DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
20000215The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Marie Okabe, Associate Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
Good afternoon.
**Secretary-General Begins Official Visit to Indonesia
The Secretary-General arrived in Jakarta from Singapore in the late morning, and began his official programme in Indonesia in the early afternoon with a one-on-one meeting with Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab. In a session with the full delegations that followed, they discussed the aftermath of President Abdurrahman Wahid's "deactivation" of General Wiranto as a Cabinet member.
The Foreign Minister expressed relief that the crisis had passed.
They also discussed the situations in Aceh, Ambon and the Moluccas, and Mr. Shihab said he hoped all those issues could eventually be resolved. They also talked about Indonesia's economic and financial reforms, United Nations relations with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the plight of the East Timorese refugees in West Timor.
On that last matter, the Secretary-General insisted, "Full access to the people in the camps is essential."
In remarks to the press following the meeting, he said that he wanted to see that those who are accused of the crimes committed in East Timor are made accountable, and noted that the Indonesian Government had shown its determination to do just that.
"If the Government is mounting a credible trial and prosecuting these people, I suspect the Security Council would not rush to set up a competing international tribunal", the Secretary-General said. He applauded the Government's efforts to uphold the rule of law and prosecute suspected perpetrators of atrocities in East Timor.
**Secretary-General to Address Indonesian Council Tomorrow
We are making available today embargoed copies of a speech the Secretary- General will deliver tomorrow to the Indonesian Council on World Affairs.
The speech -- titled "Unity in Diversity", which is the slogan enshrined on Indonesia's coat of arms -- focuses on the challenges facing Indonesia today, including separatism, and the role of the United Nations in enabling peoples to live together without conflict.
The Secretary-General says that, although many separatist movements can be wasteful, "minorities have to be convinced that the State really belongs to them, as well as to the majority, and that both will be losers if it breaks up". He will deliver the speech in Jakarta in the early afternoon tomorrow, and it is embargoed for 1:15 a.m. Wednesday morning, Eastern Standard Time.
**Notes from East Timor: Transfer of Military Command to UNTAET Complete by Month's End
The transfer of military command from INTERFET to the Jordanian battalion of the United Nations peacekeeping force took place in the East Timorese enclave of Oecussi today. The next transfer of military command is set to take place in the western sector on 28 February. The final transfer of the remaining military administrative structure will also take place on 28 February. And as of that date, the United Nations peacekeeping force will be in full control of East Timor.
There have been at least two security incidents in West Timor in the last four days. Last Friday, militias threw stones at staff of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in a car at a settlement for East Timorese refugees in Atambua while they were conducting a mass information campaign for potential returnees. Yesterday, Indonesian police escorts poked a rifle at an aid worker and fired guns in the air, demanding to stop the convoy so they could eat lunch. UNHCR staff called the Indonesian army, and the police were sent back and the convoy proceeded on to the border town of Batugade in East Timor.
For your information, there is a document on East Timor out on the racks today. It is the report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), containing all the regulations promulgated up to now.
**Cooperation, Political Will among Keys to MINURCA's Success, Secretary-General Says
I have a statement issued by the Secretary-General through his Spokesman on the successful completion today of the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic (MINURCA).
The statement says that the Mission "has done much to restore peace and security in the Central African Republic and to create enabling conditions for the successful conduct of national elections, as well as major economic and social reforms.
The statement goes on to say that "the success of the United Nations mission in the Central African Republic once again demonstrates how much can be achieved by peacekeeping operations in Africa and elsewhere with the cooperation and political will of the parties, their commitment to peace and national reconciliation, a clear mandate, appropriate resources, and the strong and consistent support of the international community."
The complete text of the statement is available in the Spokesman's Office.
**United Nations Peacekeeping by Numbers
With the close of mission in the Central African Republic, we now have 16 peacekeeping operations worldwide. There are approximately 18,600 troops serving in these 16 operations. This figure includes the 185 troops currently deployed in the Central African Republic who are taking part in the United Nations liquidation efforts there.
We have copies of a deployment breakdown, by mission and by category, available in the Spokesman's Office.
**Security Council: Alvaro de Soto Briefs on Cyprus
Today at 10:30 a.m., the Security Council heard a briefing on Cyprus by the Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto.
You will recall that the latest series of proximity talks on Cyprus, which were opened by the Secretary-General on 31 January, ended in Geneva last week, after a total of 14 meetings with the parties. In a press conference last Tuesday in Geneva, Mr. de Soto said that the talks, which began last December in New York, were "on track".
The parties have accepted in principle the Secretary-General's invitation to resume the proximity talks on 23 May, again in New York.
Tomorrow, the Council is expected to hold a private meeting on Kosovo.
**United Nations Landmine Action Team Visits Egypt
We have been in touch with the United Nations landmine action team currently visiting Egypt. The team, headed by Mary Fowler, who is Officer-in- Charge of the Mine Action Service in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, is now half way through their visit to Egypt. The team is charged with assessing the impact of landmines and unexploded ordnance in Egypt.
The team has had good support and cooperation from the Egyptian Government and constructive meetings with high-level government officials and with members of the donor community based in Egypt. Their field visits have included the area of El Alamein, a major battleground during the Second World War, where some 80 per cent of Egypt's landmines are located.
The delegation is expected to complete its work in Egypt on 22 February and return to New York the following day, when they will begin compiling their findings which will be released in a public report upon its completion.
**Kosovar Serbs in Gracanica Endorse UN Plan to Restore Security
In Kosovo today, a package of measures proposed by the Secretary-Generals Special Representative, Bernard Kouchner, to restore security in and around Mitrovica won the endorsement of the leaders of the Serb National Council in Gracanica.
Mr. Kouchner presented the plan to Bishop Artemije, the highest-ranking Orthodox cleric in Kosovo, in the Serb monastery in Gracanica. He had also presented the package to Kosovo's Interim Administrative Council last night.
The measures include the immediate redeployment of 100 United Nations police from other parts of Kosovo to the largely Serb northern parts of Mitrovica, with an additional 200 police to go to the area in subsequent days. That redeployment would bring the number of United Nations police in the Mitrovica region to about 600.
The United Nations mission in Kosovo will also appoint international judges and prosecutors to Mitrovica and maintain a nightly curfew and restrictions on public demonstrations.
Also today, the Interim Administrative Council discussed regulations on voter registration, the compilation of a voters' list and the organization of political parties, in order for elections to be held later this year. Those issues will also be taken up by the Kosovo Transitional Council on Wednesday.
We have press releases on both topics available in the Spokesman's Office.
**Chechen Exodus Continues as Hundreds Flee Areas Near Grozny
The UNHCR today reports that, in a continued exodus from Chechnya, more than 450 people have fled rebel-controlled mountainous areas south of the capital Grozny since last Friday, as Russia's military push has shifted from Grozny to the south. As you know, an estimated 180,000 people displaced from Chechnya remain in Ingushetia.
Russia, meanwhile, has declared whatever is left of Grozny closed to potential returnees until the end of February, to allow some time to remove unexploded ordnance and clean up, according to the UNHCR.
**Oil-for-Food Programme Update
The latest weekly update on the oil-for-food programme for Iraq noted that last week Iraq exported a total of 15 million barrels of crude oil for an estimated revenue of $383 million. The Security Council committee overseeing the programme has so far approved 95 oil sales contracts under Phase VII, with a total volume of 266.8 million barrels. As for humanitarian supplies, $1.57 billion worth of supplies have so far been approved under Phase IV and $1.6. billion under Phase V.
The full weekly update is available upstairs.
**Special Rapporteur Concerned by Human Rights Situation in Democratic Republic of Congo
Roberto Garretón, the Human Rights Special Rapporteur on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, issued two statements today in Geneva on the human rights situation in that country.
In the first statement, he expressed his deep concern following the execution between 28 January and 2 February of this year of 19 members of the army in Kinshasa. According to the information Mr. Garretón has received, they had been accused of murder, armed robbery or revolt and were executed only hours after being sentenced to death by a military court.
The second statement concerns the deterioration of the situation of human rights in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, controlled by two rebel factions. Mr. Garretón says that he is concerned about the arrest of the Bishop of Bukavu in Goma on 12 February. **Afghanistan Assistance Update
We have available today the latest weekly update on assistance for Afghanistan. It notes that, between September and December of last year, the World Food Programme (WFP) employed 600 female surveyors in Mazar-I-Sharif -- that's in the north of that country -- and 300 female surveyors in Jalalabad, to conduct house-to-house surveys to determine who would receive baked goods from the WFP. The release notes that Taliban authorities agreed to allow the women to move freely through both cities to conduct the surveys.
**Note from Sierra Leone
Today the first reconnaissance mission has returned to Freetown from Koidu, a rebel stronghold in the heart of the diamond mining area in the eastern part of Sierra Leone. Five military observers escorted by a platoon from the Kenya battalion conducted the mission yesterday, primarily to assess the conditions of the road to Koidu. The information officer who was also present told us that crowds were cheering the convoy along the road.
At a rebel roadblock about 75 miles from Koidu, the peacekeepers were blocked. In order not to cancel the patrol altogether, the military observers and the information officer proceeded alone to Koidu and visited the town.
**Special Committee for Peacekeeping Operations Opens Annual Session
The Special Committee for Peacekeeping Operations has been holding its annual meeting since last Friday. They are continuing their general debate this morning. In this connection, I would like to draw your attention to the opening statement of Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Bernard Miyet made to the Committee last Friday. In this statement, Mr. Miyet noted that despite an extraordinarily rapid response in the scale and nature of peacekeeping operations over the past year, this was happening at a time when our means had been drastically reduced. He indicated that the Secretary-General plans in the course of this year to offer a wide-ranging study of United Nations peacekeeping and how it may be strengthened for the future.
**Spokesman's Office Welcomes Hiro Ueki
And finally, as you know, John Mills is out sick this week.
We are fortunate to have Hiro Ueki, formerly of the Spokesman's Office, who many of you knew as a pillar of our Office. He will be helping us and you out on Iraq, East Timor and peacekeeping matters for the time being.
On behalf of the Spokesman's Office, I would like to thank Kensaku Hogen of the Department for Public Information for his support in releasing Hiro, who, like John, is going to be juggling a couple of jobs.
**Questions and Answers
Question: There is a report out of Baghdad that the head of the World Food Programme (WFP) there has resigned. Can you confirm that?
Associate Spokesman: The only information I have on that right now is from the World Food Programme itself. According to them, there was a personal decision by its representative in Baghdad to leave [WFP] and return to the service of her Government. That's the only reason that was given and thats all the information that was conveyed to me just minutes before I walked down for the briefing.
Question: What is meant by a "private" meeting on Kosovo in the Security Council tomorrow?
Associate Spokesman: The meeting will be held in the Council's formal chamber and will include members outside the regular consultation. However, it is not a formal meeting of the Council, it is a briefing at which members other than Council members are invited.
Question: Who's going to give that briefing?
Associate Spokesman: The briefing will be given by the Secretariat.
Question: Do you have any more details about the WFP representative who resigned? Do you know her nationality or how long she worked there?
Associate Spokesperson: The WFP identified her as German and said that her name is Jutta Burghardt. [She had been in that post for about one year.]
Question: Is there concern that two of the top people in Iraq who are responsible for the humanitarian programme are going to be leaving on such notice? Is there anything being done to expedite their replacements to ensure that the programme continues without any blips?
Associate Spokesman: As you know, the announcement of Humanitarian Coordinator Hans Von Sponeck's resignation came over the weekend. And as we mentioned yesterday, he gave a release date of 31 March, so it is not immediate in that sense. Now the news of the WFP representative reached us literally minutes before I came down for the briefing, so I can't comment on that. [The Associate Spokesman later told correspondents that there were more than 200 United Nations international staff working in humanitarian operations in Iraq.]
Question: Nelson Mandela is expected in New York next week. Is he going to come here to talk about his role in Burundi?
Associate Spokesman: Well, Mr. Mandela was here last month at an open debate on that subject. I have not heard anything about his schedule, but I can get back to you on that. [As of late Tuesday, there were no confirmed plans for him to visit the United Nations.]
Question: Speaking of visitors, Bernard Kouchner should be here shortly, do you know when?
Associate Spokesman: I understand that he will be coming to North America -- which may not include just the United Nations, but other stops as well -- I think in the first week of March. I believe it may be around 5-9 March. And, of course, we'll announce when he will be briefing the Security Council.
If there are no other questions, have a good afternoon.
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