DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Press Briefing

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

At the beginning of today's noon briefing, Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, said there had been a statement issued today in Geneva by Mary Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, concerning the announced intention of the Government of Rwanda to execute more than 20 persons found guilty of genocide in that country. Mrs. Robinson said she had been disturbed and even shocked to learn of the planned executions -- by firing squad and in public. She said that while she condemned the genocide in the strongest terms, she appealed to the Government to reconsider that decision, which she believed would have a negative impact on the process of reconciliation in Rwanda.

The Secretary-General issued the following statement on the same subject, through his Spokesman: "The Secretary-General reiterates in the strongest possible terms his condemnation of the genocide that took place in Rwanda in 1994. In the aftermath of the genocide, it is essential that justice be done and that the crime of genocide not be committed with impunity. At the same time, the Secretary-General is concerned that justice be done in accordance with due process and in a way that will advance the process of healing that is needed to ensure lasting peace in Rwanda. To that end, he has written today to the President of Rwanda to convey these concerns regarding the executions announced by the Government."

The Security Council was being briefed today by Gerd Merrem, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Tajikistan, the Spokesman said. It was hoped that Mr. Merrem would finish briefing the Council in time to join the noon briefing. Otherwise he would talk to correspondents at the stand-up microphone outside the Council Chamber. (Mr. Merrem was not able to attend the noon briefing.) Mr. Merrem would be stepping down as Special Representative at the end of May, but no announcement had yet been made on his successor.

On other matters, the Council might discuss the format of the open debate on the Secretary-General's Africa report, which was scheduled for tomorrow, 24 April, Mr. Eckhard continued. As of this morning, there were 52 speakers on the list. It was therefore possible that the Council might continue its meeting until late tomorrow, or even into Saturday morning.

The Secretary-General was concluding his four-day visit to California and Texas, the Spokesman said. Today, he had made a speech in Houston on the subject of conflict prevention. The text of the speech was available in the Spokesman's Office. In the speech, the Secretary-General said: "Throughout the world today, but particularly in Africa and other parts of the South, intra-State wars are the face of modern conflict. In these wars, the destruction not just of armies, but of civilians and entire ethnic groups is increasingly the main aim. Preventing these wars is no longer a matter of

defending interests or promoting allies. It is a matter of defending humanity itself.

"And yet we never seem to learn. Time and again differences are allowed to develop into disputes and disputes allowed to develop into deadly conflicts. Time and again, warning signs are ignored and pleas for help overlooked. Only after the deaths and the destruction do we intervene at a far higher human and material cost and with far fewer lives to save.

"Only when it is too late do we value prevention." (See Press Release SG/SM/6535.)

In introducing the Secretary-General at Rice University, where that speech had been made, former United States Secretary of State James Baker III said his country should pay its back dues, the Spokesman said. Mr. Baker had said that nations, like individuals, acquired reputations, and the United States should not have the reputation of a deadbeat.

Referring to reports that very early this morning, local time, Constantine Caramanlis had passed away of a heart attack at the age of 91, Mr. Eckhard made the following statement, attributable to the Spokesman: "The Secretary-General was saddened to learn about the death of the former President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Constantine Caramanlis.

"Mr. Caramanlis was a most distinguished statesman. His political career, which spanned over six decades, is inextricably linked with the history and democratic tradition of Greece. His principled actions will remain a source of inspiration for many.

"The Secretary-General wishes to extend his sincere condolences to the Government of the Hellenic Republic and the Greek People."

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Bosnia, Elizabeth Rehn, had issued a press release today, the Spokesman said. The press release concerned the serious injury of two elderly Croat displaced persons by an explosion as they entered an uninhabited house in Velika Bukovica, near Travnik, yesterday. They were part of a group visiting pre-war homes. Mrs. Rehn and the United Nations International Police Commissioner, Richard Monk, were following the incident closely, and Commissioner Monk was ensuring that the local police were acting promptly and efficiently. The United Nations condemned the violence and intimidation against people who had been displaced by the war and who were now seeking to return home.

The Chairman of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Ambassador Jacob Selebi of South Africa, gave a press conference this morning in Geneva, Mr. Eckhard said. The summary of the press conference was available in room 378.

Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 23 April 1998

Payment in full of 1998 dues had been made by three additional Governments today, he said. They were Andorra, with $42,000; Greece, with over $3.8 million; and Palau, with just over $10,000. That made 62 countries which were paid up, compared with 53 on this date last year.

Yesterday, the new name of the Department of Public Information -- the Office of Communications and Public Information -- had been discussed, Mr. Eckhard said. "But in fact, we have a reprieve. We don't have to say OCPI until an official circular goes out." That circular had not yet been issued, and DPI was therefore still the official name of the Department.

There was a media advisory from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) concerning a press breakfast with Chandra Muzaffar, Director of the International Movement for a Just World, Malaysia, the Spokesman said. The breakfast would take place tomorrow, 24 April, at 9 a.m., in the Hank Shannon Conference Room (twenty-first floor) of the UNDP building at One United Nations Plaza.

There would be a background briefing today at 2:30 p.m. concerning the Secretary-General's forthcoming trip to Africa, he said. The Secretary- General would be leaving on Tuesday morning, 28 April, and returning on the morning of 11 May. The briefing would be given by two of the officials who were the principal planners of that trip. Mr. Eckhard reminded correspondents about the joint press conference at 11 a.m. tomorrow by Mohammed Al-Sahaf, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iraq, and General Amir Rasheed, Minister of Oil of Iraq.

World Chronicle Television programme number 706 would be aired today at 2:30 p.m. on in-house television channels 6 and 38, the Spokesman said. Today's programme would feature Nitin Desai, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs. On behalf of the United Nations Correspondents' Association (UNCA), Mr. Eckhard also reminded correspondents that "you have two parties to go to today". There would be a welcome party for Kensaku Hogen, the new Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, at 3:30 p.m. in the UNCA Club, and a farewell and thanks party for his predecessor, Samir Sanbar, also in the UNCA Club, at 6 p.m.

Referring to the Secretary-General's speech at Rice University concerning intra-State conflict and the destruction of ethnic groups, a correspondent said that fit the description of the situation today in Croatia, where in the civil war the Serb minority had been destroyed. She said this was still going on in Eastern Slovonia, where there had even been reports that the police themselves had been taking part in the eviction of Serbs from their homes. Mr. Eckhard said he shared information picked up from anywhere in the former Yugoslavia concerning the return of displaced persons.

Daily Press Briefing - 4 - 23 April 1998

Sadako Ogata, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, had given a briefing on that subject yesterday. It was the minority returnees who were the most difficult to resettle. Mrs. Ogata had said that a "global effort" needed to be made; some returnees had settled into other people's homes because their own homes had been taken by others, creating a "domino" situation. It was a difficult situation, but the Spokesman said to the extent possible, his Office kept the press informed of the attacks and the intimidation. Of course the Security Council was also kept informed.

The correspondent asked what was meant by a "global approach". The Spokesman replied that throughout Bosnia, Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, displaced persons had been moved around and resettled.

Referring to the Secretary-General's statement on Rwanda, a correspondent asked if the Secretary-General was opposed to the executions because he opposed the death penalty, or because he believed due process had not been followed. The Spokesman said he was not authorized to go beyond the statement. Some of those issues had been addressed more specifically in Mrs. Robinson's statement.

A correspondent said there had been a major roof collapse in the basement of the building, and perhaps someone could have been killed. Mr. Eckhard said he was not sure someone could have been killed, although a substantial chunk of rock and mortar had fallen, under the area of the "Peace Bell" that was being renovated and resealed. There had been a substantial amount of water seepage into the lower floors and into the garage. Workers had been removing stones from the upper level, but the underside of the structure seemed to have been weakened by the water seepage. Some rocks had fallen into an office, but fortunately that office had been unoccupied at the time. It could have resulted in serious harm had someone been right under those falling rocks, but luckily no one was hurt, and the work continued.

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