PEACE PROCESS IN WESTERN SAHARA AMONG ISSUES DISCUSSED BY SECRETARY-GENERAL WITH LEADERS OF TUNISIA
Press Release
SG/T/2160
PEACE PROCESS IN WESTERN SAHARA AMONG ISSUES DISCUSSED BY SECRETARY-GENERAL WITH LEADERS OF TUNISIA
19981209(Received from a spokesman travelling with the Secretary-General; delayed in transmission.)
Secretary-General Kofi Annan arrived in Tunis from Algiers on the evening of Wednesday, 2 December, and was greeted upon his arrival by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Said Ben Mustapha.
He began his official programme next morning, with a meeting with the Minister, initially alone for 15 minutes, and then with delegations for almost an hour and a half. They discussed the peace process in Western Sahara and the Secretary-General's efforts to work out the details for the transfer to the Netherlands of the two suspects in the Lockerbie case. They also reviewed regional issues, as well as a series of African topics, such as the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the border conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea, and the situations in Somalia, the Sudan and Angola. They also discussed the Middle East peace process and the situation in Iraq.
After the meeting, the Secretary-General was asked by a correspondent if he could confirm that he was going to Libya. "Yes", he said, "I will travel to Libya on Saturday to discuss the Lockerbie affair." Asked if he expected to meet with President Muammar Qaddafi of Libya, he replied, "Yes, I think so."
He then travelled to the Presidential Palace at Carthage where he met privately with President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who hosted a lunch in his honour. The Secretary-General said afterwards that he had discussed with the President the problems of the Maghreb region, including Western Sahara, the Lockerbie affair, the Middle East, a series of African problems and Tunisia's role in the United Nations and in the Organization of African Unity (OAU).
In the afternoon, the Secretary-General visited the United Nations headquarters in Tunis and addressed the staff.
He concluded his working visit to Tunisia on Friday, 4 December, with a second meeting with Foreign Minister Said Ben Mustapha, to focus primarily on issues related to Tunisia's role in the United Nations and its relations with
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the United Nations system as a whole. Among other topics, the Minister discussed Tunisia's prospective contribution to stand-by arrangements for United Nations peacekeeping, specifying troop levels. The Minister hosted a luncheon for the Secretary-General, which was also attended by the Ministers for Defence, Women's Affairs and the Environment.
After lunch, the Secretary-General held a press conference before departing for the island of Djerba, off the Tunisian coast. He left Djerba on Saturday, 5 December, to hold discussions with Libyan authorities in a previously unscheduled visit, in an attempt to finalize arrangements for the transfer to the Netherlands of the two Libyan suspects in the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, 10 years ago.
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