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 Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General

Good afternoon.

** Sierra Leone

Freetown in Sierra Leone was reported relatively quiet overnight with no incidents reported. That is after a day of violence yesterday which rocked the Sierra Leonean capital.

As of a few minutes ago, we have had no reports of new incidents involving United Nations personnel in the rest of the country.

The Secretary-General, upon entering the building this morning, told reporters that what he thought is important is "to consolidate the force, bring the force up to strength as quickly as possible, and continue our efforts to tame Sierra Leone",

On expediting the deployment of the remaining battalions up to the mandated strength of 11,100, we can confirm that the United States has offered to provide logistical support to the Bangladesh battalion, which has said that its troops are being readied for deployment. The Jordanian and Indian battalions have also announced their readiness to deploy faster than originally planned.

The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy, Bernard Miyet, Head of Peacekeeping Operations, arrived last night in Freetown. He is visiting troops today. He went to see the Guinean and Ghanaian units and also to "demonstrate the will that we have to keep the peace process on track".

The top official heading the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone, Oluyemi Adeniji, traveled to Abuja, Nigeria, today for a summit meeting of nine African countries. These are Mali, Liberia, Guinea, Togo, Ghana, Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone

More than 200 non-essential staff -- 206 to be exact -- of the United Nations Mission were re-deployed to Banjul, in the Gambia, last night. All but 10 of the Organization's humanitarian staff have also relocated.

The United Nations Mission reported in Freetown today that the number of the Organization's personnel believed detained was still around 500, and that there are a total of five missing -- two Kenyan and three Nigerian -- of whom two, one Kenyan and one Nigerian, are now presumed dead. The total number of wounded is 12.

The human rights unit of the United Nations Mission is attempting to gather reports of atrocities against civilians, but medical non-governmental organizations (NGOs) report that there have been no cases of civilians arriving in Freetown with either mutilations or amputations.

Daily Press Briefing - 2 - 9 May 2000

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports today that 265 Sierra Leoneans from the town of Kambia have arrived by land or by sea in Guinea, which already hosts more than 300,000 refugees from that country.

Regarding the whereabouts of Foday Sankoh, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) leader, the United Nations does not know where he is.

** Security Council Discusses Democratic Republic of Congo and Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Security Council began its work today with closed consultations on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on which it heard a briefing by the Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hédi Annabi.

Mr. Annabi noted that the United Nations Mission there intended to send additional military observers to Kisangani, where there had been reports of fighting between Ugandan and Rwandan forces in recent days.

Yesterday, the Governments of Rwanda and Uganda, along with the Security Council delegation led by Ambassador Richard Holbrooke of the United States, signed a joint declaration on withdrawing their forces in and around Kisangani and allowing the United Nations Mission to be deployed in the demilitarized area that would result from their withdrawal.

However, earlier this morning, the United Nations Mission reported signs that the airport at Kisangani had been shelled during the previous night.

Following that briefing, Mr. Annabi also updated the Council on the latest developments in Sierra Leone.

The Council then went into a formal meeting to hear an open briefing on Bosnia and Herzegovina, delivered by the High Representative for the Implementation of the Peace Agreement there, Wolfgang Petritsch.

Mr. Petritsch noted Bosnia's continued economic problems, but also noted the peaceful holding of municipal elections on 8 April, which he said had contributed to making the country more pluralistic. Mr. Petritsch added, "In Bosnia and Herzegovina, there is a light at the end of the tunnel".

We will have copies of his speech available in my office shortly, and the High Commissioner's latest report on Bosnia is also out on the racks today.

After that briefing ends, we expect Mr. Petritsch to hold a press briefing in this room to take your questions. We will announce his arrival on the intercom once the Council session is over.

** Sri Lanka

We have the following statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on the subject of Sri Lanka.

“The Secretary-General is concerned about the possible humanitarian consequences of the recent escalation of fighting in Sri Lanka. Thousands of civilians are in danger of being displaced. He appeals to all parties to avoid placing the lives of civilians at risk, and to ensure humanitarian access to all in need.

“The Secretary-General strongly believes that a political solution is necessary to the conflict in Sri Lanka. He welcomes the offer by the Government of Norway to facilitate such a solution.”

** Roed-Larsen In Egypt For Talks

The Special Envoy of the Secretary-General, Terje Roed-Larsen, has been in Cairo today for further talks on the implementation of Security Council resolutions 425 and 426 (1978), which call for Israel to withdraw from Lebanon.

He met today with Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa and with the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Ismat Abdel-Maguid. He also met with the President of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat. Tomorrow, he is expected to finish his trip to the region -- which also took him to Israel, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan -- and to return to New York.

Mr. Roed-Larsen is scheduled to brief the Security Council on his trip next Thursday, on 18 May.

** Secretary-General Speaks on Schuman Day

This afternoon in the Trusteeship Council Chamber, the Secretary-General will deliver a speech to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Schuman Declaration, in which Robert Schuman first devised the concept of European integration.

To mark today as "Schuman Day", the Permanent Mission of Portugal and the European Commission are holding a conference, beginning in the Trusteeship Council at 3 p.m., on the theme of "Fifty Years of European Integration". At about 3:30 p.m., the Secretary-General will address the conference. We have embargoed copies of his speech available in my office.

In that speech, the Secretary-General notes what he calls "the decisive innovation" of European integration, but adds that Europe's work is not done "as long as the countries to its south and east remain mired in economic and political stagnation".

** Concern over Offensive in Afghanistan

The Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Afghanistan, Kamal Hossain, issued a statement today expressing his concern at reports that preparations are under way for a military offensive by both sides in Afghanistan. We have the text of his statement available in my office.

** United Nations Radio

United Nations Radio went on the air on Monday, 8 May with live news bulletins in English, French and Spanish. The five-minute bulletins are broadcast from the radio studios in the Secretariat building at 1, 1:30 and 2 p.m. from Monday to Friday. For the time being, signal distribution is limited to the Secretariat building, the telephone MX system as well as the in-house television channel 12. Subscribers to Time Warner Cable in Manhattan can also listen to United Nations Radio on channels 78 and 97. The local broadcasting of news bulletins to deadlines is the latest phase of efforts by United Nations Radio to create an international news and current affairs service with programmes distributed to a worldwide audience.

** Troop Contributions

We have the summary of troop contributions to peacekeeping operations. This is effective as of the end of April and indicates that there were at the end of that period 31,324 military personnel deployed in 16 United Nations peacekeeping operations. Those troops came from 85 different Member States.

** United Nations Correspondents Association

Finally, the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) asked me to invite you to a free lunch today. It is a press event in the UNCA Lounge where lunch will be provided. The topic is Star Wars versus Disarmament: Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD), Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty, and Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty (NPT). There are four guest speakers and also a four-minute film produced by the Union of Concerned Scientists.

** Questions and Answers

Question: Did the United States make a commitment to bring the Bangladeshi troops into Sierra Leone or somewhere else in the region?

Spokesman: First, I do not know whether the United States committed to bringing the troops right into Lungi Airport in Freetown, although I would assume that is where we would want them delivered. To take them next door would then require another aircraft or some kind of boat, which takes more time and costs more money. So I assume our request would have been to deliver them to Lungi Airport. But I would have to double check for you.

Question: Did the United Nations get Foday Sankoh out of his house yesterday, or do you know who took him out of the house when it was under attack?

Spokesman: We had a presence at Foday Sankoh's home yesterday, and there was some rumour on at least one of the media this morning that we were somehow involved in his escape from his home as thousands of people demonstrated at that site. No. To my knowledge we had nothing to do with the escape and neither do we know where he is. There are reports that he is in the protective custody of the Government but we cannot confirm that.

Question: Was a United Nations helicopter shot down yesterday ferrying food out to troops?

Spokesman: That was not yesterday. I would have to double check the date that happened. Two of our helicopters -- not gun ships but regular helicopters –- were involved in a supply operation and also bringing back injured peacekeepers. There was a firing incident involving one of the craft, and bullets penetrated it. I believe the fuel tank and the rotors were hit. The helicopter was able to fly. It took off suddenly when the shots were fired and traveled about five kilometres before it was forced to land.

The second helicopter, which was going to a nearby location -– a different one -- then came to the site where the first craft came down, took its passengers and carried everyone back to Freetown. As I understand it, the first helicopter that was hit by gunfire was never able to unload the supplies it was trying to carry. The craft with the supplies on board was left in a field somewhere following the safe evacuation of all personnel.

Question: Is the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) actively trying to find Foday Sankoh?

Spokesman: I think we would like to know where he is, as he is a key player in the peace efforts and a signatory to the peace agreement. So I think everyone is actively looking for him.

Question: Can the Secretary-General respond to the appeal from Human Rights Watch that the United Nations should not abandon Sierra Leone?

Spokesman: Bernard Miyet got into Sierra Leone last night and not this morning as we expected, and is visiting the troops at the moment. He also took in with him -- to bolster the administrative side of the Mission, Bey [Behrooz] Sadry, who is someone some of you may know from peacekeeping as one of the most experienced administrators in that field. We also sent someone from our office to bolster the press side. We have an announcement of United States support to quickly deploy at least one of the remaining three battalions that still have to go into the country. No, we are not preparing to pull out -- we are preparing to stick this out as long as we can and try and get the peace process back on track.

Question: What are the current locations of peacekeepers in Sierra Leone?

Spokesman: You would have to come to me after the briefing for those locations. A certain amount of consolidation, however, has taken place. We have tried to put them in more secure locations in larger numbers. We still have no contact with the second group of 200-plus Zambians, who we now pretty safely assume are detained along with 300 others.

Question: What kind of response is the Secretary-General receiving to his call for a rapid reaction force?

Spokesman: There are no new developments there. The Secretary-General, as we mentioned, has consulted with a number of governments about the possibility of providing rapid reaction elements but so far there have been no offers.

Question: Assuming all the arrangements are made and the Nigerian battalions go into Sierra Leone, what are they expected to do there? Will they try to free the hostages?

Spokesman: You are building on the last answer I gave. I did not mention the Nigerian battalions, but I understand that the United States has been talking to Nigeria about the possibility of providing some additional troops. It is, however, really a question of whether these units could be deployed more quickly than the peacekeepers that are already in the pipeline.

The Secretary-General's emphasis today, given in his comments as he entered the building, were "let us bring this peacekeeping force up to strength". He welcomes the arrival of the additional troops provided by the United Kingdom for the purpose of preparing for a possible evacuation of that country's nationals. He said their presence in Sierra Leone could be a stabilizing factor. And I think I said that yesterday as well. They have secured the airport at Lungi, which has permitted us to free up some of the troops we had there and deploy them to other areas where reinforcements are needed.

So on rapid reaction, even with this talk of a possible contribution by Nigeria, I do not think we are much closer to having rapid reaction capabilities.

Question: Yesterday you said it was a hard thing for the United Nations to take sides even when one side was clearly committing violations. The Nigerians presumably would not come under the United Nations. Are they expected to be a fighting force that would perhaps try to rescue the hostages?

Spokesman: We have not talked about using any troops outside of the context of the United Nations peacekeeping force to help rescue the units now being detained by the RUF. Let us just wait and see what develops with this talk of Nigerians. But for the moment our focus here in the Organization is the United Nations force.

Question: Did you say that it was 269 non-essential staff who were being deployed to the Gambia?

Spokesman: Yes, Banjul, the Gambia.

Question: Given that the United Nations is short of personnel in Sierra Leone, who are these people and why are they being transferred out?

Spokesman: They are basically people who cannot do the jobs that they were sent to Sierra Leone to do because of security conditions. So rather than have them sitting around doing nothing in a dangerous situation, we would prefer to move them to a safe location until things are normalized.

Question: Can you give us an example of the things they cannot do?

Spokesman: I cannot here but we have basically a list of the kinds of people we have moved out. That is in my office and I would be glad to show it to you at the end of the briefing.

Question: When do you expect to get reports out of Nigeria on the meeting being held today?

Spokesman: The Secretary-General said this morning that he hoped to speak to the President of Nigeria, Olesegun Obasanjo, at the end of the meeting today. That may be our best channel, although, Mr. Adeniji, the Special Representative also attended those meetings, and he would be filing a report, a normal information cable at the end of his day. We might even get it at the end of business today, either through him or the Secretary-General and the Nigerian President.

Question: What specifically does the Secretary-General intend a rapid reaction force to do?

Spokesman: A rapid reaction force would be a military force equipped and structured to carry out military operations. Peacekeepers also belong to the military, but they are not equipped or configured to fight except in self-defence. So the nature of the rapid reaction force would be different. It would have different capabilities and the hope would be that it would, by its credibility as a military force, add to the security of the environment and give us a chance to pursue political objectives.

The idea is not to go to war against the RUF. The Security Council has not authorized us to do that. What we are trying to do is to use military assets either as peacekeepers, or in the case of rapid reaction, as a military force to stabilize the situation so that the political process can move forward.

Question: Has the Secretary-General received any answer from the United States as to what kind of involvement can be expected from their side?

Spokesman: He said this morning that they have still confirmed their earlier position that they would not contribute troops. But as I mentioned earlier in this briefing they have told us that they would assist with the airlift of the Bangladeshi battalion, which is one of the three that are in the pipeline for the Mission.

Question: Do you know if Mr. Roed-Larsen will hold a press conference after he briefs the Security Council on 18 May?

Spokesman: I suspect he will be happy to do that, and we will ask him for you.

Question: The Secretary-General said that the British have sent some elements for the Rapid Reaction Force, and that Washington is talking about it, what does that refer to?

Spokesman: He understands clearly that the British troops that have been sent into Sierra Leone are there for the explicit purpose of taking out British nationals if necessary, evacuating British nationals and others, presumably, who are interested, in an emergency situation. But he said that their presence there, as a military force, well armed, is helpful. We have already realized the benefit, because they have secured the airport and freed up the peacekeepers we had at the airport, so that we can use them for something else. I don't know what Washington is talking about, and you'll have to ask them. They made it clear to us that they are not going to put in troops.

Question: But there is a distinction between a rapid reaction force and troops who just rush in to stabilize. Are they not two different things?

Spokesman: I don't see the difference. I was trying to draw a distinction between peacekeepers, who are not configured to fight, and a normal military force, whose very purpose is to fight, and whose configuration and equipment are all aimed at aggressive action.

Question: Could the British troops at the airport be considered a rapid reaction force?

Spokesman: They are not peacekeepers, they are a military force. They have come in, they have secured the airport. They are ready to take whatever action is necessary to guarantee the safe evacuation of British nationals.

Question: Did the Secretary-General get any indication that the British troops will stay there throughout the deployment of the United Nations peacekeepers?

Spokesman: You would have to ask them. I don't know. All the Secretary- General said is that he is glad they are there.

Question: What is the timeline for the deployment of the Bangladeshi troops, and is there any commitment from the United States regarding the Jordanian and Indian troops?

Spokesman: My understanding is that they have said they could help with one battalion, not three. They are basically ready to move in the next week or so. The Indians and the Jordanians have also told us that elements of their battalion could be ready to move almost immediately, certainly by the fifteenth of this month, in other words in about a week, if there were an airlift. We are still looking for strategic lift for the other two battalions. The Russians have indicated a possible interest in helping us out. We are talking to the potential airlifters, we are asking the battalions to get ready, all that has to be organized. Once they decide to move, there has to be a date, they move their equipment to the port, then to the airport. All that has to be coordinated in Lungi, which is a small airport. You just can't bring in three battalions overnight. It would take about a week, I would think, to bring in just one battalion. It is not just one flight. It is something like nine flights to bring in one battalion with its equipment.

Question: How does Sankoh's disappearance affect Miyet's trip? If he does meet with Sankoh, will he bargain with him to release troops? What does he bring to the table?

Spokesman: We already reported that he is visiting troops. I mentioned to you yesterday that he is going to be, among other things, trying to raise the morale of the troops. He is going to take a close look at some of the administrative problems we are facing, many of which are typical for the early stages of a peacekeeping operation. We already mentioned to you that he brought in a very experienced peacekeeping administrator, Bey Sadry. And he will be talking with the Government and others about what to do about these detained peacekeepers. That part of his agenda is unaffected by the whereabouts of Mr. Sankoh, although we still hope that he will show up in time to meet with him.

Question: Is there talk about renegotiating the ceasefire so that the amnesty can be removed for Sankoh?

Spokesman: The Secretary-General was asked that question this morning, and he said that he is not aware of any discussions to renegotiate anything. The focus is on getting the peacekeeping force up to speed, to get the detained peacekeepers released, and to try to get the political process going again.

Question: Is there a sense that the United Nations has failed Sierra Leone?

Spokesman: Foday Sankoh certainly has failed Sierra Leone. The situation that prevails there today is not one that the United Nations was supposed to deal with. We were supposed to deal with the implementation of a peace agreement, and the peace agreement has broken down. We are trying to put the pieces back together. If that can't be done, then the Council has to decide what to do. Sierra Leone is in very bad shape, and there is only so much that can be done from the outside without the help of all Sierra Leoneans, including Foday Sankoh.

Question: When is the next Security Council meeting scheduled for Sierra Leone?

Spokesman: The Council has been briefed pretty much on a daily basis in closed sessions. There was a regular report from the Secretary-General due over the weekend, which has been delayed a couple of days because of the events. It will come out shortly, and that will trigger, I think, a more formal consideration by them. But they are dealing with it daily.

Question: Is the United Nations satisfied with the fact that the United States can only help with one airlift?

Spokesman: When Russia and others said that they might be able to help, we said fine, we need all the help we can get. In the end, if we have strategic airlifts for the three battalions, no matter where it comes from, we will be happy.

Question: What is the impact [of the events in Sierra Leone] on United Nations peacekeeping? Is the peacekeeping model dead?

Spokesman: It is very difficult to impose peace. Peace gets born when the former combatants come together and agree on a deal and start working together. Peace enforcement is expensive, often costs lives and is less effective than when combatants come together and agree to cooperate. On the other hand, there are conditions under which enforcement is necessary and maybe the only option. There are a number of lessons learned from the past that were applied to Sierra Leone: the number of troops, a small rapid reaction capability, robust mandate. That was not enough to cope with the total breakdown that is taking place when one of the rebel factions has refused to disarm and then turned its weapons against the peacekeepers and took hundreds of them, in effect, hostages. Maybe in the future, effective rapid reaction back-up could be part of the basic planning, so that the Secretary-General does not have to go then to the governments and say, would you now give us the military force to deal with the problem that has developed.

Question: Wasn't the Security Council's analysis regarding Sankoh being sincere faulty?

Spokesman: What can we go on, except the signatures of the parties to a conflict, parties who say we are now ready to cooperate, would you help us?

Question: But violations continued.

Spokesman: The indications were that, although this was risky, these people were ready to make peace. We put in elements in the planning for some possible resistance, but not total resistance by one of these well-armed factions.

Question: How does the Secretary-General make that kind of analysis?

Spokesman: The Security Council makes the decision whether to go ahead with the peacekeeping mission. We do the nuts-and-bolts planning which we then present as a concept of operations, but we work pretty closely with Members of the Council in developing the plan. We have troop contributors all along in the planning process. We work very closely with Member States.

Question: How would the Secretary-General describe these major crises in Africa? And why was Bosnia not allowed to address the Security Council today?

Spokesman: You would have to ask the Council that. They had a meeting yesterday concerning the rules for today's meeting, and they decided it would be Members only. You would have to ask them about that decision. Regarding the implications of Sierra Leone for Africa, the Secretary-General has been saying for

a while that he is concerned about the impact on the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the willingness of troop contributors to enter into commitments there following the problems we have encountered in Sierra Leone. Everyone is looking to see whether this can be put back together again. We will just have to see what the longer term fallout is, once it is clear how this is going to end up.

Thank you very much.

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