DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Press Briefing

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, told correspondents at today's noon briefing that the Security Council was holding a formal meeting on the situation in Angola. The representative of South Africa was speaking and one more speaker was so far inscribed to speak before the vote on the draft resolution before them, with 14 more speakers scheduled to speak after the vote. The Spokesman said the Council was expected to adopt a resolution imposing diplomatic sanctions and an air embargo on the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) as of 30 September, unless the Secretary- General reported that UNITA "has taken concrete and irreversible steps to comply with all its obligations under the peace process". If UNITA did not comply, the Council would consider the imposition of additional measures, including trade and financial restrictions. The text of the draft resolution along with oral amendments was available in room 378.

Mr. Eckhard said that information on the extension of State administration in Angola was still to be verified. As of 26 August, 15 areas had been placed under Angolan State administration out of 150 that were to be placed under State administration by the end of September. So, there was still a long way to go on implementation. The Spokesman drew attention to the news concerning the Secretary-General's investigative mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A letter was received at Headquarters yesterday afternoon, addressed to the Secretary-General and signed by two ministers of the Congolese Government, placing additional conditions for the work of the mission to go forward. After reviewing the letter, the Secretary-General had asked Mohamed Sahnoun, the Joint United Nations/Organization of African Unity (OAU) Special Representative for the Great Lakes Region, to go to Kinshasa as quickly as possible to discuss those conditions with Laurent Kabila, the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mr. Eckhard said the conditions were "inconsistent with understandings reached between the Secretary-General and President Kabila. "We are, therefore, hoping that this is merely a matter of internal communications within the Congolese Government and that they can be resolved and that the mission can continue its important work."

From Brcko in northern Bosnia, some 40 International Police Task Force (IPTF) personnel were evacuated, with a small number remaining in a secure position, Mr. Eckhard said. There appeared to have been 20 to 30 United Nations vehicles damaged in popular demonstrations against some of the actions taken by SFOR with respect to the special paramilitary police in Brcko. The situation was being watched carefully, and any further developments would be reported.

Daily Press Briefing - 2 - 28 August 1997

The Spokesman drew attention to the Secretary-General's longstanding invitation to make an official visit to Switzerland, adding that it had just been a matter of firming up the date. Agreement had now been reached on the date of Monday, 8 September. The Secretary-General would arrive in Switzerland on Sunday, 7 September, and begin a programme on Monday morning of meetings with various ministers, including an official lunch, a visit to Parliament and a meeting with the Foreign Affairs Committee. The Secretary-General would also visit a chemical and biological weapons verification laboratory in the town of Spiez. The laboratory was one which cooperated with the United Nations Special Commission set up under Security Council resolution 687 (1991) in connection with the disposal of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. In the evening, the Secretary-General would go to Zurich for a meeting and dinner with business leaders from Switzerland.

Turning to the situation in Cambodia, Mr. Eckhard said he had not yet received a letter from the Second Prime Minister concerning United Nations human rights activities in that country. The United Nations Human Rights Rapporteur, Thomas Hammarberg, was now scheduled to leave Sweden tomorrow for Cambodia. He would arrive on Saturday evening in Phnom Penh, where he hoped to take up the matter in a meeting with the Second Prime Minister before his departure on 5 September.

Referring to a media advisory of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on the repatriation of Albanians from Italy, the Spokesman said that in view of the 31 August deadline set for the repatriation, refugees had requested a three-month extension. That request had triggered a debate. There was no confirmation yet as to whether the Government would extend the deadline.

Asked for clarification of the understanding between the Secretary- General and President Kabila, the Spokesman said he could not go into any details without revealing the contents of the letter, which he was not authorized to do. He added that the Secretariat had briefed the Security Council in closed consultations this morning and had shared a copy of the letter with the Council President. All he could say was that the new conditions that were raised were inconsistent with the understandings reached between the Secretary-General and President Kabila.

Asked whether there was still a government of coalition in Angola, Mr. Eckhard replied in the affirmative.

Was there any indication that the new conditions on the investigative mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo would have a broader impact on aid to the Congolese Government? a correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said it was still too early to say because it remained to be established that such conditions were the official position of the Government. More would be known following Ambassador Sahnoun's talk with President Kabila.

Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 28 August 1997

To a follow-up question about whether such a position, were it found to be official, would have an impact on aid, the Spokesman said he could not predict that. He had to assume it would be factored into the thinking of those planning the reconstruction effort for the country.

Noting that the United Nations had made a concession to President Kabila by replacing the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Zaire, Roberto Garretón, a correspondent asked whether the United Nations was now determined not to make any more concessions to the Government in Kinshasa. Mr. Eckhard said he could not say what the Secretary-General's position was on that point. The idea behind agreeing to a new composition of the human rights mission was to get a fresh start and to get at the evidence while it was still fresh. The longer the mission was delayed, the greater its credibility was called into question, since evidence could be tampered with or otherwise eroded. The passage of time was a big concern. "We are really looking for what we thought we had, which was a commitment by the President to let this mission get under way now." A correspondent asked whether it would be a good idea, therefore, to make a clear announcement today that there would not be any more concessions from the United Nations in the carrying out of the mission. Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General's views on that subject would be made clear to President Kabila by Ambassador Sahnoun when they met.

A correspondent asked about the location of that meeting would take place, the whereabouts of Mr. Sahnoun, and for an update on the activities of the investigation. The Spokesman said Ambassador Sahnoun had gone to Libreville today in connection with the Congo-Brazzaville talks in which he was deeply involved. The ambassador had received instructions to turn around as quickly as possible and make his way to Kinshasa. Mr. Eckhard could not say whether that would take 24 hours or 48 hours, or when President Kabila would agree to meet with him. The investigative team was in Kinshasa. Its intention was to travel to the eastern part of the country very soon. It had been carrying on preliminary work prior to its onsite investigations, beginning with briefings in Geneva, and continuing in Kinshasa in preparation for its trip into the eastern part of the Congo.

Asked for a comment concerning a letter received by the Consulate in Haiti regarding the cut-off of United Nations assistance there, Mr. Eckhard said he would look into the matter.

To a question about whether the Secretary-General was going to renew the call for Switzerland to join the United Nations, the Spokesman said the Secretary-General would like that as a gift from the people of Switzerland some time in his first term. Did that imply that the Secretary-General was seeking another term? another correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General was not saying anything about a second term; he was too busy working on his first term, "which is his first term whether it is his last term or not".

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