DAILY BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY BRIEFING BY OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
20000221The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
Good afternoon.
**John Mills
I returned from my trip with the Secretary-General early because, as you may know, my Acting Deputy John Mills last week had surgery for a brain tumor. The operation, I'm told, was successful. He's conscious and alert and convalescing in the hospital and expects to go home later this week.
He asked that you should not try to contact him directly, although I know some of you already have. He checks his office e-mail regularly, so any message you might want to send, you can send on his e-mail, or through his wife, Karin Landgren, who works for UNICEF, and she is at the UNICEF Annex, which is at 633 Third Avenue, and her room number is T-2662.
**Message on Mozambique
The following statement on the floods in Mozambique is attributable to the Spokesman. The Secretary-General is deeply distressed by the destruction caused by the worst floods in 50 years in Mozambique, which have affected up to 220,000 people. He extends his condolences to the affected families and to the surviving victims.
The Secretary-General reiterates the disposition of the United Nations to continue to assist Mozambique in its efforts to save lives and provide emergency assistance to those affected by this disaster. He notes that preparations are under way to launch immediately a United Nations Inter-Agency Appeal to address the needs of those in urgent need of assistance. I understand that appeal will be launched on Wednesday this week, and the Secretary-General hopes that donors will respond to this appeal promptly and generously.
**Secretary-General Begins Official Visit to Australia
The Secretary-General today got to thank Australia personally for taking the lead in forming the multinational force that restored order to East Timor after the local militia ran wild last September. "We could not have done much", he told the press after meeting with Prime Minister John Howard, "without the support and the leadership that the Australian Government and the people of Australia showed." That force was deployed, at least the initial deployment, was within two weeks, something of a record, the Secretary-General said, thanks to "the leadership, the organization, and the professionalism of the Australian army". Today was the first day of his official visit to Australia. He was in Canberra. He arrived there this morning from Sydney, where he spent the weekend. In addition to the Prime Minister, he met today with Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, former Prime Minister and now Chairman of CARE Australia, Malcolm Fraser, and lawmakers and opposition figures.
Malcolm Fraser, by the way, introduced the Secretary-General to the three CARE workers who were detained by the Yugoslav authorities on espionage charges and who were subsequently freed, thanks to the intervention of the Secretary- General and other world leaders. The full account of his programme in Canberra today is available in my office.
**Kosovo
Communications with Kosovo were down most of this morning, but we got through just a few minutes ago. We were told that some 20,000 men, women and children, all Kosovar Albanians, marched from Pristina to Mitrovica beginning 8 a.m. today. By midday they had reached the outskirts of the town. At the moment, the situation is described as very tense and volatile, but appears to be under control. There are several thousands people at the bridge, which divides the city into northern and southern sectors.
The Secretary-General's Special Representative, Bernard Kouchner, is there. He's also with KFOR Commander Klaus Reinhardt and the Kosovo Protection Corps leader, Agim Ceku. They are apparently in the middle of this crowd, addressing them. Earlier, KFOR troops supported by United Nations police began the second day of searches in several neighbourhoods in Mitrovica to look for caches of illegal weapons. Approximately 2,500 KFOR soldiers from 12 nations are supporting the operation. Holders of these weapons will be detained and turned over to United Nations police. Those police now number 420 in Mitrovica.
Meanwhile, Kouchner had met in Pristina in the morning with the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, General Wesley Clark, to discuss the joint United Nations-KFOR strategy to re-establish law and order in Mitrovica and to work on longer-term measures for job creation and economic development. Kouchner then went to Mitrovica.
**Security Council Holds Consultations on Democratic Republic of Congo
At 11 this morning, the Security Council began closed consultations on the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As you know, the Council has been considering a draft resolution that would expand the United Nations force in the Democratic Republic to some 5,500 personnel, including 500 military observers. The Council is discussing the draft today, and is expected to consider it further -- and possibly vote on it -- later this week.
Last Friday, you'll recall, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hédi Annabi briefed the Council on the latest developments in the Democratic Republic and explained the need for the expanded number of observers and troops. The Council has scheduled informal consultations on recent peace efforts in Somalia for tomorrow.
**East Timor Update 20 February
The western region of East Timor, defined as Sector West by the United Nations Mission there, was transferred today from the multinational INTERFET force to the United Nations peacekeeping force at a ceremony in Suai, leaving the whole territory under the military control of the United Nations. On Wednesday, 22 February, INTERFET will cease to exist after the remaining administrative structure is transferred to the United Nations. Sector West has approximately 2,000 troops.
Today, World Bank President James Wolfensohn, and the President of the Council of Timorese Resistance, Xanana Gusmao, as well as the United Nations Transitional Administrator Sergio Vieira de Mello - all three -- signed a grant agreement that will result in the disbursement of $21.5 million over two-and-a- half years for community empowerment and local government projects. We have copies of the briefing note from Dili in my office if you want more information.
**Secretary-General Gives Message on Burundi as Arusha Talks Begin
Today in Arusha, Tanzania, a plenary session of negotiations on Burundi began under the organization of the Facilitator of the Arusha Process, former South African President Nelson Mandela. Although the Secretary-General is on his official visit to Australia, his Special Representative for the Great Lakes region, Berhanu Dinka, delivered a message on his behalf to the heads of State gathered in Arusha. The Secretary-General said that the meeting "has attracted the attention of all those in the world who have the interests of Africa at heart".
He added that, for Burundi to achieve lasting peace, an agreement among its parties would have to be accompanied by the restoration of stability to the region as a whole -- particularly the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He also emphasized that, although the Burundian Government has taken positive steps to dismantle its regroupment camps, the need to speed up the process and allow the people in the camps to return home is "a matter of urgency". We have copies of his statement upstairs.
Carol Bellamy, the Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), also drew attention to the urgent need to close the regroupment camps today, as she wound up a two-day visit to Burundi. She visited the Ruziba camp, south of Bujumbura, where about 12,000 people are located. She also met with President Pierre Buyoya and other senior officials, before travelling this afternoon to Arusha to attend the opening of the peace talks.
Tomorrow, the talks will include a video-conference presentation by President Bill Clinton of the United States. The plenary session of the talks is expected to last until Wednesday.
**Foday Sankoh Travel in Violations of Sanctions
Friday evening, the Security Council Sanctions Committee on Sierra Leone discussed the fact that Foday Sankoh left Sierra Leone without authorization of the Committee. The members of the Committee issued a statement urging the return of Mr. Sankoh to Sierra Leone immediately and reminding all Member States of their obligations, under Security Council resolution 1171 (1998), to prevent the entry into or transit through their territories of leading members of the former military junta and of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF)". Mr. Sankoh, of course, is the head of the RUF. A press release with the complete text of the statement is available on the racks.
**Secretary-General's Message on International Mother Language Day
In a message to commemorate International Mother Language Day today, the Secretary-General said that it is critical to protect linguistic diversity at a time when many of the 6,000 languages spoken today are in danger of disappearing. He said, "Above all, the lesson of our age is that languages are not mutually exclusive, but that human beings and humanity itself are enriched by communicating in more than one language." The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) last year decided to designate 21 February as International Mother Language Day, to encourage multilingual education.
**Payment to United Nations Budget
We received one more payment today towards the United Nations regular budget for the year 2000. Belgium has become the fifty-sixth Member State to have paid in full, with payment of just over $11.5 million.
**Miscellaneous Press Releases
In a joint press release issued today, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (also known as UNAIDS) announced an initiative to promote the development of an AIDS vaccine. The HIV Vaccine Initiative, as it is called, will focus on strengthening the ability of developing countries to hold vaccine trials, in order to find a vaccine that is effective worldwide.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in another press release, is calling on African countries to increase public investment in agriculture. African governments should allocate at least 25 per cent of their national budgets to agricultural and rural development programmes, the agency said.
And, finally, we also have available upstairs a press release summarizing the work of the recently concluded session of the Outer Space Scientific and Technical Subcommittee in Vienna. The Subcommittee deals with the peaceful uses of outer space, and discussed disaster management and the use of nuclear power sources in outer space.
Finally, our guest at tomorrow's noon briefing will be Olara Otunnu, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, who will be discussing the deployment of Child Protection Advisers.
That's all I have for you, what do you have for me?
**Question and Answer
Question: Is Foday Sankoh allowed to leave Sierra Leone, and is there a concern that the ceasefire is in danger of being broken?
Spokesman: As long as the sanctions regime is in place, as an RUF or former RUF commander, he will not be allowed to travel outside Sierra Leone. I understand that he requested a visa to travel to South Africa on medical grounds. And I understand that, after the South Africans were informed about their obligations under the sanctions regime, they put Mr. Sankoh on a plane out of there.
Question: There's a story out of Afghanistan today with the Taliban claiming that the United Nations is biased against the Taliban. I wonder if perhaps you might be able to get some comment on this.
Spokesman: We saw that. I don't think we'll have any comment. I believe they were reacting to a statement issued on behalf of the Secretary-General last week concerning the bombing of the Panjshir Valley. We'll have no comment on what they said today.
Question: On Sankoh, you said the South Africans put him on a plane out of there, meaning?
Spokesman: Out of South Africa. He was in South Africa.
Question: To where?
Spokesman: Back home, I assume [to Sierra Leone].
Question: Was there any indication he had any business other than medical?
Spokesman: I wouldn't know about that.
Question: In the light of events in Mitrovica, is Mr. Kouchner still coming here in a week or so?
Spokesman: As far as I know. I heard this morning that he was scheduled to be here something like the middle of the week after next.
Question: Have you heard anything about additional reinforcements or new donations of police (to Kosovo) from a Security Council member?
Spokesman: I haven't heard of any. We can check if there had been any fresh offers of police, but I haven't heard of any.
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