US Department of State Daily Briefing #43:
Monday, 3/18/91
Boucher
Source: State Department Deputy Spokesman Richard
Boucher
Description: 12:43 PM, Washington, DC
Date: Mar 18, 19913/18/91
Category: Briefings
Region: MidEast/North Africa, E/C Europe, Europe,
Central America
Country: USSR (former), Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania,
Italy, Greece, Lebanon, Yugoslavia (former)
Subject: Arms Control, Security Assistance and Sales,
Terrorism, Regional/Civil Unrest, Human Rights,
Democratization
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)
MR. BOUCHER: Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen.
It's a pleasure to be here. I don't have any particular
announcements to make so I'd be glad to take your questions.
[USSR: All Union Referendum]
Q Do you have anything on the referendum in the
Soviet Union?
MR. BOUCHER: First, I think we have to refer to the
Secretary's comments yesterday on TV where he mentioned that in
our view it's not clear that the referendum is going to solve
the problem. There are issues -- fundamental problems of how
the republics relate to the Union, the question of devolution of
political authority and economic authority to the republics, and
related and even larger problems with how to convert the command
economies to some other form which have to be dealt with by the
Soviets.
A referendum, of course, is a democratic process that's
accepted as a means of expression of popular will. The content
of the particular referendum, the conditions under which it is
conducted, and the clarity of its questions must be considered
in assessing the outcome.
We hope that these questions that we've mentioned
before will be resolved democratically on the basis of peaceful
political discussions between the concerned parties. As for
exactly what the results are of the referendum, we're all seeing
sort of initial reports based on some districts, but I don't
have any firm results or assessment at this point.
Q Access to the voters is said to have been
one-sided in favor of the government. Do you have anything on
that?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't have anything at this point that
would allow us to characterize the way that the voters made
their determinations and made their votes.
[Arms Exports: Ex-Im Bank Financing US Sales]
Q Richard, on another subject matter. Do you see a
discrepancy between a stated U.S. policy to discourage arms
proliferation in the Middle East and Administration plans to ask
Congress to underwrite large arms sales?
MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't, Frank. The plan -- the
proposal that has been submitted to Congress is for a 1-year
pilot program that would use about $1 billion in guarantees for
commercial bank financing of defense exports administered by the
Ex-Im Bank.
The program is designed to give U.S. defense exporters
the same kind of opportunity that's given to other exporters
and, in a sense, to level the playing field, vis-a-vis their
foreign competitors. The proposal is to use the money for
members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Japan,
Israel, and Australia. Other countries which Ex-Im Bank has
determined are credit-worthy could be eligible for guarantees if
the President determined that that support is in the national
interest.
The exporters, however, could apply for guarantees only
after passing the interagency review for foreign policy and
national security concerns which is required by the arms export
licensing process. The policy review process would ensure that
the guarantee program complies fully with both existing arms
sales controls and with any future changes in the control regime
for arms sales.
[Iraq: Continued Civil Unrest]
Q Is there anything you can tell us about the
insurgency in Iraq today? Is it still going on? Is the
government getting the upper hand, or what?
MR. BOUCHER: Yes, to the first. And, second, I can't
characterize it. Let me try to talk about what we do see going
on today.
There's heavy fighting between government forces and
Kurdish dissidents which continues in northern Iraq. Kurdish
dissidents now appear to control large portions of predominantly
Kurdish areas of northern and northeastern Iraq.
Fighting is also continuing in the south along the
lower Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and in the vicinity of the
Shi'a holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, but the overall
situation in that area is unclear.
We can confirm that, unfortunately, both holy shrines
in Karbala have been damaged in the recent fighting there.
Q Could you more specifically define what you mean
by "large areas of the Kurdish areas?"
MR. BOUCHER: No, I can't. Once you get to the
specifics, it's a little more difficult to define.
There are reports that some cities -- I think Irbil and
Sulaymaniyah may be largely, or by and large, in rebel hands.
Other reports say that Kirkuk and Mosul are more or less in
government hands. Fighting continues in these areas.
Q Any idea of how well organized the leadership of
these movements are at this point? Is it showing better signs
of more organization -- the dissident movement?
MR. BOUCHER: I'm not in a position to characterize it.
Jan?
Q Richard, what do you have, if anything, about
reports that the Iranian Muj are battling members of the Iranian
Revolutionary Guard inside Iraq?
MR. BOUCHER: That Iranians are fighting Iranians
inside Iraq?
Q Iranian Mujahedin are fighting the Iranian
Revolutionary Guard inside Iraq?
MR. BOUCHER: I'm afraid that's a new one on me.
Q This is being reported by -- it's being reported
by Iranian dissident groups -- Muj groups -- both here and in
London, and it was all over the wires on Saturday. I'll get you
a copy.
MR. BOUCHER: I wasn't reading the wires on Saturday.
I don't know where you were.
I'm afraid I just haven't seen that, Jan. I had not
heard anything about it. I'll see if there is anything we have
to say, but it's not necessarily something we'll have something
on.
Q Richard, you said in the past that the U.S. takes
a case-by-case attitude on whether and when to meet with Iraqi
dissidents. Has the United States, at any level, been meeting
recently with people who are opposed to Saddam Hussein in Iraq?
Can you give us a status report on that?
MR. BOUCHER: We had a meeting a few weeks ago that we
talked about with our Human Rights Bureau. People met with
Iraqi Kurds.
Q Nothing since then?
MR. BOUCHER: I'm not aware of anything since then.
I'll have to check on that.
[Iraq: Contacts with Dissidents; Leadership]
Q Is the U.S. military, which is obviously in
position on the ground there, meeting, on any basis, with any of
these people?
MR. BOUCHER: Frankly, I don't know. You can ask them
about that.
On this general subject, once again, let me remind you
what the Secretary said over the weekend. He said, "It's really
up to the Iraqi people to determine who their leadership is. We
would, of course, like to see a change in government. We've
made no secret of that, but we're not now in the process of
assisting through the provisioning of arms to these groups that
are uprising against the government." He reminded people, "We
and other members of the coalition and other countries in the
region all want to see the territorial integrity of Iraq
preserved."
Q On that point, he said, "Not helping through the
provision of arms." Is the U.S. helping in any other way?
MR. BOUCHER: The position of the United States, as the
Secretary said it and as it has been stated, I think, repeatedly
here, is that it's for the Iraqi people to decide who the
leadership of Iraq is going to be and that it's not for us to
try, or it's not our intention or plan to try to choose any
alternatives to the present leadership.
Q But is the U.S. helping in any other way besides
arms?
MR. BOUCHER: I'm not aware of anything, David. I
haven't asked about every possible meeting or every possible
way. I'll check and see if we've had any recent contact.
Q Could you take the question as to whether the
United States is trying to influence the outcome in one way or
another in Iraq?
MR. BOUCHER: I just said it's not for the United
States to try to choose any alternatives to the present
leadership. We have no plans or intentions to try to do that.
Q How about taking the question as to --
MR. BOUCHER: I'll take the question and see if we have
anything on that.
Q Since Mr. Jalal Talabani of the radical front and
the Turkish President, Mr. Turgut Ozal, are in full agreement
for a Kurdish (inaudible) federated state in northern Iraq, can
you clarify the U.S. position to this effect?
MR. BOUCHER: I would just stick with what I've said
before. I'm not sure your characterization of Turkish and
Kurdish positions is entirely accurate. I'll leave that to you
to explore with them.
Our position is what the Secretary said over the
weekend and what we've said before: That's it up to the Iraqi
people to decide on their government and that we and other
coalition partners support the territorial integrity of Iraq.
We do not seek the dismemberment of Iraq.
Q One more question. Since the U.S. warned Saddam
Hussein not to use warplanes and helicopters to crush the Kurdish
uprising in northern Iraq, why does your Administration not
reply to Mr. Talabani's plea for such protection as it was
reported today in the Washington Post?
MR. BOUCHER: What kind of protection?
Q To implement Mr. Bush's statement the other day
warning Saddam Hussein not to use warplanes and helicopters
against the rebellion?
MR. BOUCHER: Those subjects have been discussed in the
talks that our military has been having. I'm sure they can give
you a more detailed readout on that. The Secretary made clear
over the weekend that in our view Iraqi use of helicopters for
other than logistical purposes, and certainly the use of
fixed-wing aircraft, were things that were of concern to us and
that we just told them yesterday, no, with respect to fixed-wing
aircraft. I don't believe he circumscribed that in any region
of the country.
Q On the damage in Najaf and Karbala, the Shi'ite
holy places, can you give any more details about what the damage
was, first; and, second, is there any -- is this likely to
increase in the U.S. view Iran's possible involvement in the
insurgency?
MR. BOUCHER: I'm afraid I'm not in a position to give
you any more detail on the damage that we've seen there, and as
far as speculation on Iran's future actions, I just can't do
that.
Q Speaking of damage and Iran, the U.S. seems to
have allowed the World Bank to go ahead with a large loan to
Iran without sort of attempting to block it in any which way.
Can you comment on all of that?
MR. BOUCHER: I just heard about that before I came in.
I'll have to find you something.
Q Something on that? Thank you.
MR. BOUCHER: Yes.
[Greece/Italy: Arrest of Achille Lauro Terrorist]
Q Do you have anything on Abdulrahmin Khaled, who
was arrested earlier this month in Greece? The Italians want
him back because of Achille Lauro.
MR. BOUCHER: That's right. Let me get you something.
Abdulrahmin Khaled, a Palestinian and a member of Abu Abbas'
Palestine Liberation Front, was arrested in early March in
Athens, and he is presently in custody.
He's the subject of an international arrest warrant
issued by the Government of Italy for his role in the 1985
hijacking of the Achille Lauro. When originally tried in Italy
in absentia, he was found guilty and sentenced to a term of 90
months plus a small fine.
Consistent with Italian law, this sentence was appealed
by the prosecutors, and the appellate court ruled in their
favor. The appellate court determined that Khaled planned the
Achille Lauro hijacking and increased his sentence to a life
term.
Since he is the subject of an international arrest
warrant due to this conviction and based on the seriousness of
the charges, we assume that the Government of Italy will seek
his extradition.
Q Would the United States like to see him extradited
to Italy?
MR. BOUCHER: We would like to see the rule of law
applied against terrorists.
Q What is the reaction to Alfredo Cesar's plea for a
hurry-up in the aid to Nicaragua? He was here last week.
MR. BOUCHER: I'm not familiar with that. I'll have to
look into it. I'm sorry.
Q Could I ask you, was there any comment in Moscow,
in conversations there, on Moscow's relations with the Central
American countries?
MR. BOUCHER: There was a joint statement on El
Salvador issued by the party, and I can get you a copy of that.
Q Richard, Secretary Baker met with President Bush
earlier today, and afterwards President Bush said, "There is a
danger that things could revert back to a status quo in the
Middle East."
Do you know of any specific plans to try to move
forward the peace process? What's next?
MR. BOUCHER: The Secretary talked about that during
the course of the last few days, and I think the best thing is
probably just for me to get those briefings for you. He said
that we have discussed with the parties, with some of the
countries, what we can do to follow up. "We will be following
up," he said, "primarily on the telephone to begin with ... that
they've discussed that," and that he also declined to get into
the who, what, when, where and how.
Q Can you say anything about what activity might be
going on in the U.N. with regard to next steps?
MR. BOUCHER: There is nothing before the Council right
now. It was important for us to get the return of the President
and the Secretary from their consultations in order to
crystalize our thinking. That is a process that's underway now.
I would note that there has not been any report to the
Secretary General or the Security Council by Iraq of the actions
that Iraq has taken pursuant to U.N. Security Council 686 to
comply with those terms. And I'd also refer you once more to
the President's statement just a little while ago where he said
that, "Inasmuch as we're operating with U.N. resolutions, we
would be following up with the United Nations."
[Lithuania: Arrest of Defense Minister]
Q (Inaudible) -- the arrest in Lithuania, wasn't it?
MR. BOUCHER: Yes. The arrest or the detention of the
Defense Minister and his driver. Right?
Q Yes.
MR. BOUCHER: I guess what we have is based on press
reports. Those indicate that Soviet Interior Ministry troops --
that's those known as the "Black Berets" -- stopped the car of
Lithuania's Defense Minister, Audrius Butkavicius, after
midnight on Monday morning. The troops arrested both the
Defense Minister and his driver. The Defense Minister was
released about 12 hours later.
There was a spokesman for the Lithuanian Parliament who
said that the Soviet Interior Ministry claimed that the
detention followed an unspecified incident at a polling station
during the referendum. We obviously have no way of knowing
exactly why he might have been detained.
We think that the action against a member of the
democratically elected Government of Lithuania underscores once
again the need for restraint and for both sides -- for all
parties there -- to seek peaceful solutions to the tensions in
the Baltics. We continue to urge constructive talks between
Moscow and Vilnius which we hope will start soon.
Q Do you have people in there at the moment, and are
you checking into it? Has the Ambassador looked into it in
Moscow?
MR. BOUCHER: I'm not sure what we know about it at
this point. I think we have had people in the Baltics, because
some of our people were out observing the progress or the
process of the referendum. But at this point I don't have
anything back from them. Yes. We did have officers present in
the three Baltic states -- in Yaroslav and the Tatar Anonymous
Republic in addition to the people in our consulates in
Leningrad and Kiev and Embassy officers who were out looking at
the process of the referendum.
Q Are you going to make any representation over
this, other than this statement to us? Are you going to tell
the Soviets what you think at the Foreign Ministry level or
here?
MR. BOUCHER: Well, our general views on this situation
and how the problems ought to be solved, I think, has been made
very clear over time, not only here but, for example, the
Secretary had extensive discussions when he was in Moscow of
this point. And he has continuously urged a peaceful path of
dialogue to resolve the issues. That's a fine way of saying I
don't know if we're going to raise this specific incident or
not.
Q Do you have any reaction to the statements
yesterday in Washington by Israeli Health Minister Ehud Omert
who said when he stated he was speaking for the Israeli
government and Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir -- said that Israel
would be willing to negotiate with Syria on all subjects,
including territory?
MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't.
Q Are you saying anything about the Soviet
kidnapping of Mr. Honecker?
MR. BOUCHER: No.
Q The Lebanese army command has announced that they
have received a first shipment of American weapons since -- in
over five years -- announced it today. Can you confirm that?
MR. BOUCHER: No, I can't. But I'll try to.
[Yugoslavia: US Policy and Situation Report]
Q Anything on Yugoslavia?
MR. BOUCHER: This is by way of policy and a sitrep
[situation report]. I remind you that the United States
supports unity, democracy and dialogue in Yugoslavia. The
collective presidency is the legitimate head of state in
Yugoslavia, and the Federal Executive Council and the Federal
Assembly constitute the legitimate Government of Yugoslavia.
We support the efforts of all these institutions to
ensure that the decisions on the future of Yugoslavia are made
through peaceful, democratic dialogue and not through the use of
force of intimidation. We applaud the position of the Federal
Executive Council led by Prime Minister Markovic, reiterated on
March 16, that Yugoslavia's problems can only be resolved
through reform and democracy and without the use of force.
We have urged all Yugoslav leaders at the federal and
republic level to refrain from precipitous or unilateral steps
that would foreclose dialogue, and we deplore any actions at any
level in Yugoslavia that serve to undermine the process of
peaceful, democratic dialogue.
Q Secretary Baker confirmed North Korea's Scud
missile export to Syria. Do you have any comment about this
against North Korea?
MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't. I think he discussed it,
and I also discussed it last week.
Q Richard, it didn't sound from Secretary Baker's
comments over the weekend as if the discussions on conventional
and nuclear weapons talks went all that well in Moscow. Where
do they go from here?
MR. BOUCHER: The Secretary, I think, made clear what
the problems are, specifically the problem of interpretation of
the CFE Treaty and the -- he had a fancy word for it that I
can't remember now. Anyway, he discussed over the weekend what
the problems are. I think the follow-up is to continue both
bilaterally and in the meetings that we have in Vienna on the
CFE agreement to seek to get some resolution of these issues.
He said that there had been proposals presented to us
while we were in Moscow; that they were not enough, but I think
he characterized them as a step in the right direction. So
we'll be following up on that, I'm sure, bilaterally and through
the appropriate fora, which is principally the meetings that
take place out in Vienna.
Q And are those ongoing? When's the next meeting in
Vienna?
MR. BOUCHER: The meetings of the new negotiation were
suspended for some time. I'm not sure if there is a new meeting
scheduled of that or not, but there are also joint working group
meetings that take place out there regularly.
Q Thank you.
MR. BOUCHER: Thank you.
(The briefing concluded at 1:03 p.m.
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