DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon.

** Libya/Lockerbie Bombing Verdict

In Camp Zeist, the Netherlands, this morning, a three-judge Scottish court announced their verdicts in the case of two Libyan nationals on trial for the bombing of a Pan American flight over Lockerbie, Scotland, 12 years ago.

The judges unanimously found one suspect, Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, guilty of the crime, and also ruled unanimously that the other suspect, Al-Amin Khalifa Fhimah, was not guilty.

Following the judges' ruling, the Secretary-General issued a statement before leaving Stockholm, Sweden, which I'll just read to you.

"This is a solemn moment.  The court has reached a verdict in a case affecting hundreds of people who have lost their loved ones in the Lockerbie bombing more than 12 years ago.  Nothing can bring back the lives of the innocent victims.

"Justice has taken its course and the authority and legitimacy of the legal process must be respected.

"We must also remember that this trial, which was held in accordance with international standards of criminal justice, only became possible as a result of many years of strenuous efforts of the entire international community.

"I hope that with this verdict the process of healing can begin, and the relatives can move on with their lives."

Also at 11 this morning, as you know, the Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, Hans Corell, came here to brief you about this decision.

And, then, Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock of the United Kingdom said, just outside the Security Council Chamber a few minutes ago, that his delegation plans to raise the issue of Libya in the Security Council today, under other matters.

** Secretary-General's Schedule

The Secretary-General is in the air now between Stockholm and New York, expected to arrive mid-afternoon.  Before leaving Stockholm this morning, he met over breakfast with Javier Solana, the European Union's High Representative for Common, Foreign and Security Policy.  They discussed Middle East issues and the security situation in the Presevo Valley in southern Serbia, as well as United Nations-European Union relations generally.

** Security Council

The Security Council is holding closed consultations on a number of issues this morning.  First, they took up the draft resolutions extending the mandates of the United Nations Missions in East Timor and in Georgia, which expire today.  They then discussed the draft presidential statement on "strengthening cooperation with troop-contributing countries". 

Following that, Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury of Bangladesh, Chairman of the Working Group on general issues of sanctions, briefed Council members on the recent deliberations of that Working Group. 

The last item on today's consultations agenda is a discussion to wrap up the work of the Security Council during the month of January.  The Deputy Secretary-General will be in attendance.

At the end of the consultations, the Council is expected to go into formal session in order to adopt the draft resolutions on the United Nations Missions in East Timor and Georgia and a draft presidential statement on "strengthening cooperation with troop-contributing countries". 

** Kosovo

The latest reports from the United Nations Mission in Kosovo indicate that the situation in Mitrovica remains tense.

This afternoon, a crowd of Kosovo Albanians surrounded the Hotel Adriatic in southern Mitrovica, where French troops belonging to the Kosovo Force, or KFOR, are stationed.  Someone in the crowd threw a hand grenade that wounded six soldiers.  Another grenade was also thrown near United Nations Headquarters in southern Mitrovica, wounding three more KFOR troops and two gendarmes.

We have recently received word of another grenade attack in Mitrovica, resulting in injuries to nine French troops, bringing the total wounded today to 20.  In addition, seven Albanians are being treated for injuries from stun grenades.

Yesterday evening, French riot troops from KFOR used stun grenades and tear gas to disperse crowds of Kosovo Albanians who had gathered both to the north and the south of the bridge on the Ibar River, where there were about 1,000 demonstrators on the south side and some 200 on the north.

As I told you yesterday, some 53 personnel from the United Nations Mission remained in the United Nations Headquarters in southern Mitrovica until the crowd dispersed, which happened at about 9 p.m. last night.  All United Nations personnel then left the premises unharmed.  However, a dozen French KFOR soldiers were reported to have been slightly wounded during the riot, in which two armored cars belonging to KFOR were set on fire and the tires were slashed on five other United Nations vehicles.

We have some more details in today's press briefing notes from Pristina, which says that the United Nations cannot begin to implement any concrete measures in the face of a mob attacking peacekeeping soldiers, international police and civilians.

** Democratic Republic of the Congo

In a press conference given this morning in Kinshasa, Kamel Morjane, the Secretary-General's Special Representative in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), commended the current government and the other belligerents in the conflict for their handling of the political and military situation following the assassination of President Laurent-Desiré Kabila.  That had been a situation, he said, which could have led to more chaos in the country.

Morjane said that by coming to New York to speak to the Security Council and to meet with the Secretary-General, the new Congolese President is showing that he places more importance on dialogue than on military action.

The Special Representative added that he hoped this renewed diplomatic dialogue will "have a positive impact on the much-awaited deployment of United Nations military observers".  He added that the speed with which the United Nations mission fulfils its mandate depends on the level of cooperation it receives from the various parties in this conflict.

He also noted the expected visit to United Nations Headquarters by President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, and said that will be another opportunity to work on the disengagement of forces from the DRC and the deployment of United Nations peacekeepers.  Morjane is now heading to New York to be present during President Kabila's visit to the United Nations.

The full text, which is in French, is available in my Office.

** Sierra Leone

The Government of Sierra Leone has informed the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone that President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah has sent a letter to the Parliament requesting an extension of the term of office of his Government for six months.  The Government is asking to postpone presidential elections, which were due next month, and parliamentary elections, which were due in March, for six months due to the unfavorable security situation in the country.

** Afghanistan

More than 110 displaced persons, mainly children, the elderly and women, died in camps in Herat, Afghanistan, during the night of 29/30 January due to the extreme cold.  The temperature fell to minus 25 degrees centigrade, cold enough to freeze the engines of vehicles and hamper the movement of aid workers to the camps.  Conditions in the six camps, housing 80,000 persons, are poor, as there has been insufficient response to funding appeals, and the shortfall in shelter is so severe that 5,000 families are sharing 1,700 one-family tents.

Francesc Vendrell, the Secretary-General's Personal Representative for Afghanistan, has just concluded a visit to Afghanistan and Tajikistan.  He held meetings yesterday and today with President Emomali Rahmonov and Foreign Minister Talbal Nazarov of Tajikistan as part of regular consultations, and discussed recent developments in Afghanistan. 

On Monday, he met with the Foreign Minister of the Taliban, Wakil Mutawakkil, and last week he held meetings with President Burhanuddin Rabbani and the Vice President and Minister of Defence, Ahmad Shah, of Afghanistan.  They discussed Security Council sanctions against the Taliban and the situation of internally-displaced persons, including those stranded on the Panj River on the border with Tajikistan.  We have a note to correspondents for you with more information.

** Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations

In Paris this morning, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, delivered a speech on behalf of the Secretary-General at an international colloquium on Peacekeeping and Conflict Prevention.

In the speech, which is available in French in my Office, the Secretary-General said that even though peacekeeping receives more resources and more attention than any other department at the United Nations, "our means of action remain too weak and we are all too often helpless in our effort to maintain peace and security as is required by the United Nations Charter".

But using many of the recommendations found in reports on United Nations actions in Rwanda and Srebenica, in addition to the report of the Brahimi panel on Peacekeeping, the Secretary-General said the United Nations is now adopting a much more coordinated approach to peacekeeping and conflict prevention.

The Secretary-General's statement concluded by saying that in May of this year, he would present recommendations to the General Assembly to put in place a "practical and global strategy for conflict prevention".

** New Judge for ICTY

The Secretary-General has appointed Mohamed El Habib Fassi Fihri of Morocco as a permanent judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, replacing another Moroccan judge, Mohamed Bennouna, who had been serving on the Court.

Mr. Fassi Fihri's term will begin on March 1, and he will serve out the remainder of Justice Bennouna's term, which expires on 16 November.  The Secretary-General's letter to the President of the Security Council informing the Council of the appointment is out on the racks today, and we have a press release upstairs from the Yugoslavia Tribunal with biographical details about Mr. Fassi Fihri.

** Angola/UNITA

On the racks today is a letter from the Secretary-General to the President of the Security Council on the re-appointment of five experts to the monitoring mechanism established pursuant to Resolution 1295 (2000), concerning sanctions against Angola's UNITA rebels.  The Secretary-General has asked Ambassador Juan Larrain of Chile to continue as the Chair of the monitoring mechanism, the mandate of which was extended by the Security Council until 19 April.

I would also like to inform you that Ambassador Larrain will be one of the speakers at a briefing for non-governmental organizations tomorrow from 10:30 to 11:30 in the Dag Hammarskjöld Auditorium, on "The Role of Blood Diamonds in Fueling Conflicts in Africa".  The other speakers include Ambassador Stewart Eldon of the United Kingdom and Eli Izhakoff, chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the World Diamond Council.  And all correspondents are invited to that briefing.

** Budget

We got one more payment today, this one from the Netherlands, which became the thirty-seventh Member State to be paid in full for its regular budget dues for this year.  And, that was with a check for more than $18 million, probably an electronic transfer rather than a check -- but more than $18 million. 

We are now lagging behind last year, when, on this date, we had 43 Member States paid in full.  But, we do have a few extra days this year; the deadline has been extended for 3 February because the notices to Member States were a bit late in getting out. 

** Press Conference

And, finally, there will be a press conference this afternoon:  Ambassador Kamalesh Sharma of India will be joined by Will Polk Carey of the W.P. Carey Foundation at 4 p.m. to discuss aid to India following the recent earthquake.

Questions and Answers

Question:  Concerning the total of those who froze to death in the camps, in what area were they and under what restriction -- the Taliban or others -- and how many were there?

Spokesman:  The numbers are unclear.  We said at least 110.  Some of the indications we have been receiving is that it could get much higher.  But, the report we have is more than 110, and these are in six camps around Herat.  I don't want to get into who controls what territory.  [For the record, Herat is controlled by the Taliban.]

Question:  Concerning the Security Council meeting today, is it only on Libya or other countries, as well?

Spokesman:  The decision by the United Kingdom to ask to brief the Council on the Lockerbie decision was under "other matters".  That was a last-minute addition, and I gave you the rest of the programme for today.

Question:  So the United Kingdom was just going to brief the Council on the verdict as opposed to raising any other issues relating to Libya?

Spokesman:  I don't know exactly what they want to brief the Council on.  They said, on the verdict.  How far beyond that they'll go, I'm not sure.  The Ambassador, that is Ambassador Greenstock, did take quite a few questions from journalists, about what happens next, outside the Council Chamber before he went in.  Whether that was indicative of what he intends to tell the Council or not, I can't say.

Question:  Also, concerning Friday's visits by the Presidents of Rwanda and Congo, is there an agenda yet for the Rwandan President?

Spokesman:  I think you better ask the Rwandan Mission that.  I can check the Secretary-General's agenda.  I believe his appointment with Joseph Kabila is for around mid-day, and I don't, in fact, know whether President Kagame is on the Secretary-General's agenda for Friday.  I can try to find that out for you.

Question:  Do you know if, after their meeting, either or both President Kabila and the Secretary-General will be available to the press?

Spokesman:  What we can do, what we usually do, is notify these visitors that the press here is interested in talking to them and point them in the direction of the second floor microphone.  Whether they go or not will be up to them. 

Thank you very much.

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