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, began today's noon briefing by announcing that the Executive Chairman of the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM), Ambassador Richard Butler, had last evening sent to the Security Council President his report on his latest mission to Baghdad and on the talks he had held with Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister, Tarik Aziz. The report contained the two-month work schedule agreed upon by Ambassador Butler and Mr. Aziz regarding missiles, chemical weapons and biological weapons.

The Security Council had a full menu this morning, Mr. Eckhard said. It first took up Croatia and had before it the report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations civilian police support group. The Council was now discussing Iraq, concerning spare parts for Iraq's oil industry. It had met shortly after 6 p.m. yesterday and received a draft resolution on the matter. After discussing Iraq, under "other matters" the Council was expected to be briefed on the latest situation in Guinea-Bissau by Ibrahima Fall, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs.

The Secretary-General had appointed Jean-Pierre Ritter as the new Third Member of the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus, the Spokesman said. This was for an 18-month period beginning 15 June. The decision was taken in accordance with the terms of reference of the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus, upon the recommendation of the International Committee of the Red Cross and following consultation with both sides. The Secretary-General urged both sides to accord the new Third Member their full cooperation with a view towards discharging the Committee's responsibilities efficiently and expeditiously. (See Press Release SG/SM/6601.)

Foreign Minister Ali Alatas of Indonesia met with the Secretary-General this morning at the request of Indonesian President B.J. Habibie, the Spokesman said. Mr. Alatas had brought some important proposals on East Timor, which the Secretary-General had considered as "marking an important development in the process", although specifics were not disclosed. The Secretary-General's Personal Representative for East Timor, Ambassador Jamsheed Marker, was expected to travel to Portugal later in the month. He would then report to the Secretary-General and would travel to Indonesia in July as the process continued.

There were two additions to the Secretary-General's appointments for the day, Mr. Eckhard said. The first was Ambassador Nizar Hamdoon of Iraq, who had met with the Secretary-General this morning. The second additional appointment was in the afternoon with the United States Ambassador, Bill Richardson.

Ambassador Richardson was in Washington this morning for the announcement of his designation as the new United States Secretary of Energy, and of course for the naming of Richard Holbrooke as his successor at the United Nations, Mr. Eckhard said. So Ambassador Richardson would be reporting to the Secretary-General on those developments, and there would be a photo opportunity. The photo session was envisioned to be organized on a pool basis, and if the United Nations Correspondents Club (UNCA) was interested, three or four names of people for that opportunity could be given to the Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit on the second floor.

On matters of money, Mr. Eckhard said, $2.3 million was received today from Poland. That was not for the regular budget but for peacekeeping and the International Criminal Tribunals.

From the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), he said, a press release was received in which both the Secretary-General and the Executive Director of UNICEF, Carol Bellamy, congratulated the 19 countries that had now ratified the Convention to ban anti-personnel mines. That was nearly halfway to the goal of having 40 countries ratify, which would make the treaty binding under international law. The latest ratification by Peru was welcomed by the Secretary-General, who hailed the move as a "giant step towards the demining of the world". The Secretary-General urged all countries that had signed the Convention to move swiftly to ratify it, and appealed to governments that had not signed to do so now. That press release was available in room S-378.

Also available was a press release from the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, Mr. Eckhard said. It concerned two cases to be completed next week. One was the Furundzija case, in which Anto Furundzija had witnessed a prisoner being sexually assaulted and had done nothing to stop that action. He was charged with violations of the Laws or Customs of War, among other things.

The second case was that of Slavko Dokmanovic. According to the indictment, while he was president of the Vukovar municipality in 1991, Serb paramilitary soldiers removed 260 men from Vukovar hospital, transported them to a close-by site, and there the men were shot and killed. Dokmanovic was charged with grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, among other things.

Finally, Mr. Eckhard said, a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) press release was available to announce that over 100 governments would meet in Montreal during the week of 29 June for an international agreement to minimize emissions of persistent organic pollutants, such as DDT.

A journalist asked about the result or nature of the meeting between the Secretary General and Ambassador Hamdoon of Iraq. Mr. Eckhard said he knew the Council had before it a report from Mr. Butler and a draft resolution on

Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 18 June 1998

oil spare parts. "I have to assume the meeting was on those matters", he said. When asked by the same journalist whether there was some complaint, Mr. Eckhard said he would get a read-out on the meeting and report back.

Asked what the situation was in Cyprus, Mr. Eckhard asked for clarification on what aspect of the Cyprus situation was under question. The journalist referred to reports of tensions there -- Greek fighters landing on the island and Turkish warships heading towards the island also. Mr. Eckhard said yes, that was disturbing. The Security Council had called on both sides to reduce their military presence in Cyprus, and it appeared to be going in the wrong direction.

Another journalist asked for a read-out of the meeting between the Secretary-General and Iraq's Ambassador Hamdoon, saying the Ambassador had said he had delivered a letter to the Secretary-General today. Further, the journalist asked if there would be any press availability by the Secretary- General and Ambassador Richardson after their meeting, other than the photo op. Would they answer questions? "The Secretary-General traditionally takes a question or two at a photo opportunity. In this case, I think both men would be happy to answer a few questions", Mr. Eckhard answered.

A journalist then referred to the Secretary-General's report on peacekeeping operations in Cyprus, dated 10 June. As in previous reports, he said, there were numerous instances of property being removed from buildings in the fenced area of Varosha by Turkish personnel, and that the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) protested the violations to Turkish forces. Varosha was on the occupied side of Cyprus and was part of the city of Famagusta. The current report seemed to omit a phrase found in previous United Nations reports, which was, "the United Nations holds the Government of Turkey responsible for maintaining the status quo in that fenced area of Varosha". Why was that phrase omitted from the current report. Was there a change in policy? Was that still the United Nations position?

Mr. Eckhard said the feeling was that there was no concrete reason to include that sentence in the latest report even though it had appeared in previous ones. There was absolutely no change in United Nations policy on Varosha. The policy remained the same, that the United Nations held the Government of Turkey responsible for maintenance of the status quo in the fenced area of Varosha.

The journalist then asked whether Mr. Ritter, the new Third Member of the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus, was available and in the country. Mr. Eckhard said he would find out and perhaps arrangements could be made for the journalist to meet with Mr. Ritter.

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