US Department of State Daily Briefing #37:
Thursday, 3/7/91
Boucher
Source: State Department Deputy Spokesman Richard
Boucher
Description: 12:50 PM, Washington, DC
Date: Mar 7, 19913/7/91
Category: Briefings
Region: MidEast/North Africa, Central America, Eurasia,
Caribbean
Country: Israel, Iraq, Kuwait, El Salvador, Albania,
Cuba
Subject: Arms Control, Military Affairs, Human Rights,
Democratization, United Nations, Terrorism,
Regional/Civil Unrest, POW/MIA Issues
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)
MR. BOUCHER: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
It's a pleasure to be here. I'm sorry I'm late. I'm slipping
back into my old habits.
[Announcement: Background Briefing on Chemical Weapons
Export Controls]
Yesterday we talked about the Enhanced Proliferation
Initiative. The White House put out the detail this morning,
and I think we've already put up a notice that we'll have a
BACKGROUND briefing for you here this afternoon. That will be
3:30 in the briefing room.
Q Would you take one question on that?
Q He can try.
MR. BOUCHER: If I can answer. I don't know.
Q The regulations -- the fact sheets put out by the
White House mention only regions, not countries. Can you tell
us if Israel and Egypt are concerned with this control?
MR. BOUCHER: The regions include countries. I mean,
the countries in the region are covered by the region, so all
the countries in the region will be covered. But I'll let the
briefers this afternoon go into more detail as to how people who
are getting licenses for different countries know what to submit
and what not.
Q Is that your only announcement?
MR. BOUCHER: O.K. That's my only announcement. I
thought I'd do updates on two questions we've been discussing.
One is the unrest in Iraq, and the other is the "rest" in Kuwait
City.
[Iraq: Update on Unrest]
On the unrest in Iraq, the situation remains fluid.
It's essentially unchanged from the way we've described it
before. We do continue to receive numerous reports of civil
unrest inside Iraq. I should emphasize that our information on
these developments is somewhat limited. But, as I said, the
situation remains essentially unchanged.
We would characterize it as fighting between government
forces and dissidents, which is occurring in a number of cities,
towns and other outlying areas. As before, most of the unrest
appears to be in southern Iraq, with the key areas of fighting
being around the holy cities. And there is also some fighting
occurring in the Kurdish north.
Q Do you have a list?
MR. BOUCHER: No. I don't have a list.
Q What do you have on the missing journalists? Any
independent confirmation --
[Kuwait: Update]
MR. BOUCHER: Let me go through the situation in Kuwait
City, and then we'll deal with the other stuff.
I talked to the Ambassador in Kuwait City, Skip Gnehm,
this morning, and we talked about some of the reports that have
been coming out here and coming back here about the situation in
Kuwait. And I'd like to share with you the way that he
described to me what he's seen today, and what his Embassy
officers are seeing.
The Embassy has people out on the streets. They've had
people walking around the Palestinian neighborhoods. They tell
me that the water is now on in those neighborhoods, as it is
throughout the city. We also understand that some of the street
lights may be coming on very shortly. The shops are opening.
The markets are full.
The Embassy officers, when they go out, they talk to
people. They talk to groups of people. This comes to several
hundred people in the Palestinian neighborhoods -- key
Palestinian neighborhoods -- over the last day or two. And none
of these people had any stories to tell us of problems or
incidents which had occurred to them in the last 24 or 48 hours.
In previous days, before about Tuesday, there had been only a
few incidents reported.
In addition to the regular Embassy people, you're aware
of the 352nd Civil Affairs Command in Kuwait that's helping work
with the Kuwaitis to restore city services and get things going
again. Those people, incidentally, have had daily contact with
all the major medical facilities in Kuwait, and they report as
well that they have been advised in those visits to the hospital
of no killings or serious injuries to Palestinians which might
have occurred.
So basically, the bottom line is this: That our
Embassy is in touch with people, both private and official
people, in Kuwait City. They've been out and about the city,
and the situation is generally calm. City services are being
restored.
And with that, I'd be happy to take your questions.
Q On the journalists --
[Iraq: Efforts to Locate Missing Journalists]
MR. BOUCHER: O.K. On the journalists. Iraqi
Ambassador al-Anbari told Ambassador Pickering in New York last
night that he had spoken to his government in Baghdad. At that
time he said that Baghdad had no information about the
journalists. He also said that the authorities in Baghdad did
promise to pass on immediately any information that they could
get on the journalists. I'm not aware of any other specific
response to the messages that we sent out through the three
different channels, inquiring about the journalists.
Now, I think the ICRC representative out at Safwan this
morning was speaking on television after his meeting there with
the Iraqi authorities, so we know that he said he has plans to
go and get 20 journalists as well as I think it was 2,000
Kuwaiti citizens tomorrow. We're certainly hopeful that those
plans can be worked out, and we really look forward to having
these people back with us soon.
We don't have detailed information at this point from
the ICRC on that meeting, and we're looking to get that. We
also understand that two of the journalists who had been
reported missing had been found. Pete Williams just reported
that they were CBS journalists, and he had the names, but I
don't.
We have remained in very close contact with the ICRC in
Geneva, and our Embassy has been following the situation very
closely in Kuwait. As I said, we hope to get details from the
ICRC about this meeting at Safwan today. There was also the
meeting in Riyadh today between U.S. and Iraqi military
authorities. And again at this point I don't have any readout
of what might have come out of that meeting as far as Kuwaiti
citizens being released or journalists being released, but we
look forward to getting any news out of there that might pertain
to the journalists.
Q Are you saying they do have independent
confirmation of the journalists being released?
MR. BOUCHER: No. We don't.
Q You do not.
MR. BOUCHER: We don't. At this point we don't have
detailed information either from the ICRC on that meeting at
Safwan, nor do we have a readout of what happened in Riyadh.
Q Richard, you don't have detailed information. Do
you have enough details to say -- did the ICRC say whether these
20 journalists and 2,000 Kuwaitis are being held by Iraqi
authorities or by some other entity in Iraq?
MR. BOUCHER: No. I did try to make clear. We don't
have confirmation of what happened, and what the details -- you
know, of the basic facts nor the details of those meetings. We
have seen the guy on TV just as you have. I don't have any
additional information to that. I don't think the ICRC has
received any yet from their representatives who were at a very
remote location when they spoke to the television reporters.
[Iraq: War Crimes]
Q Can you update the U.S. position on possible war
crimes trials for Saddam Hussein and other Iraqi leaders,
especially in light of the information you must have now from
released POWs and other people who were listed as MIA.
MR. BOUCHER: There's not much to update, really.
You're aware of what the President has said. He said again last
night that people who committed crimes need to be held
accountable. We have been engaged all along in a process of
collecting information. That process has been centered at the
Pentagon. They have an office that does this. We've also been
collecting what information we can get on the atrocities that
have occurred and, obviously, there's more information being
made available now that Kuwait is free and people can go in and
talk and investigate things.
But as far as decisions on mechanisms or anything like
that, no, we don't have any update on that. And the Secretary,
we expect, will be exploring some of these issues during the
course of his trip.
Q But based on the information you're getting from
Americans who have been released by the Iraqis, is there any
more reason now than there was before to pursue that avenue, or
is there less reason based on their treatment by the Iraqis?
MR. BOUCHER: Again, that would imply that we had an
indication of what decisions will have to be made. There were
clearly many atrocities committed by the Iraqis in Kuwait. The
military has discussed how they are looking at prisoners,
running name checks, and things like that, to find out if we can
find any individuals who were responsible for that.
As far as more general questions of war crimes, really
I can't lead you one way or the other as to what specific
charges there might be or how we can pursue it, because those
decisions have to be made on the basis of the information once
the information has been carefully collected, and that's what's
going on now.
Q How would we hold Saddam accountable, though,
since we are not making any move to remove him from power, and
presumably we can't get to him? How would we hold him
accountable?
MR. BOUCHER: At this point, those are the kinds of
things that need to be discussed and decisions that have to be
made.
Q Richard, there are some accounts that some of the
unrest may have spread to Baghdad. Do you have anything on that
at all?
MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't. The situation is fluid. I
said yesterday that in some places the government appears to be
in control, and then there are other incidents and unrest that
arise. I don't really have anything on specific cities today
that could characterize it, so I can't give you a rundown on
Baghdad.
Q Any meetings between members of the opposition who
are here and State Department officials in the last 24 or 48
hours?
MR. BOUCHER: Who do you mean, "the opposition"?
Q The opposition to Saddam Hussein.
MR. BOUCHER: Not that I'm aware of. I'll check to
make sure.
Q Do you have any indication that Kurdish leader
Barzani has joined the fighting in the north?
MR. BOUCHER: I hadn't followed things in that degree
of detail. I just don't know.
Q Richard, you haven't got a list of cities for
today. Are you saying that things remain very much the same as
they did yesterday in the same places?
MR. BOUCHER: I said essentially unchanged. I can't
say that there's not a few more or a few less. The situation is
fluid. Things happen in different cities at different times,
and it's just hard to pin down.
Q What about Basra?
MR. BOUCHER: Again, I'm not in a position to
characterize specific cities today.
Q Because there are reports this morning -- as you
probably know, there are some reports this morning that it is in
control of pro-Saddam forces.
MR. BOUCHER: Again, I think on Basra or any other
specific city, I think I have to leave it with what we've said
before but noting that the situation is fluid and it's never
totally one way or the other.
Q Could I just follow up on your discussion of
Kuwait?
MR. BOUCHER: Yes.
Q You mentioned that the Embassy knew of no
incidents of killing or injury of Palestinians in the last 24 to
48 hours, but I thought I heard you saying that there had been
incidents before that. Does the Embassy know of incidents
before that, and what incidents are they?
MR. BOUCHER: The specific ones that I was told about
were three incidents of harassment of Palestinians.
Let's see if I have any more precise definition than
that.
The Embassy was informed of three instances of
Palestinians being mistreated. This is in earlier interviews
with people in the predominantly Palestinian Hawali
neighborhood. I'm told that was before Tuesday. They were
unable to confirm any deaths by execution or, you know, any
killings of Palestinians during the course of these interviews.
Q There was an OpEd piece in The Post today which
reproaches the Administration for not receiving several Kurds
who were in town last week. What was your reason for not
receiving them?
MR. BOUCHER: The reasons were the ones that we put up
in the statement several days ago. I can give you a copy of
that.
Q O.K.
Q Richard, regarding Basra, is it your understanding
that that's where the ICRC will be going to get the 2,000
Kuwaitis and the journalists?
MR. BOUCHER: Again, I don't know. We don't have the
official confirmation or any of the details from the ICRC. At
this point we just have what the representative said on
television.
Q The President said in his speech last night that
he wants to bring the Arab-Israeli conflict to an end. Do we
have some new ideas there or do we feel that the situation is
ripe for change? What are your thoughts on that?
MR. BOUCHER: Pat, I think I have to leave it -- as the
Secretary departs for this trip, in which he's going to explore
the possibilities, the opportunities, and leave it with what the
Secretary has said before -- that he'll be exploring along two
tracks: One is of direct Israeli contacts or negotiations with
Arab states, and the other is the Israeli-Palestinian dialogue.
And he'll be going out to explore in the region the willingness
to seek a real peace, and we'll see what he can do under the
mandate the President gave him last night and that he has for
this trip.
Q Richard, can I follow up on that?
MR. BOUCHER: Yes.
Q The White House expressed some measure of optimism
about the climate. I wonder if you have anything to say about
that.
MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't particularly. I think those
kind of questions about optimism are best addressed to the
Secretary on his journey.
Q Just to the reports French television are carrying
that Baker is, in fact, taking with him a new peace plan for
Israel, which will include, once again, elections of the
Palestinians and things based along such lines. I mean does he
have it?
MR. BOUCHER: Again, that's --
Q He says he hasn't got a new plan.
MR. BOUCHER: That's the kind of question that has to
be addressed to the Secretary that I can't do from here.
Q Richard, in that connection, what with the
ushering in of the New World Order to be based on international
law, I was wondering if the United States was now going to take
a new look at the settlements issue and to try to determine if
and whether and what international law had to say about the
settlements in the West Bank and Gaza. Could you look into
that?
MR. BOUCHER: I'm not aware of any efforts to do that.
As you know, we've stated our policy on settlements many, many
times; and that remains unchanged.
Q That it's an obstacle to peace.
MR. BOUCHER: That's right.
Q But international law has nothing to say about it
then?
MR. BOUCHER: Again, I'll leave it with the things
we've said previously. I'm not aware of any effort to look at
that question again.
Q Richard, the Secretary said, before he left, that
he wasn't taking a new plan. You're now saying, "Leave it to
the Secretary." So you're opening up sort of an area of
ambiguity. I mean does that mean that there is a new plan --
MR. BOUCHER: The Secretary said --
Q -- you just haven't announced it?
MR. BOUCHER: The Secretary said he did not have a
blueprint.
Q Right.
MR. BOUCHER: That remains the state of affairs as he
got on the airplane this morning, as far as I am aware. If one
wants to ask him, during the course of his trip or his thinking
since he last spoke, if he has developed anything, then one
should ask him; but I'm not aware of any change.
I'm not trying to change anything that he said
previously.
Q Going back to the MIA issue, if I may. Does the
United States believe it now has a full accounting of all the
people who are listed as either POW or MIA in the Gulf war?
MR. BOUCHER: That's a question you have to address to
the Pentagon.
Q The reason I addressed it to you was that, in the
past, officials from President Bush down have said that the war
wouldn't be over until every American who is listed as MIA was
accounted for. It seems that last night President Bush declared
the war was over, so I thought that it's reasonable then to ask
the question whether the United States has a full accounting
since.
MR. BOUCHER: I'll agree it's --
Q He's now saying it's over.
MR. BOUCHER: -- reasonable to ask the question, and I
think it's much more reasonable to ask over at the Pentagon than
it is to ask me here, since they're the ones that keep track of
POWs.
Q Richard, the President last night said he wanted
to pursue the land for peace settlement process, and already
today the Foreign Minister of Israel has said they disagree with
that approach -- have said if Israel is under too much pressure
that, I think the quote was, "could drive peace away."
Do we have any indication that Israel has changed its
positions at all, that it's willing to negotiate?
MR. BOUCHER: I really think I have to leave that kind
of question to the Secretary during the course of his meetings.
We have stated these principles that guide U.S. policy on Middle
East peace before. The President talked about elaborating on
them and working things out, and that's what the Secretary is
going out to do. And so I really have to leave it to him -- and
to the Israeli government, of course, to express their own
views.
[Albania: Situation Update]
Q Richard, I have a question on a different area.
We saw your statement yesterday on Albania and I'm wondering if
there's any update on that situation?
MR. BOUCHER: A little bit of update on what's going on
inside.
Large numbers of refugees have left Albania or have
sought to enter foreign embassies in order to find a way to
leave the country.
We do not know whether Albanians are occupying any
embassies.
And the information received so far does not indicate
that the police might have used deadly force to disperse crowds
in Tirana or in other cities. Again, we have no reports of
casualties, although Albanian security forces may be blocking
citizens from reaching foreign embassies. Our view is the one
which we have repeatedly stated, and that's that Albanian
authorities should guarantee respect for basic human rights,
they should exercise restraint, and they should refrain from the
use of violence in responding to the present situation.
Q Do you have any opinion on -- Italy, apparently,
doesn't really want these people coming in there. Any view on
that situation.
MR. BOUCHER: I hadn't seen the Italians say anything
like that, so I don't --
[Human Rights: UN Commission Action on Cuba]
Q Do you have anything on the action concerning Cuba
at the U.N. Human Rights Commission in Geneva yesterday?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't have much of a response for you
at this point, George. We'll try to get something for you later
as the reports come in from Geneva. Clearly, we welcome action
by the U.N. Human Rights Commission on Cuba. This is something
that we work very hard for, and I'll try to explain it to you in
more detail. Maybe later in the day we'll get you something.
Let's go to the back.
[El Salvador: US Urges FMLN to Negotiate Peacefuly]
Q Anything on Villalobos' statements on El Salvador?
MR. BOUCHER: We would welcome any evolution in the
FMLN's thinking and Villalobos' stated new commitment to
democratic pluralism.
With an end to the war, we believe that El Salvador can
achieve national reconciliation and rebuild to allow peace,
expanded democratic space, and new economic opportunities.
We believe, however, that the FMLN should prove its
words at the bargaining table and not on the battlefield, as
they have in the past. The FMLN needs to show a genuine
commitment to a negotiated settlement, to political agreements,
and to a cease-fire. We hope that they will return to the
negotiations promptly after El Salvador's March l0th legislative
elections and engage in a serious effort to accomplish these
goals.
Last week's FMLN attacks caused more economic damage
and civilian deaths, including two children who were killed by a
rocket grenade. We find that this is clearly not consistent
with the FMLN's professed vision of El Salvador as another Costa
Rica.
Q Just a follow-up on that. He said that he really
did want to push for a complete demilitarization of the country,
making public what the FMLN has been negotiating on. Does the
United States oppose that as a goal?
MR. BOUCHER: We support any goals that can be reached
through constructive and serious negotiations. We find that
that's what's been lacking on the part of the FMLN so far. But
they will have to negotiate these things with the Government of
El Salvador, which itself has put forward proposals in all these
areas.
Q But does the United States find that goal
objectionable just on its own?
MR. BOUCHER: We support goals and agreements that are
reached by the parties through serious negotiations.
Q Anything about The New York Times report this
morning on Israel and a retaliatory strike that the United
States convinced them not to go for?
MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't.
Q Do you have anything on Chinese weapons shipments
to Burma, which was alluded to by Assistant Secretary Solomon in
his testimony before the House Subcommittee on Foreign Affairs
yesterday?
MR. BOUCHER: No. I have to admit to not having read
his full testimony, so I don't have anything on that.
Q I see. How about on his statement that Vietnam
may be dragging its feet on the Perm Five avenue in Cambodia?
MR. BOUCHER: Again, I think I just have to refer you
back to his testimony.
Q He didn't elaborate. Could you take the
question just on "they're dragging their feet?" He didn't
elaborate in his testimony on that.
MR. BOUCHER: Well, I'll check with him and see and if
there's anything more to say. I assume that he told all on the
Hill.
Q Thank you.
MR. BOUCHER: Thanks.
(The briefing concluded at l:l4 p.m.)
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