DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19990621
The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by the Spokesman for the Secretary-General, Fred Eckhard.
**Secretary-General's Appointments
Good afternoon. The Secretary-General announced today the appointment of Dominique Vian, who is the Prefect of French Guyana, as the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the interim civil administration of Kosovo. This is one of the four legs of the civilian side of the mission.
He is also pleased to announce the appointment of Dennis McNamara, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Special Envoy for the region, as the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary- General in charge of refugee return and humanitarian assistance.
**Kosovo
In Pristina today, the spokesman for the Secretary-General's interim Special Representative in Kosovo, Sergio Vieira de Mello, welcomed the agreement signed last night on the demilitarization of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). He said the undertaking of demilitarization and transformation by the UCK (KLA) is extremely good news. The United Nations was consulted on the provisions needed. The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) is encouraged that the UCK would be assembled within seven days. He also said that this would facilitate the work of the United Nations mission for civil administration, particularly in the deployment of police.
**Balkans Special Envoy in Kosovo
The Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Balkans, Carl Bildt, is in Kosovo today. He is travelling by KFOR helicopter to several towns for meetings with the local population. Sergio Vieira de Mello was scheduled to join him at Gracanica for a meeting with Serb leaders, including Archbishop Artemije. Meetings with Albanian Kosovar leaders were also scheduled for today.
Meanwhile, the United Nations advance team is continuing to lay the groundwork for the civil administration, while putting in place the means of coordination with KFOR and its other partners, as well as consultative mechanisms.
**Water in Pristina
Water is running in Pristina today, in part thanks to the United Nations advance team's work in negotiating security arrangements for the technicians working on repairing and maintaining the system.
We reported to you last week about concerns over the possible withdrawal of the medical staff at the main hospital in Pristina. Over the weekend, the United Nations advance team appointed a facilitator who has been bringing the Albanian and Serb medical staff together and has been instrumental in facilitating a workable power-sharing arrangement. Noticeable improvement at the hospital was reported.
In a related development, the UNHCR reported that some 150 medical personnel who had been seeking refuge in Montenegro volunteered to return to Kosovo to begin work in hospitals as doctors, nurses and aides. Although not part of an organized return, the UNHCR and its partners will help them return to their home towns.
**Refugees
Some 140,000 refugees have returned to Kosovo from Albania and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, according to the UNHCR, which, as the lead agency responsible for refugee return and humanitarian assistance, said Monday saw the return to the Pec area of more than 300 Albanians from Montenegro -- the first spontaneous returns from Montenegro. Also returning from Montenegro were 49 Serbs in private vehicles escorted by Yugoslav forces.
So far, the returns have been spontaneous. Aid agencies will hold a meeting in Skopje tomorrow to discuss when and how to begin the organized return of refugees in coordination with KFOR.
**Tribunal's Investigative Teams in Kosovo
Investigative teams from the United Kingdom and the United States have been in Kosovo for several days working for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. They began investigating crime scenes at seven sites mentioned in the indictment of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, starting with Velika Krusa. Teams from other nations will be arriving this week to help with additional sites at Racak, where there was a massacre in January, Blavo Crkva, Djakovica, Crkolez and Izbitza.
**Democratic Republic of the Congo
Moustapha Niasse, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the peace process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has now completed his two-leg mission in Africa and is briefing the Security Council this morning. During his mission, he visited 15 African countries. He came back Friday and briefed the Secretary-General then.
Because of the sensitivity of the ongoing negotiations on the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the summit planned for Lusaka this coming weekend, Mr. Niasse prefers not to meet with the press today. Instead, the President of the Security Council will make a press statement after the consultations.
Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 21 June 1999
**Secretary-General in Paris and St. Petersburg
The Secretary-General left for an official visit to the Russian Federation and the United Kingdom on Sunday. On the way to St. Petersburg, he stopped in Paris where he met with President Jacques Chirac for about 50 minutes in the late afternoon. They discussed the situation in Kosovo, including the role of the United Nations in the return and protection of refugees and the setting up of a civilian administration. They also discussed the situation in Africa, with particular reference to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea-Bissau and Angola. Their discussions also touched on the issue of Kashmir and the question of sanctions against Iraq.
In a press conference which followed, the Secretary-General was asked if he had any plans to travel to Kosovo. He replied that, for the moment, he does not, but added that he is in daily contact with his Acting Special Representative there.
Asked about his discussions with the President on Iraq, the Secretary- General said that they had agreed on the need for a lasting solution. But, he added, we must work effectively, discretely, to find a solution that will be of value for Iraq and for the region.
We have a transcript of that press conference in my Office.
The Secretary-General arrived in St. Petersburg today, Monday, 21 June, at 3:30 p.m. We have this report from Manoel de Almeida e Silva of my Office, who is accompanying him. He was greeted by a delegation led by the Governor of St. Petersburg, Vladimir Yakovlev. At 5:15 p.m., the Secretary-General and the Governor met for over half an hour at the Governor's guest house. After the meeting, they had a brief press encounter at which the Secretary-General said he was happy to be back in St. Petersburg -- his first visit was two years ago -- and to conclude the discussions he had had with the Governor earlier.
In answer to a question about St. Petersburg's wish to be designated a European cultural capital in 2003, the Secretary-General said that he and the Governor had discussed that and the Governor was already in discussion with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The Secretary-General said that he would support his efforts.
Asked about the Security Council after Kosovo, the Secretary-General said that after the Kosovo crisis, Member States will have to ponder and are pondering. "I think that all of us have to draw lessons -- including the permanent members -- from what happened and make some judgements as to what we should do to make the Security Council more effective, more responsive and more democratic."
Daily Press Briefing - 4 - 21 June 1999
**Angola
Bernard Miyet, the head of United Nations peacekeeping, was in Angola Friday for discussions with the Government on the United Nations future role in the country. The Minister for External Relations of Angola agreed in principle to a small follow-on United Nations mission in Angola, which would include political, information and humanitarian components. There was no agreement yet on military observers or human rights monitors, but more discussions will follow.
Meanwhile, some 50 United Nations staff and members of their non- governmental organization implementing partners are pinned down by fighting in Huambo.
**East Timor
From Dili, we hear from the spokesman for the United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) that the first contingent of 41 civil police officers has arrived. The next group is expected on Sunday. Also on Sunday, the first group of 70 United Nations Volunteers is scheduled to arrive. They will be working in East Timor as electoral officers.
By the way, tomorrow at noon, we'll have a press conference here in room S-226 on the role of the United Nations Volunteers in East Timor.
You can get the briefing notes from Dili in my Office. Also, the Secretary-General's report on East Timor is expected on Wednesday.
**UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Africa
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, is in Africa trying to draw attention to the refugee crisis there.
Yesterday, as in previous years, the High Commissioner marked Africa Refugee Day with a statement. "This year", she said, "while so much of the world's attention is focused on the refugee crisis in Kosovo, let us not forget this important African anniversary and its enduring meaning for refugees all over the globe."
Copies of that statement are available in my Office.
In Central Africa, where Mrs. Ogata is travelling, there are some 750,000 refugees from the major caseloads.
Mrs. Ogata is in Kigali today, from there she will go to Bujumbura and on to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where she will stay through 27 June.
Daily Press Briefing - 5 - 21 June 1999
**Secretary-General Welcomes G-8 Summit Commitments
We have two reactions to the debt relief decisions by the G-8 countries. First, the Secretary-General welcomes the very significant commitments made at the G-8 meeting in Cologne regarding external debt of developing countries. He expresses the hope that financial resources will be made available shortly to implement the proposed measures.
We also have a press release from Klaus Töpfer, head of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), welcoming the debt-relief decision. That is available on the racks.
**Question-and-Answer Session
Question: With reference to the Al-Hayat report today quoting the Secretary-General as saying that an agreement was near regarding an independent team to Iraq to investigate the UNSCOM facility, where there might be chemical waste -- could you comment on the status?
Spokesman: I think the headline might have been misleading in saying that there might only be procedural issues remaining. There is at least one substantive issue still remaining, but it's more true today than it was on Friday that we are closer to an understanding of how the United Nations team would go to Iraq and check out this UNSCOM facility. The Secretary-General's Special Envoy, Prakash Shah, had talks with Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz over the weekend and some progress was made. However, we are not ready to say that this team would be travelling immediately. There are still some things to be worked out.
Question: Out of Luxembourg, the names of three people were proposed as the United Nations Representative in Kosovo. What is the Secretary-General's reaction?
Spokesman: I think he did say he expects the candidate would be a European, but he will not comment further.
Question: What is the estimated damage assessment in Yugoslavia and Kosovo?
Spokesman: I don't think we would have authoritative estimates for some time. A lot of damage was done, and it would take a lot of surveying before even a ballpark figure could be arrived at.
Question: What exactly did you mean when you said the headline in the Al-Hayat article was misleading?
Spokesman: I did not see the article itself, but it was summarized in the United Nations bulletin this morning saying that only procedural issues
Daily Press Briefing - 6 - 21 June 1999
remained, and I said that there is at least one substantive issue that remains and, in that sense, if that was the headline, it was misleading. The quote that I saw in the bulletin of the Secretary-General did not say that all the issues had been resolved, so I assume that it was the headline that was misleading. Was I wrong?
Correspondent: The article spoke about the agreement from the Iraqis with the principle about sending a team guaranteed as long as these experts are independent, and that was in a question-and-answer form, not the headline.
Question: Is there a time frame for when a United Nations civilian administration would be put in place in major towns and cities in Kosovo?
Spokesman: Sergio Vieira de Mello made a statement yesterday saying that he intended in the next few days to appoint civilian administrators throughout Kosovo. I would remind you that the Security Council resolution says that the military will carry out certain essential responsibilities until the civilian side can be built up. The military is there in strength. The civilian side is just getting started. So, we depend on the military for security, including functions that would eventually be carried out by civilian police once they are in place. We rely on them for border control, although eventually we will have civilians carrying out border control functions.
We are just beginning to put a civilian administration in place, and I don't think we are near saying that we are ready to assume full responsibility. We have to rely on KFOR until we can get up and running.
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