DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
20000511The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
Good afternoon. I think you all recognize Olara Otunnu, who is the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict. He visited Sierra Leone just one week ago, and he'll be happy to talk to you about that in a minute.
**Sierra Leone
Meanwhile in Sierra Leone, the United Nations is beefing up its mission in that country.
Two Jordanian parachute companies, numbering 240 soldiers supported by a 31-strong medical unit, are expected to fly to Lungi airport in Sierra Leone within 48 hours. The remainder of the Jordanian battalion is expected to be ready to be deployed by the end of this month.
A second Indian battalion is now ready for deployment. We expect them to start moving on Monday. The Indians have also offered one mechanized unit, one special forces unit, and one attack helicopter unit.
The Bangladeshi battalion is also expected to be deployed next week.
The airlifts are being arranged with the assistance of Canada, Netherlands, Russia and the United States. Supplies are also on their way as part of efforts to reinforce the mission.
We are recalling back to Sierra Leone some of the civilian and humanitarian staff that were relocated to Banjul, Gambia, and Conakry, Guinea, in light of the new requirements. Exact numbers are not yet available.
On the humanitarian front, the World Food Programme (WFP)and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) are again travelling to Waterloo to get a better fix on the numbers of people on the move and their requirements.
The mission yesterday reported the estimated local population in settlements along the road to Waterloo to be about 20,000, with another 10,000- 20,000 in Waterloo town centre. There are also reports of population movements towards Freetown.
The only people who are able to move towards Freetown are the groups from the Waterloo area; populations further out at Masiaka and Rogberi are not able to move past Revolutionary United Front (RUF) positions and are presumed to have been dispersed into the bush, according to the mission.
In Freetown, we believe some of the newly arrived have moved in with friends and family.
Daily Press Briefing - 2 - 11 May 2000
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that the number of new refugees in Guinea is 326.
The WFP said that, in the southern region, it continues to provide food to children, and that it will proceed with food deliveries to those already registered in the camps or holding registration cards from Waterloo camp or Grafton. The WFP-chartered vessel "Salvator II" has arrived off Freetown and is now available to support humanitarian operations in the country.
Here at Headquarters, the Security Council decided to hold an open debate on Sierra Leone at 8 p.m. tonight at the request of the African Group. The Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Bernard Miyet, is returning to New York from Sierra Leone later today and has been invited to attend the Council's session this evening.
The Secretary-General, in response to questions about Sierra Leone as he entered the Building this morning, said if the international community were to fail the Sierra Leoneans and to fail in Sierra Leone, the impact on broader efforts by the international community on the African continent would be very serious.
**Cyprus
We have this statement, attributable to the Spokesman, on the postponement of proximity talks on Cyprus.
In light of the time required for the recovery of Glafkos Clerides following his recent surgery, the proximity talks on Cyprus scheduled for 23 May have been postponed. This was discussed yesterday by Alvaro de Soto, the Special Representative, with representatives of the parties. The United Nations hopes to discuss dates and location for the resumption of the talks shortly.
**UNAIDS
This morning in Geneva, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) announced that a dialogue had begun between several United Nations agencies and five major pharmaceutical companies to make care and treatment for AIDS more accessible and affordable in developing countries.
Each of the five companies -- Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Glaxo Wellcome, Merck & Co., Inc., and F. Hoffmann-La Roche -- has indicated a willingness to broaden access to care and treatment for HIV/AIDS. United Nations organizations involved in discussions with those companies, in addition to the UNAIDS programme, have included the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank, UNICEF and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
These discussions followed the call by the Secretary-General to the private sector to engage in partnerships to respond to the AIDS crisis and to support the International Partnership against HIV/AIDS in Africa.
On entering the Building today, the Secretary-General said that "the fact that drugs will be available is a positive and really strong indication to the patients that they are not being abandoned". But, he added, "Let's not kid ourselves -- the drugs alone will not do it", noting that health systems, delivery capabilities and follow-up activities also need to be improved. We have a press release from UNAIDS in my Office with more details.
**Security Council
This morning, following its consultations on Sierra Leone and subsequent decision to hold an open debate on that subject at 8 oclock tonight, the Security Council went into two formal meetings -- the first on Georgia, and then the second on Kosovo.
On Georgia, the Council issued a presidential statement -- we have a copy available upstairs -- expressing "deep concern" over the continued failure of the parties to reach a comprehensive political settlement of the Abkhazia dispute, but noting that the situation remains "generally calm, although unstable".
Council members are now engaged in an open debate on Kosovo, which discussed the trip at the end of April by an eight-member Council delegation led by Ambassador Anwarul Karim Chowdhury of Bangladesh, who opened today's debate.
In the afternoon, starting at 4, the Council will discuss another recent Council mission -- this one led by Ambassador Richard Holbrooke of the United States -- which yesterday wrapped up a week-long series of trips, first to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its neighbours, and then to the Horn of Africa: Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Today, Ambassador Jean-David Levitte of France will discuss in closed consultations the seven-member mission's trip to the Horn of Africa, in which the team made two visits each to the capitals of Eritrea and Ethiopia.
And then tomorrow, Ambassador Arnold Peter van Walsum of the Netherlands will brief the Council on the mission's trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the surrounding region.
**Women 2000
The English-language press kits for the General Assembly special session "Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the Twenty-first Century", which will take place from 5 to 9 June, are available at the press documents counter.
**Biodiversity
Concerning biodiversity, the Fifth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity will take place from 15 to 26 May, at the headquarters of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi, Kenya. The treaty's 177 parties will examine the progress made in addressing today's unprecedented threats to the Earth's plants and animal species, their genetic make-up and the habitats they live in.
We have a press kit in English, French and Spanish.
**Press Conferences
And then at tomorrow's noon briefing, our guest will be Ambassador Abdallah Baali of Algeria, who is the President of the 2000 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), to update you on that NPT Conference.
Also tomorrow, at 2 p.m., Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, the South African Minister for Public Service and Administration, and Guido Bertucci, Director of the Division for Public Economics and Public Administration of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, will talk about the Draft Charter for Public Service in Africa, which is being presented today to the fifteenth Meeting of Experts on the United Nations Programme on Public Administration and Finance.
At 2:45 p.m. tomorrow, the Canadian Mission is sponsoring a press conference with Mats Berdal and David Malone, co-authors of "Greed and Grievance: Economic Agendas in Civil Wars", which is a project of the International Peace Academy.
That's all I have for you.
**Questions and Answers
Question: There seems to be some confusion about the United Nations commitment in Sierra Leone. Yesterday, the Secretary-General vowed to check any efforts by the RUF to go into the capital. You said that the Organization was going to defend the Government and also prevent the RUF from going into Freetown. Other senior United Nations officials are vaguely saying in private that the Mission is there to stabilize the situation and that its mandate only allows it to defend itself. But they are also talking about actually putting up a fight. In the field, the Jordanians reportedly refused a request by the Sierra Leone Army (SLA) to help them with the fighting in Waterloo, yet the Nigerians are fighting. What is the United Nations willing to do? Also, are the Nigerians, who seem to be the only ones fighting, operating under their own mandate while everybody else is operating under a less robust one?
Spokesman: There should not be any confusion. Just read the resolution. The mandate gives the Mission the authority to use enforcement power to defend itself, the Government and the people of Sierra Leone within its resource capacities. We are beefing up the Mission and are sending in more troops and more supplies. Our posture is to be in a better position to carry out the most robust elements of the mandate as already authorized. We have to be careful when fighting alongside elements there that we went to disarm. Now, it is true that the SLA has rearmed itself, actually with our permission, in order to deal with the actions taken by the RUF. So it does not surprise me if it is true that one of our units declined to fight alongside the SLA.
Question: The Nigerians have been fighting for some time and everybody else is declining. Are they operating under their own mandate?
Spokesman: We were fighting last night. When they fire on us, we fire back. It is not just the Nigerians. Whoever is fired on fires back.
Question: Who else has been engaged in combat?
Spokesman: As I said yesterday, we will not be getting into these kinds of details. Nevertheless, there were two separate attacks last night on United Nations positions. We fired back and repelled the attackers. So I do not think that there are units who are behaving in a way that others are not. I believe that everyone has a mandate to fight back when attacked. Collectively, we have quite a robust mandate. As I said at the beginning, we are trying to get into a better position in terms of our numbers and our equipment.
Question: You said that you had permitted the SLA to rearm. Does that mean that you have opened up the demobilization, disarmament and reintegration (DDR) sites and are giving them their weapons back?
Spokesman: There was an understanding between the Force Commander and the SLA that they could rearm to deal with the RUF.
Question: Could you comment on the status of the battalions and the military observer teams that are positioned in southern Sierra Leone? Have they been deployed, moved up north, or are they still proceeding with their operations?
Spokesman: I would have to see whether we would give out that kind of information. We have said that generally we are trying to consolidate and bring in smaller units to form bigger units for more effective defence. As you know, it has been quiet in the south. We do not have any reports of attacks against our units there.
Question: Does that mean that you are continuing with the DDR programme down there?
Spokesman: There continue to be disarmament camps with weapons that have been collected and people who have turned themselves in to be demobilized. I would have to check on the status of those in the south and whether we are saying anything about it. So if you check with me after the briefing, we will see what we can say.
Question: How do the military observers play into the whole scheme of the Mission at this point? There were 259 of them: have they now been turned back into combat officers or are they still unarmed? It is also understood that one of the hostages is a military observer.
Spokesman: The military observers by definition are unarmed and usually travel around the Mission area in jeeps and in teams of two to observe and to report back. They are still doing that wherever they can still circulate safely on the roads. A special unit of them has been set up at Headquarters to synthesize all the information coming in from the field and to report to this Headquarters in what has been described as a drip basis. In other words, throughout the day, bits of information are being submitted by these observers. They are senior officers, as opposed to the rank-and-file infantry, and they are carrying out their tasks to the extent they can.
Question: You had said that the peacekeepers were configured in such a way that it made it difficult for them to fight the RUF troops when they made their offensive. Are those troops being reconfigured now so that they will be better equipped to take on the RUF, should they invade the capital?
Spokesman: I cannot get into the details of what we are doing except to say that we are reconfiguring to be in a stronger defensive position. We are moving in new troops and equipment to be better prepared to carry out the robust mandate that has been given to us. Question: What is the current status of the 500 hostages?
Spokesman: We have nothing new on that, apart from a telephone call that the Secretary-General received from President Charles Taylor of Liberia, who, at the meeting held in Abuja, Nigeria, earlier this week, had been tasked with getting involved personally to try and arrange for the release of the hostages. I cannot go into the details of that conversation.
Question: Can you tell us how many of the hostages are military, how many are civilian, and where they are?
Spokesman: They are virtually all military and most of them Zambian -- two units of over 200 each. I think we have already said that we have traced one unit to the eastern part of the country in an RUF stronghold called Koidu. The second group of 200 plus, we still have not been able to contact. We do not know where they are. There was a single soldier released today. I believe he was a Nepalese military observer, who was ill and needed treatment. Just as I was coming down here, we received word on that from David Wimhurst of my Office. It is in writing and you can pick it up upstairs after the briefing.
Question: Is President Taylor still the point man on the hostage issue?
Spokesman: The West African nations who met in Abuja asked him to take on this responsibility, and from today's phone call the indications are that he is taking it seriously.
Question: Can you confirm that all subsequent reinforcement troops who arrive in Sierra Leone will be folded into a unified United Nations command structure?
Spokesman: We are bringing in troops now that have already been committed to the United Nations force. They are coming in as blue helmets under the Organization's Force Commander. There are additional troop offers coming in now, that if accepted would take us over the authorized limit for the force. But I am not in a position now to discuss that element further.
Question: Do you have a readout on the Secretary-General's 11 a.m. meeting with the Ambassadors of Sierra Leone, Botswana, Senegal, etc.?
Spokesman: No. That is a select party from the African Group who asked to meet the Secretary-General. I am sure the subject was Sierra Leone, but I do not know if we will be able to get a readout. We will try.
Question: Is there anything that you can tell us about the kind of British assistance being given to the peacekeepers in Sierra Leone? Also, do you have any information about the RUF recovering any of the arms that they gave up, or have you been able to deny those arms to them in any way?
Spokesman: I have no information on British assistance. You want to know if the 800 British troops in Sierra Leone are helping the peacekeepers to move around?
Question: Well, are they providing helicopter assistance and things like that?
Spokesman: I do not have any information on that.
There is, however, a correction I would like to make to something I said at the very beginning of this week. I was asked whether the armoured personnel carriers (APCs) that we had, a number of which have been taken by the RUF, had weapons mounted on them, and at the time I said no. In fact, they are equipped with heavy machine guns. So that does alter the strategic equation.
As for arms that were turned in by the RUF, there was one incident where a store of weapons that had been collected was overrun by the RUF during a fight between them and either another rebel faction or government troops. I am, however, a little confused about this. But we do believe that a number of those weapons did fall into RUF hands.
Question: Were some of the weapons destroyed?
Spokesman: When the fighting broke out at this place, where there was a storage of weapons, we were looking at a way to try to blow them up before they were taken, but we were not successful.
Question: Do you have any indication of what is expected to come out of the Council meeting tonight?
Spokesman: You would have to ask the African Group why they called the meeting. It could have been timed to permit Bernard Miyet to attend, but I can't tell you for sure.
Question: Is the Secretary-General following the debate in Parliament in London today about the role the paratroopers will play?
Spokesman: I am not sure he is, but I am sure his political advisers are.
Question: Does the Secretary-General have an appointment set with Bernard Miyet for today?
Spokesman: Nothing definite, but I'm sure they will talk as soon as Mr. Miyet gets back into the Building, assuming he does get back to attend this Council meeting.
Question: There are nations in the Council who want a stronger mandate. Does the Secretary-General believe that the resolution is enough for the people in the field?
Spokesman: The Secretary-General has described the mandate as "robust". If you read the language [of the resolution], you'll see that it does authorize enforcement, as I have already mentioned. It has Chapter VII elements within our capacity. You may not have to change the mandate so much as improve the capacity. I think there is a lot of room in the mandate as it is for robust action, but it is a matter for the Council to decide whether they want to make it even more robust.
Question: Is there any update on the whereabouts of Foday Sankoh?
Spokesman: We are still looking for him. There are rumours, but nothing firm. Question: Is there any truth to the rumours that he might be in Liberia?
Spokesman: I have nothing firm.
Question: Has he been taken by the Nigerians?
Spokesman: Not to my knowledge.
Question: What kind of contact are you having with RUF commanders other than Sankoh, if you can't track him down?
Spokesman: I can't talk about that.
Question: Were the peacekeepers who were wounded today hostages? Did some of them break out?
Spokesman: There was a break-out incident that the Mission confirmed today. I think it happened yesterday, I'd have to look. It involved the Indian rapid reaction unit. These were not counted, though, among the hostages. They were United Nations units whose movement was curtailed by the positioning of RUF elements. In addition to the Indian unit, there were a number of Kenyan units. There was a successful break-out: there were a number of Kenyan casualties. One of the Kenyan units went in a different direction and travelled at night. They came across government troops who did not recognize them. There was some friendly fire and casualties suffered by the Kenyans.
Question: They thought they were rebels wearing United Nations uniforms, is that correct?
Spokesman: I don't know whether they could even see the uniforms in the dark.
Question: Were they identified? Were they wearing blue helmets or patches?
Spokesman: I don't have those details. We have to ask the field.
Question: Is it possible for Mr. Miyet to brief here or at the stake-out?
Spokesman: Yes.
Question: Do you have any casualty statistics at the moment?
Spokesman: We keep asking for them, but so far they have not given us anything firm that we can report. We are still hoping to get regular reports. I think they were burned at the outset with numbers that were too high, and they are looking to get very firm information before they pass it on to us.
Question: Are there any names of the RUF commanders that were killed in Sankoh's house?
Spokesman: I don't know that our Mission would have that information. I haven't seen it. And even if we had it, I am not sure if it would be for us to give out.
Question: Is there an increase in rebel supporters or government militia supporters crossing the border back into the area?
Spokesman: There are some indications of RUF elements crossing over from Liberia into the Kenema area.
Question: What about the idea of a West African Kenema force. Is there concern from the United Nations point of view that this might complicate matters by bringing in another force operating under a separate command structure? Are there questions about the readiness of the Nigerians to carry off a substantial intervention?
Spokesman: I don't think we are ready at this hour to go public with our views. This debate on the nature of the mandate, whether it should be more robust or not, has just gotten under way in the Council yesterday. A separate force, a non-United Nations force, operating alongside the United Nations force has been talked about since Abuja. Presumably, that, too, has been discussed in the Council. The Secretary-General will be asked for his views, and until he gives those views to the Council, I can't say anything about it.
Question: What is the time frame of the Secretary-General's views?
Spokesman: Let's see. There was talk of his latest report. Yesterday, it was said that it would be out shortly, indicating a matter of hours. But, in fact, what they meant by shortly was apparently after Bernard Miyet returns from the field. I am not sure how quickly that report will come out, whether it will come out tomorrow or over the weekend. I assume that all these things will happen together: the more intense Security Council consideration and the fuller, more formal reporting by the Secretariat. That could start today, but through tomorrow certainly.
Question: Are you comfortable that the additional troops getting in will be enough to blunt a major rebel move against the capital?
Spokesman: Our reconnaissance flights do not show the RUF in an organized position ready to pounce on Freetown. There are these skirmishes, often involving our own troops, but also involving government troops. The tension in Freetown has reduced somewhat, and, of course, in the meantime we get stronger every day. We have not given up on the political initiatives started in Abuja. Are we comfortable? No, we are coping.
Question: Did Sankoh and his forces go too far, or is the United Nations at this point seeking to bring them back into the process?
Spokesman: I can't answer that question. Clearly, the action he has taken against the peacekeepers is so contrary to the Peace Agreement, it is hard to say that he is still part of the peace efforts. He is the main obstacle to the peace efforts. Whether it is too late for him to turn around, I don't want to say.
Question: Is Sankoh still seen as being in complete control of his commanders?
Spokesman: That is an intelligence assessment, and I don't want to get into it. Sorry.
Question: Are there still requests being made to countries like the United States to give troops, and what would the ideal package from the United States be?
Spokesman: The United States has made clear that it will not commit troops. We accept that as a given. The Secretary-General continues to say that he feels that a rapid reaction force, made up of well-trained, well-equipped troops, would be desirable. He has left that on the table. We still have no offers of such troops, except for the talk by the West Africans of possibly organizing an African-led rapid reaction force, which would have to be equipped and transported. That is where we are.
Question: Is the Secretary-General continuing to appeal to Britain to back up a rapid reaction force with air porwer?
Spokesman: He [the Secretary-General] has not gone public with any of the details of his exchanges with specific governments. He has just made it clear that he thinks a credible military fighting force, in the form of a rapid reaction unit, would be helpful.
Question: Are the three new battalions coming in sufficiently trained and armed to do battle with the RUF? Is it enough?
Spokesman: It is a strengthening of the force. Whether it is enough is a military assessment. But we are not going in there to fight the RUF. We are going in there to try to stabilize the situation so that the peace process can get back under way. Clearly, the more military muscle you have, the more credibility you have, and the more deterrent effect you can have. I think that is what we are seeking.
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