DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Press Briefing

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Manoel de Almeida e Silva, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General:

**Kosovo

Good afternoon. The United Nations today brought together the political leaders of Kosovo's Albanian and Serbian communities in the first meeting of the Kosovo Transitional Council -- a critical first step towards the development of self-government in Kosovo. The meeting, chaired by the incoming and outgoing Special Representatives of the Secretary-General, is the highest political consultative body in Kosovo under the United Nations, which holds executive authority in the territory.

"In our hearts, we know this is about reconciliation. In our heads, we know that real peace takes time. But it is in our hands today to begin making Kosovo safe for all people, all decent people", the new Special Representative Bernard Kouchner said in his opening remarks to the Council.

Taking part in the meeting were six representatives of the Kosovo Albanian community, two Serbs, one Muslim and one Turk, in addition to the United Nations officials and General Jackson representing KFOR. Absent was Kosovo Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova and his political party, the Democratic League of Kosovo known as the LDK. Mr. Kouchner said he was disappointed that the LDK chose not to participate in the first meeting, and that he hoped they will reconsider their position. "The work of the Council is too important to wait", he said.

The Council agreed to meet again in nine days. They also agreed to form sub-groups to tackle the issue of prisoners and detainees, conduct joint visits to flashpoints such as Orohavac, Mitrovica and Gnjilane, as well as make common appeals for restraint on television and radio. These joint visits will be undertaken by the United Nations, KFOR, Albanian and Serb leaders.

We have copies of Mr. Kouchner's opening statement. A press release on the Council meeting should be available later today.

Mr. Kouchner, who arrived yesterday in Pristina accompanied by the Principal Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General Jock Covey (United States), Deputy Special Representative for Reconstruction Joly Dixon (Ireland), and the Mission's new Director of Information, Nadia Younes, is planning a helicopter tour of Pec, Prizren and Mitrovica on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the lead humanitarian agency, again flagged the situation of the minorities as a critical one. In many areas of Kosovo, Serbs live in pockets under KFOR

guard. For example, it said, the Orthodox seminary in Prizren has also been under threat, despite a 24-hour protection by German KFOR. It now shelters 167 persons with newcomers arriving by the day. The situation is also getting critical in terms of living conditions.

As the refugee population in the neighbouring countries dwindles, former refugee camp sites in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Albania are being cleaned up and rehabilitated, and steps taken to repair environmental damage. The UNHCR hopes to be able to close all the camps by early October.

**East Timor

This Friday was the first day of voter registration in East Timor. No incidents were reported. There was a good turn out although we do not have numbers to share with you at this time. Four registration centres did not open as a result of an incident on Thursday in the Suai regency. Apparently, according to villagers, there was some sort of clash between local people and militia members. The Indonesian police are investigating the incident, which has caused a good degree of tension in the area and for security reasons we have suspended registration in those four registration centres. The United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) will be evaluating security conditions in order to determine when to open the four centres.

We have available in the Spokesman's Office the transcript of today's Dili press briefing. Also available is a press release from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) with details of a child immunization campaign in East Timor. They are going to hold a number of weeks of tranquillity -- the first one began on 12 July and ends today -- in order to reach 30,000 children in 114 villages. Two hundred and forty health workers are involved in this activity.

Meanwhile, here in New York, Ambassador Jamsheed Marker, the Personal Representative of the Secretary-General for East Timor, has briefed the Security Council this morning and the round of talks of senior officials has continued. While Ambassador Marker was at the Council, the morning session of the talks, which started at 10 a.m., was chaired by Francesc Vendrell, Deputy Personal Representative of the Secretary-General. The afternoon session is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. and at the end, we estimate that to be around 5:30 p.m., Ambassador Marker will brief the press at the stakeout area on the second floor.

**Secretary-General in Czech Republic

The Secretary-General flew from Slovakia to the Czech Republic this morning. He began his official visit in Prague by meeting with Foreign Minister Jan Kavan. They discussed the implementation of the Security Council resolution on Kosovo, as well as United Nations reform and financing.

Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 16 July 1999

At a press conference afterwards, the Secretary-General said he sensed that in the wake of the Kosovo experiences, Member States might be willing to take a fresh look at Security Council reform. He also thanked the Czech Republic for keeping its borders open to Kosovar refugees and for contributing civilian police to the United Nations mission in the province.

He was also asked about East Timor and he said "The ballot will go forward, attempts have been made to derail it, but we are unintimidated and we are unimpressed, and we will give the people of East Timor a free choice."

Following the press conference, there was a working lunch with Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman. After lunch, the Secretary-General met with Vaclav Klaus, the Chairman of the House of Deputies, and then with Libuse Benesova, the Chairwoman of the Senate.

The Secretary-General then returned to the Foreign Ministry, where he received the Jan Masaryk Commemorative Medal, named for the former Czech Foreign Minister who led his country's delegation to the San Francisco Conference that drafted the United Nations Charter

The text of the Secretary-General's address at the Foreign Ministry is available in our office.

Tomorrow morning he will hold meetings with Czech President Vaclav Havel and, in the afternoon, with Jiri Dienstbier, the Special Representative for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

**Secretary-General's Report on Central African Republic

The 40-day report of the Secretary-General on the Central African Republic is out today. The report describes developments in that country since the end of May and reports an increase in tension, particularly following the fall of Gbadolite in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo. In order to address these new security considerations, the Secretary- General recommends a slight increase in the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic (MINURCA) force to an additional 148 troops.

The Secretary-General also expresses his concern at the lack of progress displayed in the concrete steps President Patassé had committed himself to take. In particular, the fact that the presidential guard is still not confined to its statutory duties and continues to carry out police functions is a "a source of continuing insecurity among the civil population". The Secretary-General proposes that the Security Council consider additional steps "aimed at encouraging President Patassé to fulfil the commitments he made".

Daily Press Briefing - 4 - 16 July 1999

**Western Sahara

In accordance with the time-frame for the implementation of the referendum in Western Sahara, the United Nations yesterday communicated to the parties the provisional list of eligible voters, which contained the names of some 85,000 people. As agreed by the parties, the appeals process for those not on the list also began yesterday. The United Nations opened five centres to receive appeals for the next six weeks, and plans are under way to open an additional 13 centres for that purpose.

Meanwhile, the United Nations is continuing to identify potential voters from among the so-called "contested tribes". That process began one month ago and when it is over another provisional list will be communicated to the parties and another appeals process will begin for them. The final list is expected out in March 2000 allowing time for the repatriation and referendum campaign. The vote itself will be held at the end of next July.

**Sierra Leone

The United Nations Observer Mission in Sierra Leone (UNOMSIL) yesterday opened three reception points in Freetown where former rebel soldiers can come to be registered. They are requested to surrender their weapons and ammunition and can then register at the Mission's demobilization programme. In the last two days, some soldiers have begun to come out of the bush and so far, 18 soldiers have been registered in the reception areas, which are staffed by UNOMSIL and the Economic Community of West African States' Monitoring Observer Group (ECOMOG).

**Payments

We received a cheque from Micronesia for over $10,000. Micronesia becomes the eighty-fifth Member State to pay in full for 1999.

**Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT)

Norway has just ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which now has 40 parties and 152 signatories.

**Week Ahead

Here are some highlights from our regular week ahead feature. On Monday, the Security Council has scheduled consultations on Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Secretary-General will open the Third United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNISPACE III) in Vienna. There are a press kit at the documents counter and a background press release available on the racks on that conference.

Daily Press Briefing - 5 - 16 July 1999

On Tuesday, the Security Council has scheduled consultations on Ethiopia and Eritrea. The Secretary-General is scheduled to address the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna. An exhibit entitled "Taking aim at Small Arms: Defending Children's Rights", co-sponsored by the Department for Disarmament Affairs and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) with the support of Andorra will open at 5:30 p.m. here at Headquarters.

On Wednesday, the Security Council has scheduled consultations on East Timor and the Secretary-General is expected back in New York.

The outgoing Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Elizabeth Rehn, is scheduled to brief the Security Council on Thursday.

* *** *