed the event in Panama, it was also true that the United Nations had to be consistent with regard to a delicate issue which related to membership in the Organization. Asked for United Nations reaction to Israel's shelling of the electrical power lines in southern Lebanon, Mr. Brandt said the Spokesman's Office had issued a statement a few days ago on hostilities in southern Lebanon in which the Secretary-General had called for restraint and had regretted that civilians had been killed. The Secretary-General's view was that restraint was needed. It was also important that action be taken to continue the peace process, and that all necessary steps be taken so that the civilian population would not be adversely affected. A correspondent referred to a recent press briefing at City Hall in which the Mayor of New York City had indicated that he would recall all the New York policemen on mission in Haiti, in order to assign them to the 70th precinct in Brooklyn. The correspondent asked if the Mayor had discussed that issue with the United Nations, or if he had the right to disrupt a mission. Mr. Brandt said the United Nations had no competence regarding decisions taken by the Mayor of New York City on the city's police force. It was true that the United Nations had a number of highly trained personnel in Haiti who were training and assisting with the development of the Haitian police force. The Spokesman's Office had received calls from journalists asking to be put in touch with the United Nations police specialists in Haiti. If it was decided that the New York City police trainers in Haiti were needed to assist New York City with its current problems, some type of arrangement would be made. Mr. Brandt added that he was not aware of any arrangements for such personnel to be brought back to New York "on a rush basis". Such a decision would be taken by the United States, as the contributing country. In the normal process of rotation of mission personnel, the Member State could take the necessary steps. The United Nations had no problem with such a development. In response to another question, he said the Organization would deal with the Member State on the matter.

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