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 saying that he had already broken one of his New Year's resolutions to start the briefing at 12 p.m. sharp, but he would continue making the effort.

He introduced the guest at the briefing, John Zogby, President and Chief Executive Officer of Zogby International, a polling and market research firm. Mr. Zogby was primarily a political pollster in the United States, who recently sampled American public opinion of the United Nations.

The Spokesman said that the main news story at the United Nations today was Angola. A second United Nations cargo aircraft, flight 806A, was apparently shot down in Angola on Saturday. It was carrying four crew members and four passengers. Two of the crew members were from the Philippines, including the captain; one was from Angola and one from the United States. Three passengers were from Angola and one was from Namibia. Two Angolan passengers were employed by a local contractor for the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola (MONUA). One passenger was with the Mission and the other was with the World Food Programme (WFP).

The aircraft, Mr. Eckhard continued, was relocating some United Nations equipment. It took off from Huambo, a provincial capital in the central highlands, towards Luanda, Angola's capital, at approximately 1515 hours and went missing after it made its last contact with air operations at 1538 hours. It was reportedly flying over Alto Chiumbo. The aircraft had not yet been located. This incident followed the first, which took place on 26 December. That United Nations aircraft was carrying four crew members and 10 passengers.

The Secretary-General expressed his outrage in a statement, which the Spokesman's Office made available on Saturday, he said. In it, the Secretary- General said that "all threats to United Nations personnel -- in the air and on the ground -- must cease immediately". He urged, in the strongest possible terms, both sides to observe an immediate ceasefire, which would permit the conduct of search-and-rescue missions, as well as the relocation of United Nations staff to safer areas. "There can be no excuse for any delay on any side in disclosing all relevant information about the fate of the passengers and the crews of the two United Nations aircraft", the Secretary-General added.

The Spokesman said that the Secretary-General had dispatched the United Nations Security Coordinator, Benon Sevan, to Angola. Mr. Sevan arrived there today and would meet tomorrow with the Troika countries, namely Portugal, Russian Federation and the United States, as well as with Angolan Government officials. The Security Council had scheduled a meeting for 5 p.m. today, at which Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hedi Annabi, would brief on developments in Angola.

The United Nations humanitarian agencies were reporting additional internal displacements in Sierra Leone, he said. The WFP today reported that thousands of people fleeing the fighting over the last four or five days had arrived in Kenema, in southeastern Sierra Leone, where food distribution was under way. According to preliminary and as yet unconfirmed reports from WFP, there were an estimated 25,000 new arrivals. Prior to the recent intensification of fighting, there were an estimated 380,000 internally displaced persons in Sierra Leone. Refugees from that country already comprised the largest single group of refugees in Africa, with 440,000 persons being sheltered in Guinea and Liberia.

Three Member States were "quick off the mark" to pay their 1999 dues in full, he said. They were the Marshall Islands, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Solomon Islands. All three presented cheques for $10,391.

A correspondent asked if the Spokesman's Office had a list of survivors' names from the latest incident in Angola. Mr. Eckhard said his Office would not release the names until it had confirmation that the families had been notified, which had not yet been received.

To a follow-up question about whether there was any suspicion or knowledge that the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) had shot down both planes, he said that no, investigations had not been completed and the crash sites had not been reached -- assuming that both planes had crashed.

In a third follow-up question, the correspondent asked about UNITA reports that it had not been officially contacted. The Spokesman said he had seen those reports, which were surprising because UNITA had confirmed to the United Nations that it had received all of its communications. Asked for a specific name, he said he could not provide a specific name but would double- check. [He later confirmed that information had been provided to UNITA by fax, by intermediaries and by daily radio broadcasts.]

Asked how many humanitarian staff remained in Huambo and throughout Angola, Mr. Eckhard said that all of the United Nations peacekeepers remained. He would provide the correspondent with specific numbers of humanitarian personnel later today. [He later announced there were no international humanitarian staff in Huambo and that there were between 500 and 600 international humanitarian workers throughout Angola.]

Could the Spokesman confirm that all 14 passengers aboard the first plane crash had survived? another correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said that initial reports from the Angolan Government had said that some, and then all, of the passengers on the first plane had survived. The UNITA, however, had said that, according to eyewitness accounts, the plane was in flames in the air and it doubted there were any survivors. "Until we can get to the crash site, we can't confirm anything", the Spokesman said.

Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 4 January 1999

Asked if he had a comment about a newspaper editorial on Sunday assessing the performance of the Secretary-General, the Spokesman said it was a positive assessment overall, and he expected the newspapers to "just call the shots as they see them". That one happened to be positive and he was always happy about "informed criticism as well as praise".

Had the United Nations received any indication that its request for a ceasefire in Angola would be honoured, and was the United Nations receiving any assistance from the Troika nations? another correspondent asked. The Spokesman said there would be a better sense after Mr. Sevan reported back to the United Nations following his meetings in Angola. Mr. Sevan was quoted as having said that assurances were one thing and action was something else, and that he was hoping for action -- in this case, access to those two sites.

Another correspondent asked if there had been any formal notification about British and American nationals working for the "oil-for-food" and other programmes in Iraq. She also asked who had taken over the Office of the Iraq Programme, with Mr. Sevan in Angola.

Mr. Eckhard said, "Well, Benon is just visiting". To the first question, he said that, yes, his Office had received what was being described as an aide memoire from Iraq. It was being translated and would be shared with the Security Council once the translation was complete. He would give correspondents an indication of its contents after the Council had received it -- hopefully, by the end of the day.

Mr. Eckhard said he assumed Mr. Sevan would stay in Angola for a few days, replying to another question. It was probably a mission of a few days, depending on how much progress he made.

Asked how many American and British nationals worked for the United Nations in Iraq, he said he would ask whether a specific number could be released.

Could the Spokesman confirm news reports that the Angolan Government was willing to cooperate with the United Nations? another correspondent asked. He said that what was being sought was cooperation from both sides. The area where those planes disappeared was contested; there was fighting going on. So, until both sides ceased fire and allowed a United Nations search-and- rescue mission to go in, nothing could be accomplished.

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