US Department of State Daily Briefing #38:
Friday, 3/8/91
Boucher
Source: State Department Deputy Spokesman Richard
Boucher
Description: 12:27 PM, Washington, DC
Date: Mar 8, 19913/8/91
Category: Briefings
Region: MidEast/North Africa, East Asia, Southeast Asia,
Eurasia, Central America, Europe
Country: USSR (former), Italy, Israel, Iraq, Kuwait,
Albania, China, El Salvador, Cambodia, Japan,
Thailand, Indonesia
Subject: Refugees, Travel, Terrorism, Military Affairs,
State Department, Human Rights, Democratization,
Regional/Civil Unrest,
Security Assistance and Sales
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)
[Kuwait: Travel Advisory]
MR. BOUCHER: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I
don't have anything particularly to offer at the beginning of
this today, other than to note we put out a new travel advisory
on Kuwait that concerns the lifting of the passport restriction.
It continues to discourage travel because of the situation in
city services and other things in the city right now. And then
Treasury is also apparently working on the issue of lifting or
changing, as appropriate --
Q They have.
MR. BOUCHER: Oh, have they done it? The financial
restrictions. So we'll see that. We'll probably have to revise
our travel advisory once more if they've actually done it.
With that, I'd just be glad to take your questions.
Q What do you have to say about the story about
plans for a new Embassy in Moscow?
[USSR: New US Embassy in Moscow Sought]
MR. BOUCHER: Ivan Selin was up on the Hill yesterday,
testifying on this. So the first thing to do, I think, is to
refer you to his testimony. Let me give you an overview.
We continue to believe that the best solution to our
need for secure space in Moscow is to tear down the existing
building and rebuild it. Despite our efforts over the past two
years, however, we have not obtained congressional funding for
that solution.
We do believe that we must move into new headquarters
which work both functionally and securely as soon as possible,
and, therefore, we've proposed a new solution. This proposal is
to achieve the badly needed secure space in Moscow by removing
the top floor of the existing partially completed new office
building and replacing that with three new floors, thereby
increasing the building from eight to ten floors.
These three new floors would be built to the highest
security standards by Americans, using only American materials
shipped securely from the United States. So the option that we
would prefer is the one that we told Congress we would prefer
some time ago, and that's a total tear-down of the building that
we have and rebuilding it. The other option that we floated is
what's now being known as "Top Hat," which is to slice a bit off
the top and put some new floors on.
Q Does it also get a white tie and tails?
(Laughter)
MR. BOUCHER: I'm not sure about that.
Q Selin said in his testimony that the other plan
was dead -- not going to happen, he said.
MR. BOUCHER: As I said, we haven't been able to get
funding for it after two years of efforts, so we're looking for
other possibilities.
Q So why do you still state for the record that you
prefer the other one? You basically acknowledged that that's
not going to happen.
MR. BOUCHER: Because we thought that that was the best
solution in terms of financial, security and functionality
issues. We think, you know, it was the best solution, and we
still think it's the best solution. This is another apparently
acceptable solution that's being worked on.
Q The previous solution was worked out after a very
long and exhaustive investigation, inquiry. How was this one
arrived at? Who was involved? Who has approved it? Was Selin
speaking -- I assume he was speaking with the authority of the
Secretary of State and the President.
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know exactly who approved this
particular one. We have over the course of time studied many
possible options on meeting the need for secure space in Moscow.
We've looked at possibilities such as partial tear-downs,
rebuild solutions, new annexes, new buildings on hypothetical
new sites, and the complete tear-down and rebuild approach.
The only ones which we feel meet our criteria for
security, functionality, cost and constructability are the
complete and partial tear-down solutions on the existing sites.
So we've examined -- as you say, we've examined a number of
solutions very exhaustively. These two -- complete tear-down
and what's being known as "Top Hat" -- are the two that we think
are viable.
Q Richard, there's a report that Syrian and Iranian
officials have been discussing the American and other hostages
in Beirut, and that there may be some progress in the offing.
Do you know anything about that report? Can you help us at all
on it?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know --
Q Do you know anything about the talks?
MR. BOUCHER: No. I don't have any information on
those discussions. You'd obviously have to ask them. At this
point we are following the situation with the hostages in
Lebanon very, very closely. It's something that we continue to
be concerned about, but I don't have any information, you know,
that might indicate some release is imminent.
Q The report says that the Syrians, before they sent
off their troops to join the others in the desert, made some
sort of a commitment to the United States to try and resolve the
hostage issue. Is that true?
MR. BOUCHER: Again, I haven't seen this specific
report, so I really can't comment, especially on details like
that that might be in it. I would note that Syria in the past,
as you all know, has been helpful and has facilitated the
release of hostages in the past.
[Asia: Asst. Secretary Solomon's Trip]
Q Richard, what does the Department have on a trip
by Mr. Solomon to Asia?
MR. BOUCHER: Mr. Solomon to Asia. Assistant Secretary
Richard Solomon is leaving today. This is an 11-day trip that
will take him to Beijin, Tokyo, Bangkok and Jakarta. He will
discuss a variety of bilateral and regional issues, including
human rights and Cambodia, as appropriate, and he will also be
representing the Secretary at the bilateral U.S.-Japan
Conference on Cultural and Educational Interchange, which is
meeting in Japan.
Q How long will he be in Tokyo?
MR. BOUCHER: I'm afraid I don't have his full schedule
for you. I have to see if we can get that -- the dates. I'm
not sure we can release them, but we'll see.
Q When is the last time a senior official has been
to China -- if you could jog your memory on that?
MR. BOUCHER: The last one I can think of is Dick
Schifter, at the Assistant Secretary level, going out in
December to discuss human rights issues. As you know, we've
said that while the ban on high-level exchanges continues, that
visits by individuals for particular purposes, where we have
serious issues to discuss, will take place and are taking place,
and this is another of those.
Q Well, this time what do you think -- can you say
anything about what Mr. Solomon is going to discuss with the
Chinese officials this time?
MR. BOUCHER: He'll discuss bilateral and regional
issues, including human rights and Cambodia.
Q Economic issues?
MR. BOUCHER: I'm sure there's probably a broader range
of bilateral and regional issues. I don't have a full agenda
for you at this point.
Q Regarding Cambodia, during this trip, would he
have any contact with any of the Cambodian factions and/or
Vietnamese officials?
MR. BOUCHER: I haven't heard anything about contacts
with Vietnamese officials, but I don't have the specifics of the
schedule or who he'll be meeting with. I'll see if we can get
some of that for you.
Q Like Prince Sihanouk, for example?
MR. BOUCHER: Again, I'll see if I can get something
like that for you.
Jan?
[Albania: Refugee Situation Update]
Q Richard, the Italians have been turning back
Albanian refugees. Have you got any comment on that?
MR. BOUCHER: Well, my understanding of the situation
with the Italians is that they were meeting within their
government today, and there's not much more that we have to say
at this point. They are currently considering -- the Italian
government is currently considering what to do about the
difficult situation they face. But we'll have to see what
results from their discussions.
Q Do you have an update on the general situation?
MR. BOUCHER: In Albania?
Q Yes.
MR. BOUCHER: Yes. We have seen Albanian government
statements that one Albanian citizen was killed Wednesday.
There are other reports that indicate that at least eight were
wounded as large crowds sought refuge in foreign embassies. We,
of course, regret the loss of life, and we've frequently stated
that the Albanian government should refrain from the use of
deadly force against its own citizens.
Q Quite a large number of refugees are stuck on the
Iraqi/Kuwaiti border, being denied entry to Kuwait, because they
don't hold Kuwaiti citizenship, even though some of them have
spent their entire lives there.
Are you aware of the situation? Do you have any
response or reaction to it?
MR. BOUCHER: My understanding of the situation is
slightly different from yours, Alan. We are aware that Kuwaiti
authorities have turned back Iraqis who have been attempting to
cross the border into Kuwait, but we have no reports of
third-country nationals being turned back.
Q There are a number quoted in the newspapers --
Egyptian, Palestinian --
MR. BOUCHER: Again, this is the best information that
we have available to us, and our Embassy and military officials
are obviously following the situation at the border pretty
carefully.
[Kuwait: Treatment of Palestinians]
Q Richard, yesterday you told us what Skip Gnehm had
told you about the situation of Palestinians in Kuwait. Reports
are still coming out that Palestinians are being harassed.
Palestinians are being beaten up. Journalists say that they've
seen this happening in front of their eyes, in front of the
cameras, etc., etc. Do you still not have reports of
Palestinian harassment?
MR. BOUCHER: Our review of the security situation is
approximately the same as we had it yesterday. On the specific
question of Palestinians, we do not have any evidence to support
some of the large figures that have been given out as regards
Palestinians reportedly picked up for questioning in Kuwait.
Extensive interviewing in Palestinian neighborhoods in Kuwait
has not turned up reports of any serious harassment of
Palestinians.
We know that a number of Palestinians have been
detained for questioning as part of the Government of Kuwait's
attempt to obtain information on crimes and other illegal
activity in Kuwait during the Iraqi occupation, but we have no
evidence that the large numbers being reported are in fact
involved.
We are in daily contact with the Government of Kuwait
about the allegations of mistreatment of Palestinians. We've
been discussing our concerns about this question for many months
with them, and we will continue to be in close touch with them.
Q You said you have no evidence of large numbers.
Do you have evidence of any numbers and any form of pattern?
MR. BOUCHER: Well, as I said, we know that a number
have been detained for questioning as part of the Government of
Kuwait's investigations into crimes that occurred during the
occupation by Iraq.
Q You offered your comment that you have no reports
of serious harassment. Does that mean that you have reports of
some harassment that would fall into another category?
MR. BOUCHER: There are reports of things like people
getting a hard time at checkpoints -- Palestinians, you know,
being asked a lot of questions and having a hard time at
checkpoints. We do not have information on the beatings,
killings, and things like that that sometimes have been
reported.
Q Are Embassy officials going to police stations and
checking out these reports?
MR. BOUCHER: I'm not sure they're in a position to go
to every police station and check out every report. They are
out on the streets and, as I said, we've been in close contact
with the Kuwaiti government at different levels on this. We've
had people out on the streets talking to Palestinians and other
people in Kuwait. We're getting information on the situation
there from a variety of both public and private sources.
Q Richard, is the Administration planning another
arms package for the Gulf, or planning to revise parts of the
Saudi arms package that were put in abeyance?
MR. BOUCHER: At this point I have no announcements for
you on future arms sales. I think you're aware of the fact that
we've sent up notice of the sale of F-16s to Egypt. It's
finishing off a ten-year program of, I think, 170 total
airplanes. That's the only recent arms sales I'm aware of.
Q Has the Administration dropped any kind of
attempts to control the flow of conventional arms into that
area?
MR. BOUCHER: I'll give you the transcript of what the
Secretary of State said yesterday when he was asked precisely
that question.
[Iraq: Status of Missing Journalists]
Q Richard, anything on the journalists?
MR. BOUCHER: On the journalists. At this point, we
have seen the Baghdad Radio announcement. Neither we nor the
ICRC in Geneva nor, my understanding is, the head of the ICRC,
when he spoke to us and over with the President this morning,
had direct confirmation that these some 40 journalists might be
released today in Baghdad. That's what the radio in Baghdad
reportedly said.
We are following the situation as closely as possible,
and we're in very close contact with the ICRC. You know that
this subject was raised and discussed with Iraqi representatives
in both Riyadh and at the border meetings yesterday.
Q What about the general state of unrest throughout
Iraq?
MR. BOUCHER: Throughout Iraq?
Q Do you have any update on that?
MR. BOUCHER: It's very similar to what we had
yesterday, but I'll read you the exact text.
Our information on the situation inside Iraq is, as I
said yesterday, somewhat limited. Civil unrest appears to be
continuing in a number of cities, towns and other outlying
areas. Fighting between government forces and dissidents still
seems to be focused primarily in southern Iraq, particularly in
and around the Shi'ite holy cities of Najaf and Karbala.
However, there has also been continuing unrest and fighting in
the Kurdish north.
Q Is the fighting increasing or decreasing?
MR. BOUCHER: Again, I don't have any way of
characterizing it in those general terms. I would stick with
the general characterization I've used for the past few days,
and that is that the situation is fluid. Clashes continue to
occur in a number of areas.
Q What about the number of cities and towns? The
military sources put it at two dozen --
MR. BOUCHER: I think the Pentagon yesterday was
talking about two dozen. I don't have any particular number to
use.
Q We have a report that Iran has now called on
Saddam Hussein to resign. Do you consider that interfering into
the Iraqi affairs, or do you encourage such --
MR. BOUCHER: I really don't have anything particular
to say on that. Our view of Saddam Hussein's future, I think,
has been made very clear by the President and the Secretary and
others. We'll just stick with that.
Q Could I follow that a little bit, Richard? Tehran
officials have called on the Ba'ath Party to not confront the
people, the implication being that the Ba'ath Party is
essentially finished. Do you have any indication that that
state of affairs does exist within Iraq at this time?
MR. BOUCHER: Again, I have no conclusions to draw at
this point on the unrest and what it will lead to. The
situation is fluid. Clashes continue to occur. As we've said
over the past few days, places where the government is reported
in control or not in control -- clashes do occur in those areas
as well. So it's just -- well, as the Zen masters say, "You
can't put your foot on the river." It's too fluid to try to
describe.
Q If I could just follow up, is the United States
offering any help to groups who oppose Saddam Hussein?
MR. BOUCHER: I believe that's a question that we've
addressed before by saying that we do not believe that outside
forces should interfere in the internal affairs of Iraq.
Q Is that a "no"?
MR. BOUCHER: That's a statement of U.S. policy.
Q It sounds like a "no."
MR. BOUCHER: David, I'm afraid that's as much as I can
go into.
Q You have been talking about clashes and fighting,
and these terms are rather abstract for me. Could you describe
this more in -- something more concrete and in detail? What's
the scale of clashes, and how much is the fighting? Are all the
people which Baghdad Radio terms as insurrectionists armed with
machine guns or small rifles, or are they compatible in combat
capabilities with the Iraqi regular army, or something like
this?
MR. BOUCHER: That's something the Pentagon has tried
to address over the previous days, and we have somewhat as well.
I'm just not in a position to describe for you the information
that we might have on the exact nature of the capabilities of
the forces.
Jan?
Q Richard, has the State Department received any
requests from any congressional committees for persons from the
Secretary of State on down to appear before them, to explain the
role of the State Department in the days leading up to Saddam's
invasion of Kuwait?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know.
Q Could you check into that?
MR. BOUCHER: I'll check into it. I'm not sure it's
for us to describe their request for them. I think we usually
describe the testimony that we are going to appear at.
Q (Inaudible) -- whether or not they've asked you
for people to come and appear.
MR. BOUCHER: It might be. You might ask them if
they've asked us.
[El Slavador: Upcoming Elections]
Q Do you have anything on El Salvador beyond what
you said yesterday, given the fact that they have an election in
two days?
MR. BOUCHER: Well, I'll be glad to read you a
statement that we were intending to post at some point this
afternoon, but I guess it's good enough to read now.
On March 10, Salvadoran voters will go to the polls for
the seventh time since 1979 to choose a national legislature,
mayors and town councils in elections which will be observed by
the OAS and other international groups. We salute the
Salvadoran people's continuing commitment to the electoral
process which offers a real hope for peaceful change in El
Salvador.
This commitment stands in sharp contrast to FMLN leader
Joaquin Villalobos' reported announcement of a guerrilla
offensive for the day after the election. This fits the FMLN's
pattern of calling truces only to increase violence later. In
fact, before I came in here, there was another report on the
wires of renewed guerrilla attacks today.
It calls into question both Villalobos' earlier
statements of support for pluralistic democracy and abandonment
of armed violence, and the FMLN's good faith in negotiations.
We have also seen reports that a candidate from a leftist party
was shot March 6th by supporters of the ARENA party and that
this person is in serious condition. We condemn this shooting
and call for a full investigation and prosecution of those
responsible.
We note that 20 at-large seats have been added to the
National Legislature. This, we feel, will give smaller parties
a greater opportunity to gain seats in the new Assembly.
Q Is there a U.S. observer delegation?
MR. BOUCHER: Somewhere I thought I knew that, but I
guess I don't. I'll have to check on that.
Q Have you taken note of this speech by EC
Commissioner DeLors in which he laid out a new security role for
the Community, possibly at the expense of NATO?
MR. BOUCHER: I haven't noted that particular speech,
but this is a subject which we as NATO members and as
longstanding supporters of European unity have been interested
in, and something that we have discussed with our European
allies. Decisions about specific institutions, I think, are for
those institutions to make.
[Israel: Treatment of Journalist in Detention]
Q Richard, has the State Department seen a rather
passionate report by a reporter -- stringer who wrote for
Reuters and for us who was detained by the Israelis for, I
think, five or six weeks. The report appeared this morning on
the wires about the detention, the degradation, the humiliation
to which he was subjected.
As the State Department has never been quiet about
torture and human rights abuses in certain parts of the world,
perhaps you may have something to say on behalf of this
gentleman.
Taher Shriteh is his name.
MR. BOUCHER: I haven't seen his name. I think the
report we saw this morning indicated that he had been released
on bail.
Q Perhaps. But he has written a report about what
happened to him over the last six weeks, which you may wish to
take a look at.
MR. BOUCHER: Well, I'm not sure I have any comment on
his specific report, but noting his release, we would say that
we stand firmly behind the commitment to a free press, including
the ability of journalists to do their job. If the Israelis
have grievances against this or any other individual, we feel
that they should be brought in a court of law, and that the
accused should be given a chance to defend him- or herself.
[China: Reported Arms Aid to the Khmer Rouge]
Q Do you have any comment on news reports that
Beijing has said it will continue to supply arms to the Khmer
Rouge?
MR. BOUCHER: We have not in fact seen such a statement
from China -- any official statement like that. I'll tell you
what we have seen.
The only thing that we've seen so far was a news report
that quoted a PRC Foreign Ministry spokesman on March 7 as
saying the following: "What is most urgent now is that all
parties to the Cambodian Conference accept unconditionally the
framework settlement adopted by the Permanent Five members of
the U.N. Security Council and the draft agreement."
We note that the PRC did announce several months ago
that it was suspending arms aid to the Khmer Rouge in order to
facilitate a settlement, but we cannot verify whether it
actually did so. Our views on this question, of course, are
that we've long supported a moratorium on military aid to the
Cambodian parties in the context of an overall settlement which
addresses all the concerns.
Q Thank you.
MR. BOUCHER: Thank you.
(The briefing concluded at 12:50 p.m.)
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