US Department of State Daily Briefing #65:
Monday: 4/22/91
Boucher
Source: State Department Deputy Spokesman Richard
Boucher
Description: 12:32 PM, Washington, DC
Date: Apr 22, 19914/22/91
Region: MidEast/North Africa, Southeast Asia,
Subsaharan Africa, South Asia
Country: Iraq, Kuwait, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Turkey, Iran
Subject: Regional/Civil Unrest, Development/Relief Aid,
Refugees, Military Affairs, POW/MIA Issues
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)
MR. BOUCHER: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. If
I can, I'll run through the status of relief efforts for you,
and then I'll be glad to take any questions you might have.
[Iraq: Update on Refugee Relief Efforts]
[Numbers of Refugees]
First, as far as the numbers go: On the Turkish border
the relief officials, both the international relief officials
and the Turkish government, report about 450,000 Iraqi refugees
have entered Turkey and about 400,000 are located near the
Turkish-Iraqi border. According to our observers there, refugee
flows into the Turkish border areas appear to have stopped.
The situation on the Iranian border is approximately
the same. About one million refugees have entered Iran; another
500,000 are at or near the Iran-Iraq border.
In southern Iraq: There are about 24,000 Iraqi
refugees in southern Iraq in the coalition-occupied area. There
are between 30,000 and 40,000 people, both refugees and local
civilians, who are receiving assistance in that area from U.S.
and other coalition forces.
US-Iraqi Discussions
You're familiar with the meetings that were held over
the weekend with the Iraqi military in the areas of northern
Iraq, but let me run through that a little more for you. On
April 19, the U.S.-led combined task force delegation informed
the Iraqi representatives of the plans for expansion of relief
operations and sought to ensure Iraqi understanding of the
multinational relief operation.
Iraqi military forces have thus far demonstrated no
intent to interfere with the provision of humanitarian
assistance to Iraqi refugees inside northern Iraq.
Construction of Refugee Camp
On April 21, the multinational military forces began
construction of a number of temporary tent villages in the
vicinity of Zakhu, Iraq. There will be 20-25 temporary
villages, each designed to support about a thousand people, that
will be grouped in a community structure. That community
structure will be supported by administration, supply, and
distribution areas, and facilities for medical care.
The Zakhu area was selected as the site for the first
village because it meets the basic geographical criteria that
have been established. This includes things like level terrain
with good drainage, access to roads or airstrips, water sources,
sanitation, and proximity to the humanitarian support base which
was established at Silopi.
Military forces assigned to the multinational task
force will provide security for the villages, and there is a
rapid reaction force available, if needed.
U.S., French, U.K., Canadian and Italian military
aircraft continue to provide humanitarian assistance to the
refugees along this border area between Iraq and Turkey. On
April 21, there were 462.8 tons of relief supplies delivered.
This brings the total to 4,164.9 tons delivered since the
beginning of the operation on April 7.
We now estimate that about 600 tons of supplies is
required daily to meet the emergency needs of the refugees. As
of today, we're over 400 tons a day, delivered primarily by air.
We believe that we'll be able to achieve the 600-tons-per-day
requirement by some time this week.
The Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance has provided
another $5 million for local purchase of relief supplies in this
area, and we are moving increasingly to the use of helicopters
and trucks in order to provide the relief to people more
efficiently than the air drops that started in the beginning.
Conditions at Camps
Conditions in the camps in Turkey continue to improve
as relief delivery systems become more organized. Turkish
government officials have moved nearly 10,000 people from the
mountain area to the new facility near Silopi, and they're
continuing to move refugees to this new camp. The area is a
suitable camp location, because it meets the same criteria as
before -- access to reliable relief supply delivery systems,
adequate water sources and good drainage.
Other areas in Turkey have now been designated as
refugee centers. They were selected using the same criteria,
and the Turks are setting up operations in these other areas.
Meetings are taking place today in Geneva between U.S.
military officials and officials of the various U.N.
organizations involved. We'll be exchanging our views on our
respective operations with people in Geneva. We continue to
look for an early turnover to the United Nations. We have no
reason to believe that the U.N. doesn't want to assume
responsibility for these operations.
On the Iranian border: There are truck convoys that
are reaching the border area. One convoy from Damascus, I
think, is cited in today's sitrep. The International Red Cross
is also setting up two more camps in Iran with facilities for
80,000 people.
As far as our exchanges with Iran go, as you know,
we've said that we're prepared to help refugees wherever they
are. We've continued our exchanges with the Iranians through
our protecting power, the Swiss, to identify how the U.S. can
help with refugees in Iran. The Iranians have now clarified
their needs through these exchanges, and we're considering how
to go about supplementing the ongoing Iranian and international
efforts to assist people who are at the Iran-Iraq border.
Q Did you say "now" or "have not clarified"?
MR. BOUCHER: "Now"
Q "Have now clarified."
MR. BOUCHER: Yes. There were some reports of typhoid
outbreaks near the Iranian refugee camps. We can't confirm
those reports. We do know that reports of cholera and typhoid
outbreaks in the camps in northern and southern Iraq are
unfounded.
In southern Iraq: There are approximately 17,000
personnel from allied forces that are stationed in the
demilitarized zone. They continue to provide protection and
humanitarian assistance to refugees and local civilians within
the zone, including the town of Safwan and the Saudi-run refugee
camp near Rafha.
We continue to coordinate with the United Nations and
international organizations in the area concerning refugee
assistance. We believe that the presence of U.N. and
international organizations should be sufficient to assure
security and protection in this area, and U.S. forces, of
course, will provide protection until the United Nations
observer forces assume control of the zone.
And with that update, I'd be glad to take your
questions.
Q You said the Iranians have clarified their needs.
Can you elaborate on what they're seeking?
MR. BOUCHER: I'm afraid I can't at this point, George.
Q And how are you communicating with them?
MR. BOUCHER: Through our protecting power, the Swiss.
Death Toll
Q Do you have any update on the death toll? You say
that conditions are improving along the Turkish-Iraqi border.
MR. BOUCHER: The estimates of the death toll remain
estimates, and I will give you a figure provided you understand
it's an estimate only, and it's subject to change. It appears
the death toll in that area is about 60 per day now.
Q Richard, does the appearance of the Iraqi police
in Zakhu counter the U.N. resolution? Apparently, according to
reports coming out of Zakhu this morning, there are now 700
armed Iraqi police -- between 700 and 2,000 armed Iraqi police
in the area where the Marines are setting up the refugee camp.
MR. BOUCHER: I hadn't seen those kinds of figures on
the presence of the Iraqi police. You know that our meeting was
held with Iraqi military people on Saturday. We also had a
meeting on Saturday with the Iraqi representative at the United
Nations -- the Iraqi Ambassador there -- and Iraqi officials
have assured us that they will not pose any obstacles to the
international relief effort.
Q Richard, yesterday at least 200 armed police
showed up. An American official was quoted in Zakhu as saying,
"This is of great concern to us." And so nothing from anybody
else.
MR. BOUCHER: Well, obviously, the presence of forces
is going to be of concern to us. Our people are working on the
ground to try to work those things out, but I think I have to
stick with what I'm saying -- that we don't see any indications
that the Iraqis intend to interfere with the international
relief efforts.
Q How are you going to choose the people to come
into these camps?
MR. BOUCHER: The people that are being moved to the
camps inside Turkey -- the one near Silopi -- I think I said on
Friday we were taking people with medical problems, pregnant
women, old people first in the transport. As far as how the
people will be chosen to go to the camps inside Iraq, I really
don't know.
Q But you would acknowledge that there's a big
difference between moving people to a camp inside Turkey and
moving them to a camp inside Iraq.
MR. BOUCHER: Sure. But, obviously, our primary focus
of the relief efforts will remain to get it to the people who
most need it. But exactly what arrangements are made to get
people to these camps, I don't know.
Q The last time, you spoke more of convincing them
than of choosing them. The last time you spoke of
"psychological brigades" to motivate them into moving.
MR. BOUCHER: I don't think I've ever spoken about
"psychological brigades," but I think the point is to set up
facilities -- starting with the first one near Zakhu -- where
people are assured that they can be safe, that they can get the
relief that they need. That will motivate, we hope, people to
go there.
Q Also, bringing something from your own very words,
there seem to be more refugees in the south near the border with
Iran -- about a million -- than on the border with Turkey --
about 850,000 -- and yet all the provisions, all the aid to the
south, to the border with Iran, is moving by truck. Any thought
being given to transportation by air?
MR. BOUCHER: There are a variety of international
relief efforts underway. I think I reported on Friday on some
of the EC efforts -- on things that were going into Iran.
You'll see some of that in the daily sitrep repeated for you.
There are also extensive efforts by the Iranian Red Crescent.
So we're well aware of the numbers. We're well aware of the
needs. And, as I said, we're considering how to supplement the
Iranian international efforts with things the U.S. might do to
help people.
Q You said that some time this week, allied forces
should be able to meet the 600-ton-a-day limit. The death toll
seems to be coming down. Are you prepared to say that the
crisis is stabilizing?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't think I'm prepared to say that
until we know that everybody's getting what they need.
Q Another question: Do you have any comment on
these talks in Baghdad between Kurdish leaders and Saddam
Hussein?
MR. BOUCHER: Really, a general one, because what we've
seen about this meeting is from press reports. Our longstanding
position is that Iraq must cease human rights violations against
the Kurds and accord the Kurds the full rights of citizenship.
This would include full participation in the institutions of
government and appropriate opportunities to express their
religious, cultural and linguistic heritage. Looking at it from
here, we certainly hope that the talks in Baghdad are a step
towards that direction.
[Iraq: US Meetings with Dissidents]
Q Richard, on that point, can you tell us a little
bit about this meeting today with the Kurdish leaders and Deputy
Secretary Mack?
MR. BOUCHER: Yes. We've been holding meetings with
the Iraqi opposition figures for the past few weeks. These
meetings in the past have included several Kurds representing
different groups. As part of this series of meetings, NEA
Deputy Assistant Secretary David Mack is again meeting with a
Kurdish group today at 2:00 p.m.
There will be five Kurdish individuals in the meeting,
including representatives of the Kurdish Democratic Party, the
Popular Union of Kurdistan, the Kurdish Socialist Party, the
Kurdish Popular Democratic Party, and a local representative of
the Kurdish National Congress of North America.
I understand from press reports that the first three of
these groups is represented in the Baghdad meeting. The meeting
has been in the works for a couple of weeks. As we've explained
in the past, this series of meetings represents an opportunity
to hear the perspective of individuals on what is going on
inside Iraq, and also for us to explain American policy and
actions in the area.
Q Well, again according to a report in The Post
yesterday, what they're looking for is some sort of sign from
the U.S. about whether the U.S. is going to help them achieve
greater freedoms, and so forth, over there, or, if not, whether
they should take this latest offer from Saddam more seriously.
Can you give us any sense of what kind of message they're going
to get today on this?
MR. BOUCHER: We'll have to see what they say. As you
know, I just said that we've supported their full political
rights; that we have long held that human rights abuses against
the Kurds should stop. We're providing assistance to the
refugees where they are, and I'm sure we'll be glad to explain
that policy.
Q Is it fair to say, though, that we are encouraging
them to make their peace with Saddam rather than to rely on us
to achieve these things for them?
MR. BOUCHER: Those kinds of issues are -- I mean,
exactly what they want to do with Saddam is for them to decide.
We take advantage of these meetings to explain our views, to
explain what we're doing. I think you're all familiar with
those, and I think I'd just have to leave it at that in advance
of the meeting.
Q Richard, is it the view of the United States that
Kurds have these rights that you just outlined inside Turkey?
MR. BOUCHER: Alan, I'll be glad to see if there's a
different formulation from inside Turkey, but I think basically,
yes, we don't think that there should be human rights abuses
against Kurds anywhere, and we think that they should be allowed
to express their cultural heritage, etc.
Q But my question is, are they allowed to? In the
United States view, does their situation in Turkey -- is their
situation in Turkey a satisfactory expression of what you just
outlined ought to be their situation in Iraq?
MR. BOUCHER: I'll be glad to get you our human rights
report and see if we address it there. I'm sure that would give
a much better exposition than I can give right now.
[Africa: US Aid to Refugees]
Q On a related question, some international relief
organizations are expressing anxiety that focus on the Kurdish
tragedy is drawing attention away from the situation in Africa
where 20 million people are threatened with famine. They
express concern that government grain contributions -- not
necessarily of the United States but worldwide -- are falling
way behind schedule, and individual contributions are also
actually non-existent. Is this a concern?
MR. BOUCHER: I think the situation of refugees in
Africa is certainly a concern of ours, and we have continued to
contribute to those efforts, even as we've mounted the effort in
Iraq and near its borders. Well, let me check on something
before I add to that.
But we have continued to offer the assistance and
support necessary in Africa. We've continued to work on the
very difficult refugee problems that are there.
Q Well, could you take the specific question as to
whether deliveries are behind schedule to Africa as a direct
result of the problems in the Gulf?
MR. BOUCHER: I'd be glad to, George.
Q Could you also -- if you're taking a question --
just get us an update on the famine situation in the Horn of
Africa in particular? Is that possible?
MR. BOUCHER: O.K.
Q Richard, is it possible that American airplanes
might be landing in Iran as part of the relief effort there?
MR. BOUCHER: I'm afraid at this point I'm not in a
position to go into any more detail on what we might consider.
Q Can you tell us why -- why the secrecy?
(Laughter) You know, there are --
MR. BOUCHER: Let me give you a short explanation,
Saul. We'll decide what we want to do, and then we'll tell you
about it. That's usually the way we operate.
Q Richard, on the same question, I think late last
week -- I think it was Thursday -- you were saying the Iranians
"are clarifying their needs," and now you're saying that, "They
have clarified their needs, and we are now considering it."
So are you moving forward on this process? Are we
closer to doing something?
MR. BOUCHER: Chris, I'll just note that, as you noted,
there's a different phrasing today, and that we've been working
on this. We've had regular exchanges, and we're now considering
what we might do to supplement the efforts that are already
underway there.
Q Last week, you didn't want to tell us what it was
that the Iranians said they needed. I didn't really understand
why that was. But now that they've clarified what that is, do
you want to share that with us?
MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't, Chris.
Q Is there a difference between what we have offered
them and what they're asking for? Is that the problem?
MR. BOUCHER: No, I'm not trying to lead you to any big
differences here. We have, as you know, been much more reserved
than this in the past about discussing our exchanges that we
have with the Iranians through our protecting power, the Swiss.
I'm trying to give you a status of where we are in
terms of the exchanges, but I don't want to get into starting to
predict specific kinds of efforts.
Q Is it part of a legal problem in the United
States' relationship with Iran that limits certain things that
the U.S. can do?
MR. BOUCHER: I think there are some laws on this, but
I'm not sure that they actually limit what we can do for Iraqi
refugees. I think it's more a matter of seeing what they need,
seeing what other people are doing, deciding what we can do, and
when we decide we'll tell you about it.
Q Are you saying whether or not what they need is in
any way substantially different from what you've already dropped
in Turkey? I can't see how tarpaulins and baby milk can in any
way be a political issue unless, of course, it's an Iraqi baby
milk factory.
You've dropped bedding and food and water and salt and
tea, and the whole 9 yards. It's the whole supermarket --
MR. BOUCHER: Jan, it's really more appropriate for me
to leave it to the Iranians to describe, to the extent that they
want to in public, what exactly they need.
Q You didn't leave it to the Turks. Richard, it
doesn't make sense.
MR. BOUCHER: We've been working with the Turks on an
effort. We've described what we've sent in. We've described
what we're flying in. We've described what we're dropping.
We've described what we're doing. I'm sure that when we decide
what we can do on the Iranian side of the border, we'll describe
that for you as well.
Q But you were telling us what their needs were and
it was obvious what their needs were even before we started
doing it. I wonder why you're standing on ceremony with more
than a million Kurds on the Iranian side.
MR. BOUCHER: Saul, I don't want to get into a big
fight over this. I had not realized you would take it so
personally. The point is that this is what we're doing
elsewhere on the other side of the border as well. We've got to
consider what the requests are. If they want to talk about what
they need, that's fine. Then we'll talk about what we're doing
when we do it.
Q Richard, let me quote a senior Administration
official who said not far from here last week, "We saw the need
and we went and did it," or something to that effect. Very
close to that.
There is obviously a need there. I'm wondering if
those Kurds on the Iranian side are unfortunate enough to be
held hostage because we have a hostage problem with Iran?
MR. BOUCHER: Saul, I've said repeatedly from this
podium our willingness to help. I've said that there are major
efforts underway on that side of the border that are being
spearheaded by United Nations organizations, the International
Red Cross, the European Community, various U.N. organizations
and various other countries are in there helping already.
I think we've given you rundowns of what is going on on
that side of the border. We've repeatedly stated our
willingness to help refugees wherever they are and our
willingness to help refugees that are on the Iranian side of the
border, and we will be doing that. As soon as I have something
more concrete to report to you, I'll be glad to report it to
you.
Q Richard, to avoid some confusion on this, can you
tell us whether or not your talks with Iran are focusing
strictly on the refugee problem?
MR. BOUCHER: The exchanges that I've been reporting to
you on are about the needs and what we can do to address them.
Q The refugee needs?
MR. BOUCHER: Yes.
Q Richard, a parallel issue: Kuwait. The Secretary
is over there now. Amnesty International brought forth a report
on the 18th of this month denouncing the treatment of
Palestinians and third-country nationals over there.
Is the Secretary bringing his concerns forward to this
issue? Has anything been done? Are we doing something?
MR. BOUCHER: I'm afraid on Kuwait, I'll have to stop
with the first part of your question. That's on Kuwait. The
Secretary is over there now. Period. We've put out some
indication last week about how we saw the situation. But as far
as the specific discussions the Secretary will have, I'll leave
it to him to address it. According to some of the wire stories,
he already has. I'll get you that information as soon as we
can.
Q Do we regard this situation with the Palestinians
to have bettered itself?
MR. BOUCHER: I'll refer you to what we said last
Thursday or so and what the Secretary might be saying today.
Q Could you respond to the Senate's resolution
urging the President to go to bat for an international tribunal
for war crimes violations against the Iraqi leadership? The
vote came after the Secretary made comments, in general, about
war crimes. No one has responded since then. Do you have
anything?
MR. BOUCHER: I really don't have anything new to say.
I think the Secretary gave a pretty complete exposition of our
views on war crimes, and I have nothing new from that.
Q That would suggest -- I don't want to get you into
a fight with the Hill -- but that would suggest that you're at
variance, to some degree, with the Senate on this.
MR. BOUCHER: I'll leave it with what the Secretary
said. You can do the analysis if you want.
Q Richard, do you have any comment about the Iranian
Foreign Minister's remarks in the Post today on the hostage
situation?
MR. BOUCHER: We saw the remarks. I really don't have
anything new for you on hostages. Our view remains what it has
always been, and they should be immediately and unconditionally
released; and that there should be a full accounting of those
who have died while in captivity.
Q That includes the ones that Iran considers to be
hostages in Israel?
MR. BOUCHER: Our views on the hostage situation, in
general, really haven't changed.
Q You mentioned that there was a meeting on-going in
Geneva today. Is there a chance the Iranian situation will be
brought up in those meetings? And, also, do you have any
up-to-date figures on how many Kurds might be dying along the
Iranian border?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't have that kind of information
about the Iranian border. We're just not there. We're not in a
position to give that kind of information.
As far as the meetings in Geneva, I'm sure they'll
discuss the overall relief efforts. But since it's the U.S.
military people who are meeting with the various U.N. agencies
that are operating on the Turkish side of the border, that, I'm
sure, would be the focus of the meetings.
Q Would Iran come up at all in those meetings?
MR. BOUCHER: Who knows. I'm not there. But that's
certainly not the focus of it.
Q Richard, is it true -- what you seem to be saying
is that the situation for the Kurds is not as critical on the
Iranian border as it is on the Turkish border?
MR. BOUCHER: No. I don't think I was saying that.
There are many critical and difficult needs on both sides of the
border. The Iranian Red Crescent, the ICRC, and other
organizations are operating on the Iranian side of the border
trying to take care of people.
We, the Turks, and other organizations are working on
the Turkish-Iraq border, trying to take care of people up there.
There are many people in both places who have urgent needs.
Q Richard, has there been any progress in setting up
the commission to visit Iraqi facilities of chemical, biological
weapons, nuclear facilities, and ballistic missiles?
MR. BOUCHER: That's something for the Secretary
General of the United Nations to address. I think the timetable
for that is laid out in the U.N. resolution.
Q Apart from your comment on Friday that the Iraqi
account of their capabilities was -- what was the word you used?
-- "falls short of reality," are you aware of any U.N. response
to that letter?
MR. BOUCHER: Not at this point, no. I'm sure that
like we are, other members are considering the letter and
comparing it and analyzing it against the available information.
Q Richard, you said there's no reason to believe the
U.N. will not take over the camps, which sounds like they
haven't said they will take over the camps. Why is there a
delay?
MR. BOUCHER: The meetings that I'm describing and some
of the refugee coordination is being done by the people on the
ground in Turkey -- are all comparing the various efforts that
are underway.
As you know, the U.N. just signed last week its
agreement with the Iraqis on how they would operate inside Iraq.
I think there's a process, first of all, of getting the refugee
needs met where we can and then during the course of that
process we'll work on a handover. It's just the way the process
is working now.
Q Richard, you said that the Iraqi police didn't
show any intentions of interfering with the humanitarian relief.
But do you think their presence alone may have a chilling
effect on the decisions of the Kurds to return to that part of
Iraq?
MR. BOUCHER: Jim, that's a possibility, but I think
it would really just be speculation on my part. The important
thing is that we are there; we are setting up. We're setting up
camps that will have good facilities. We're going to be
providing good security for the people who decide to go to those
camps. We'll just have to see if people go there.
Q You said that you expected to turn control over to
the U.N. soon. Is that a matter of days or weeks, or what?
MR. BOUCHER: I really can't give a timetable on it at
this point. We've got to get the camps set up and operating.
We've got to see how the U.N. can start its own activities
there. This will be a process as we both get more involved in
delivering relief in those areas.
Q Is there a chance that the U.N. is going to be
setting up its own camps and the U.S. will be having its own
camps so that you have two different sets of camps, and that
both sides have not agreed on exactly the situation there?
MR. BOUCHER: We said last week that we saw the U.N.
efforts and our efforts as complimentary. There are a great
number of people who need to be taken care of. There were some
things that the U.N. agreed to with the Iraqis that they'll be
in the process of setting up. We're also setting up our own
camps.
Exactly where they'll all be located, I really can't
tell you at this point. But I think we see whatever assistance
is provided in different camps as being complimentary rather
than redundant.
Q Richard, can you provide an account of progress
under Security Council Resolution 664 which laid out a procedure
for people to seek reparations for damages incurred because of
the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait? Has there been any?
MR. BOUCHER: It's something I'd have to check on.
It's also addressed in Resolution 687 which describes the
establishment of a compensation fund. So that resolution that
earlier established the liability was complemented, or followed
by Resolution 687, which describes the process by which that
fund will be established. I think we just have to look for the
timetables in Resolution 687 to see how it will operate.
Q Does the United States still favor the
establishment of a Middle East Regional Development Bank as
outlined by the Secretary of State in a hearing before the
Congress?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know. I don't have anything new
on that. I'd expect that somebody might ask the Secretary
during the course of his visit to the Gulf. We'll just have to
see if there's anything new from that.
[Afghanistan: Report of Scuds Striking Asadabad]
Q Richard, do you have a comment either on the West
German election or the use of Scud missiles in Afghanistan?
(Laughter)
MR. BOUCHER: Well, I'm going to duck the West German
elections since that was a local election that we don't normally
comment on. Let's talk about Scuds in Afghanistan a little bit.
Press reports indicate that the regime has fired up to
4 surface-to-surface missiles hitting Asadabad, the
Resistance-held capital of Konar Province. From these reports,
it appears that there were a large number of casualties. We are
attempting to confirm these reports.
As in the case of the Scud attacks against Khost
earlier this month, the U.S. deplores the use of this terror
weapon which causes great damage to life and property with
little military significance.
We have made our views known to Moscow on the use of
these terror weapons and we will continue to do so.
Q On a houskeeping matter, does the Secretary of
State fall under the same White House policy law as Governor
Sununu and General Scowcroft, that he has to travel on a
military aircraft to remain in constant contact with the White
House when he's travelling domestically?
MR. BOUCHER: If you want to ask about White House
rules, ask about White House rules. The Secretary --
Q. Is he considered to be part of that?
MR. BOUCHER: The Secretary of State, generally,
travels on U.S. Government aircraft just for that very reason,
so that we can be in constant touch with him.
Q Richard, on another area. There's a report from
Phnom Penh that some American consultants hired by the U.S.
Government -- I think AID -- have visited there and done an
assessment of humanitarian needs. Can you confirm that or look
into it please?
MR. BOUCHER: I'll have to look into. I wasn't aware
of that.
[Vietnam: Status of US Relations/POW-MIA Office]
Q On Vietnam. This decision over the weekend to set
up a U.S. office to look into MIA/POW issues is being
interpreted by some as a step toward normalization. Is it?
MR. BOUCHER: I really wouldn't describe it as the
beginning of a process of normalization. As you know, on April
9, we laid out to Vietnam's Permanent Representative at the U.N.
what we called the "Roadmap," the 4-phrase approach that would
spell out in detail how Vietnamese cooperation on a Cambodia
settlement combined with substantial results on the POW/MIA and
humanitarian issues would enable both countries to move forward
in a process towards normalization.
But the formal process of normalizing political and
economic relations would begin as soon as the Paris Agreement on
a Cambodian settlement is signed by Vietnam and the authorities
in Phnom Penh as well as by the other Paris Conference
participants.
The announcement on the 20th by General Vessey is
something that's been discussed for several years with Vietnam
-- the idea of establishing an office in Vietnam that would
facilitate cooperation on the POW/MIA issue, should our joint
efforts justify such a presence. The decision was based on the
discussions that General Vessey had with the Vietnamese Foreign
Minister in Washington last October and after the two days of
talks in Hanoi that he had last Friday and Saturday.
Q Have you heard back from the other people in the
party -- I think Ken Quinn was along, for instance -- on how the
political talks went?
MR. BOUCHER: We've been in touch with them. But this
was a discussion that Ken Quinn was part of, but it was a
discussion about POW/MIA issues. It was a discussion of how to
enhance the mechanisms that we already have to resolve our
concerns about those issues. The office that they agreed to
establish has some very specific goals to facilitate joint field
investigations and investigations of reports of live citings, to
engage in information research and planning for
joint investigations. It is designed to support POW and MIA
issues only. It will not have any diplomatic or political
responsibilities.
Q But usually the State Department stays out of
those kinds of discussions. As I recall, it's limited to
General Vessey, somebody from the NSC, and a representative of
the League of Families. This is a departure, having a State
Department representative there.
MR. BOUCHER: We've had people on these trips before.
I'm not sure if Ken Quinn has gone before or not, or if we've
gone on every one. But I know we have, at least occasionally,
had people on them before.
Q Richard, going back to Afghanistan, you said that
the U.S. Government has made its concern known to the Soviets.
You're not implying that the Soviets may have been in charge of
the firing of these missiles?
MR. BOUCHER: No, I'm not. But as suppliers to the
regime in Kabul, we think they need to hear what our views are
on the way some of the weapons are used.
Q Do you have an update on the situation in Ethiopia
where fighting is continuing and Mengistu made what was billed
as a major speech last Friday?
MR. BOUCHER: I'll have to get you one, Alan. I don't
have anything with me.
Q Thank you.
Press briefing concluded at 1:08 p.m.)