DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
20000505The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
Good afternoon.
**Sierra Leone: Regional Leaders Work to Resolve Deteriorating Situation
While there has been no word of fighting in Sierra Leone today, we received as of yet unconfirmed information of military movement by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), possibly involving the use of United Nations armoured personnel carriers, captured from peacekeeping forces that had been detained.
The number of detentions of United Nations personnel by the RUF, meanwhile, continues to climb.
The latest estimate could be as high as 318. That figure includes the 92 we reported to you yesterday minus the six crew and passengers of a helicopter who were released earlier today. We have learned that in addition, approximately 208 members of the Zambian contingent, who were on their way to Makeni and with whom the Mission had lost radio contact yesterday, we disarmed and detained by the RUF, and 24 other United Nations personnel are being held in Kailahun.
A 100-plus Nigerian contingent near Kambia were detained and then later released, minus their weapons.
Earlier today, we reported to you that the four-man crew and two civilian staff who had been detained Tuesday in Kailahun were released this morning in the same city. They returned to Freetown around 10 a.m., local time. They appeared unharmed.
As you recall, the Secretary-General told you yesterday afternoon that President Taylor of Liberia had informed him that Foday Sankoh, the head of the RUF, had given assurances that the helicopter crew will be allowed to return today. The Liberian leader is among several leaders in the region who are working to resolve the deteriorating situation in Sierra Leone.
The number of casualties remained at four presumed dead. Twelve others were reported wounded.
**Secretary-General 'Deplores' Escalating Violence in South Lebanon
We have the following statement on the subject of South Lebanon:
The Secretary-General deplores the escalation of violence around Lebanon since last Wednesday that has caused casualties among civilians on both sides, including the deaths of two Lebanese women. He calls on both sides to desist from further violence, and in particular, to cease all attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Daily Press Briefing - 2 - 5 May 2000
**Security Council Briefed on Clashes Reported in Democratic Republic of Congo
The Security Council has just begun its closed consultations on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in which Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hédi Annabi is briefing Council members on reports of clashes in Kisangani.
The United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) reports fighting at the Kisangani airport and in the area of Tshopo, north of Kisangani, which has involved Ugandan and Rwandan forces. The fighting started in the early hours of this morning.
The four-member United Nations observer team that is currently deployed in Kisangani was not harmed, but we are not able to confirm independently media reports of casualties.
We are informed by the Council that Council members are considering a draft presidential statement on the hostilities in the Kisangani area, and they may go into a formal meeting on that subject following consultations.
Also on today's agenda, Annabi is expected to brief the Council on the latest developments in Sierra Leone following his briefing on the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
In other news on the Congo, the seven-member Security Council delegation led by Ambassador Richard Holbrooke of the United States has been visiting the Democratic Republic of the Congo this week. They were on hand to witness the signing yesterday of a Status of Forces Agreement designed to give United Nations observers free access throughout the country. That agreement was signed by the Congolese Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Yerodia and by Kamel Morjane, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General.
President Laurent Kabila, who met with Ambassador Holbrooke for two hours yesterday, also attended the signing of the Status of Forces Agreement.
**Vendrell Concludes Week of Consultations with Afghan High Officials
Francesc Vendrell, the Personal Representative of the Secretary-General and head of the United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan (UNSMA), visited India from 2-5 May for consultations on the Afghanistan issue.
During the visit, he had extensive discussions with senior officials of the Ministry of External Affairs and the Prime Minister's Office. He also called on Jaswant Singh, the External Affairs Minister, and Lalit Mansingh, the Foreign Secretary. Mr. Vendrell's visit is part of his regular process of consultations with countries in the region.
Following the conclusion of his visit to Dehli, Mr. Vendrell will represent the Secretary-General at a meeting in Jeddah of the Organization of the Islamic Conference contact group on Afghanistan from 7-11 May. He will subsequently visit Iran and will inaugurate, on 14 May, the United Nations mission liaison office in Tehran.
**Bellamy to Address World Salt Symposium in The Hague
This message from United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF): On Monday, 8 May, UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy will address the opening ceremony of "SALT 2000" -- the eighth World Salt Symposium -- taking place at The Hague. That Symposium will last through 11 May. Other participants include Kiwanis International, the Micronutrients Initiative, and the International Council for Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders.
See, you thought this was about disarmament, but no, it's about salt. [Laughter]
Salt iodization protects 85 million newborns each year from a 10 per cent loss in learning ability. Iodine deficiency affects intelligence and the ability to learn. It is the world's single greatest cause of preventable severe mental retardation.
We have press releases on that if you're interested.
**Press Releases Available Today
We have available upstairs a press release from the Office of the United Nations Coordinator for Afghanistan noting that almost all Afghan children under the age of five have been immunized against polio, following the anti-polio campaign of May 1-3. All sides participated in a ceasefire from Monday until today to allow for the distribution of vaccines and for immunization programmes.
Also, we have a press release from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), embargoed for noon Eastern Daylight Time on Sunday, 7 May, saying that health systems across Africa are being devastated by the AIDS epidemic.
**The Week Ahead at United Nations
We have the "week ahead" for you. Here are some of the highlights:
**Monday, 8 May
The Security Council delegation to the Democratic Republic of the Congo will return to New York after its visit to the region.
The Secretary-General will mark the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations Relief and Works Administration for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) by delivering remarks at a ceremony here at Headquarters.
**Tuesday, 9 May
The Security Council will hold an open briefing on Bosnia and Herzegovina, following which Wolfgang Petritsch, High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, will give a press conference.
The Special Envoy of the Secretary-General and Special Coordinator of the Middle East Peace Process, Terje Roed-Larsen, is scheduled to end his visit to the region and to return to New York to report to the Secretary-General.
The Security Council has scheduled consultations on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in which it will hear a briefing on the results of the visit to the region by the seven-member delegation led by Ambassador Richard Holbrooke of the United States. It will also hold consultations on the Central African Republic.
**Thursday, 11 May
The Security Council will hold an open meeting on Kosovo.
**Friday, 12 May
At 11 a.m., Hungarian President Árpád Göncz will accept the fourth annual Franklin Delano Roosevelt International Disability Award on behalf of his country. That ceremony will take place at United Nations Headquarters. The Secretary- General, actor and disability advocate Christopher Reeve, and President Roosevelt's great-grandson, David Roosevelt, will be among those presenting the Award to President Göncz.
The Security Council will hold an open meeting on the United Nations Mission in Tajikistan (UNMOT), the final mandate of which is to expire on 15 May.
**Questions and Answers
Question: On the Zambians that were detained: Were they reinforcements that [Force Commander in Sierra Leone, General Vijay Kumar] Jetley was sending to the area?
Spokesman: That's my understanding, yes.
Question: Have the peacekeepers changed their rules of engagement since the Kenyans were killed?
Spokesman: There's been no change in the rules of engagement. We normally don't go into the details of rules of engagement. That's a confidential matter, but there has been no change. I can't say that the commanding officer there might not have instructed his troops to deal with these matters one way or another, but I really have no information on that.
Question: How are the armoured personnel carriers tasked for UNAMSIL and the region?
Spokesman: Various units have armoured personnel carriers for safe movement around the country. I believe there were approximately 13 of perhaps 16 armoured personnel carriers that this Zambian unit had that were lost to the RUF.
Question: Where is the RUF taking these armoured personnel carriers? No one there seems to know what their intent is.
Spokesman: We don't know either -- at least we do not have confirmation of specific points. We can say that we have unconfirmed reports that they are on the move.
Question: Has Foday Sankoh retained his position as a member of the Government?
Spokesman: Yes, he still is, and as I far as I know, he is still in his residence.
Question: What is the status of the Secretary-General's report on Sierra Leone that was due today?
Spokesman: I'd have to check. I don't have any information on that. [It was later announced that the report, due out Sunday, would be available on Monday.]
Question: It's our understanding that the British are sending a technical support team to Freetown. Is the Secretary-General aware of any contributions on the part of other countries?
Spokesman: I think the Secretary-General said yesterday at the stake-out that he wasn't at liberty to go into any details.
Question: How will this team operate on the ground?
Spokesman: The technical support team that the British are providing brings detailed knowledge of the country, and a level of expertise that we would find useful in doing our planning as we react to the latest developments on the ground.
Question: Is there any information on any towns that may have fallen into the hands of the RUF?
Spokesman: If I had any specific names to give you, I would have done so. At this time, I cannot confirm any towns that might have been taken by the RUF.
Question: Is there any discussion about evacuating any United Nations personnel?
Spokesman: There is no talk of evacuation at this time.
Question: Does the agreement signed by the United Nations and the Democratic Republic of the Congo cover that entire region?
Spokesman: Yes. It's a standard document whenever we bring our personnel into a country. It goes through all the legalisms -- the status of our personnel in that country, what rights do they have, freedom of movement -- and the other things connected with, in this case, an observer mission.
Question: Are there any other rebel groups involved in these incidents besides the RUF?
Spokesman: The reports that we have received only involve the RUF.
Question: Was the helicopter crew allowed to take their helicopter back with them or were they forced to leave it?
Spokesman: Yes. They flew the helicopter back to Freetown with the four crew and two passengers.
Question: Can we have some clarification on the number of armoured personnel carriers taken?
Spokesman: The Zambian contingent had 16 armoured personnel carriers, 13 of which have been taken by the RUF.
Question: Are they painted white, with the usual United Nations markings?
Spokesman: Yes.
Question: If the Secretary-General's attempts to resolve this issue with the help of African leaders fail, what will he do next?
Spokesman: I think we call that a hypothetical question. However, to answer, the efforts right now are political in nature -- to get anyone who has any influence with Mr. Sankoh to convince him to come back into compliance with the peace agreement. If that fails, I don't want to speculate what could happen next.
Question: We understand that there is an Indian-commanded rapid reaction force on the ground now. What is their mandate and what has their role been during these incidents?
Spokesman: I think it's only a company, I'll have to check but it is not of a size to deal with the military movements we've detected by the RUF. In any case, it would be up to the Force Commander to decide how best to use that limited rapid reaction capability. I suspect [the unit] was probably more designed for crowd control and that kind of thing.
Question: Has this unit been used in the last couple of days?
Spokesman: To my knowledge, no. This unit is based in Freetown and these incidents have, of course, taken place well outside of Freetown. [The Spokesman later announced that part of the rapid reaction unit had been deployed outside of Freetown.]
Question: Are there small arms mounted on the armoured personnel carriers that were taken or were they strictly transport vehicles?
Spokesman: These are transport vehicles, but we suspect that the individual weapons carried by the peacekeepers were also taken by the RUF.
Question: Is there any fighting today? Has there been any reaction to the taking of the armoured personnel carriers?
Spokesman: There was no fighting reported today at all. As far as the taking of these armoured personnel carriers, we have no evidence that there was fighting involving the Zambian unit that lost them.
Question: Was the Zambian unit armed?
Spokesman: They were armed but we still don't have any details of what took place. We lost communication with them after something happened to them. We now know from helicopter surveillance that these armoured personnel carriers have fallen into the hands of the RUF.
Question: Could the firefight that reportedly took place in Kambia overnight have sparked this event?
Spokesman: It may well have, but we have no cables that report in any authoritative way the details of what happened.
Question: Did the Zambian unit have to travel through Kambia to get to Makeni? Could that have been the cause?
Spokesman: I'd have to check on that. I suspect yes, but I would have to check.
Question: Do you have a total number of armoured personnel carriers and weapons that are missing?
Spokesman: No. We tried to get that information and as yet, the Mission hasn't been able to provide it to us.
Question: Do you have any idea what types of weapons were taken?
Spokesman: We've also been trying to get that information, but as yet we don't have it.
Question: Yesterday we heard that reinforcements were going to some of these areas. Have they arrived?
Spokesman: I said at the beginning of the briefing that this Zambian unit was in fact a reinforcement unit when it came under attack, presumably, and had its weapons and most of its armoured personnel carriers taken.
Question: Can other reinforcements be sent?
Spokesman: The emphasis at this point is not to go to war against the RUF; its to try to find a political solution to a problem that is threatening the peace process at its core. The peacekeeping mission in Sierra Leone has been authorized by the Security Council to use deadly force, if necessary, to protect itself, the people or the Government. That would be a call for the Force Commander to make. The emphasis at the moment seems to be to find a political solution. We'll just have to see what the RUF response is.
We reported to you yesterday that a number of leaders from the region had been in touch with Foday Sankoh, the RUF leader. The hope is that this will have some impact.
Question: So for now, there are no further reinforcements being sent?
Spokesman: To my knowledge, no.
Question: Given the preference for a political solution, do you have any more information on the possibility of a summit in the region similar to what the Secretary-General indicated yesterday?
Spokesman: He said that that had been discussed among the Economic Community of West African States' Monitoring Observer Group (ECOMOG) members, but I haven't heard any update on that since his comments yesterday.
Question: Is there a concern that all the visits by the envoys of the African heads of State to Mr. Sankoh's doorstep might leave his position strengthened in any way?
Spokesman: Well, it really depends on the message that the envoys are bringing to him. If the leaders of the region, including some who have supported him politically in the past, are telling him Stop making war on the United Nations -- the United Nations is your friend. If you don't stop, you're going to have trouble with us, then perhaps that would have the desired effect.
Question: Do you have any information on the upcoming elections in Haiti?
Spokesman: Why don't you come see me after the briefing? I don't have anything on Haiti today. I'll have to look at the cables and see what the situation is.
Question: In light of these recent incidents, have any of the leaders speaking to Mr. Sankoh, who might have supported him in the past, said that they might discontinue their friendly relations?
Spokesman: I can't say specifically, but President Taylor told the Secretary-General yesterday that he had been tough with Mr. Sankoh in the phone conversation he had with him. I can't give any of the specifics of that conversation.
Question: Has Russia intervened with President Taylor to get the release of the Russian helicopter crew that is reportedly being detained?
Spokesman: I don't know.
Thank you very much.
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