January, 1992
US Department of State Daily Briefing #1:
Friday, 1/3/92
Boucher
Source: State Department Deputy Spokesman Richard
Boucher
Description: Washington, DC
Date: Jan, 3 19921/3/92
Category: Briefings
Region: MidEast/North Africa, Eurasia, E/C Europe,
South Asia, East Asia, Caribbean, Southeast Asia
Country: Iraq, Russia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia-Montenegro,
Pakistan, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, North Korea,
South Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, Cambodia, Algeria, Haiti
Subject: State Department, Development/Relief Aid,
Immigration, Mideast Peace Process,
International Organizations, Nuclear Nonproliferation,
Terrorism, POW/MIA Issues
12:51 P.M.
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)
MR. BOUCHER: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I'd like to
do a couple of things off the top. The first is a statement on the
new year in Iraq. The second is to update you on the question of
recognition of republics or new states that have been created. Also,
I would like to remind you that yesterday we put up a statement on
Yugoslavia commending the commitments that people had undertaken to a
ceasefire and strongly supporting the efforts of Cyrus Vance.
[Iraq: Statement on International Aid Efforts/
Government Barriers]
On Iraq: As the people of Iraq enter the new year, they should
know that the international community remains gravely concerned with
their continued suffering and deprivation at the hands of the Iraqi
regime.
Arrangements have been concluded with the Turkish Government to
extend for another six months "Operation Provide Comfort." We
commend the people and the Government of Turkey for generously
responding to the plight of the people of northern Iraq.
U.N. humanitarian assistance programs also continue in Iraq under
arrangements specified in the Memorandum of Understanding renewed now
through June of 1992.
We'll be giving you some more extensive material on what's going
on there; but if I can, I'd like to hit a few highlights to bring you
up to date.
There are approximately 375 United Nations humanitarian
personnel, 500 U.N. guards, 300 Red Cross workers, and 192 workers
from private organizations in Baghdad and dozens of other cities in
Iraq.
The U.N. and its agencies have provided nearly $300 million in
humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi peoples since March, and the Red
Cross has provided another $100 million. U.S. contributions include
$94 million to U.N. agencies, over 63,000 metric tons of food, $6.9
million to private agencies, and total nearly $600 million overall
when you include the "Operation Provide Comfort" expenses.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi regime continues to impede
international assistance. The Iraqi Government has caused large
supplies of donated vaccines from UNICEF to sit unused at one
facility.
There have been numerous reliable reports that Iraqi
Government officials are warning needy Iraqi citizens not to
accept aid from international relief organizations.
In October, the Iraqi Government issued an order
prohibiting foreign groups from distributing food through local
maternal child health centers, depriving about 50,000
beneficiaries.
In the south, the Iraqi Government has restricted the
access of U.N. and voluntary relief workers. Displaced Shi'a
are known to inhabit a large marshland, and unclean water there
is a major problem for them.
The United Nations Security Council has provided the
means for Iraq to raise nearly a billion dollars from the sale
of oil to meet the near-term humanitarian needs of the Iraqi
people through U.N. Security Council Resolutions 706 and 712.
We call upon the Iraqi Government to immediately and
unconditionally accept these U.N. Security Council resolutions.
I'll proceed.
[Former Soviet Union: US Diplomatic Relations with
Russian Federation and Other Republics]
I've been getting questions about recognition of new
states, and I thought I'd just review for you where we stand on
that and what our intentions are.
As you know, on Christmas Day the President recognized
the independence of all 12 former Soviet Republics and proposed
the establishment of full diplomatic relations and the exchange
of ambassadors with six of the new states -- Russia, Ukraine,
Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.
President Yeltsin has responded formally and positively
to this letter on December 31. Although we have not received
formal responses from the other states, their informal reactions
have been positive. President Yeltsin's response means that we
now have formal diplomatic relations with the Russian
Federation.
In practical terms, our Embassy in Moscow will be
accredited to the Russian Federation. Our Consulate General in
Kiev will become an embassy once we have a positive Ukrainian
response.
We've had plans for some time to establish posts in
Alma Ata, Yerevan, and Minsk; and we will open functioning
embassies in these cities before the end of the fiscal year. We
will also move to open an embassy in Bishkek.
So that's where we stand on those things.
Q How many embassies did you name will be opened by
the end of this fiscal year, which means the end of June?
MR. BOUCHER: We have Moscow already. The Consulate
General in Kiev will be converted. We'll be having posts in
Alma Ata, Yerevan, and Minsk. Those are all planned by the end
of the fiscal year -- and then Bishkek.
Q So we have five out of eleven; is that right?
MR. BOUCHER: Six out of twelve, and then -- well, to
six out of twelve we have offered full diplomatic relations; and
we expect to have embassies in at least five of those by the end
of the fiscal year. We'll also be moving on Bishkek.
Q Who will the rest be, then -- missions, or
something like that?
MR. BOUCHER: At this point, that would depend on the
establishment of formal diplomatic relations -- the opening of
embassies in the other Republics.
Q Where is the money coming from to pay for these?
MR. BOUCHER: I guess the answer to that is, we're
finding it. We've had underway for some time an effort to move
positions and money from western Europe and other places where
we could to eastern Europe and to expand our presence in what
was the Soviet Union.
So part of this -- as I said, there were plans underway
for some time. We've been working on getting posts of some kind
in Alma Ata, Yerevan, and Minsk.
Q You're reprogramming money, then? You're not
asking for a supplemental?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't think we are. I'll double-check
that to make sure.
Q I understood you're reprogramming money -- some of
it, anyway -- from money earmarked to build the new embassy, or
renovate, or however you care to characterize it, the embassy
complex in Moscow, the one that had been bugged and had been
idle. Hasn't some of the money been taken from that and spread
around?
MR. BOUCHER: I hadn't heard that, John. Let me try to
double-check and get you a better answer to the question of
"Where is the money coming from?"
Q Richard, just a minor point. Aid that was
allocated for Pakistan was never provided because of their
nuclear program. What happened to that money? It was a whole
chunk of money that should have gone to Pakistan in the form of
aid. Presumably it's floating through the system somewhere.
Could you take the question?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know what happened to that. I'll
have to look into that.
Q Richard, do you expect that these countries in
which you will have embassies established by the end of
September, the fiscal year -- I was wrong in saying the end of
June -- will they have embassies in Washington at about the same
time?
MR. BOUCHER: That's something you'll have to ask them.
I don't know what their plans are.
Q Who will represent them in the meanwhile?
MR. BOUCHER: Again, that's something you have to ask
them. It's not something I can answer for you.
Q Richard, do you expect -- you're going to have
five or six new ambassadors. Are these going to be professional
Foreign Service Officers or mostly political appointees, or a
mix?
MR. BOUCHER: I can't answer that question at this
point. As you know, the White House does ambassadorial
appointments, so far be it from me to try to project who they
would appoint.
We've been taking the steps necessary to follow through
on the President's recognition plan. The Administration is
reviewing ambassadorial appointments to the countries with which
we are establishing diplomatic relations. Add to that, we are
sending out survey teams to look at potential properties in
these cities, and we're seeking officers in the State Department
with proper language skills and area experience to serve at
these posts as well.
Q Just as a matter of interest, is there anyone in
the State Department who speaks Armenian?
MR. BOUCHER: I expect there is.
Q Or Uzbeki?
MR. BOUCHER: I expect there is. I don't know if you
noticed, but I think in mid-December there was a personnel
notice that went out asking people to report on their language
skills. We've been following that up. I'm not sure we've found
the people yet.
Q Could you take the question and try to provide us
information about language skills -- languages such as Armenian,
Uzbeki? There has been a notice in the past about a
dearth of language specialists in some languages. It would be
interesting to know how many people you have that do speak some
of these languages.
MR. BOUCHER: I'll see if we have some kind of answer
for that at this point. What I've seen so far is that we've
gone out with a notice looking for it. I know that we have
people with these language skills in various languages -- some
people who have done graduate work, specializing in various
areas of Soviet Central Asia, and things like that. So we do
have people, and we have had people in the past assigned to our
Embassy in Moscow who were specialists in these other republics.
Q Can you bring us up to date on the status of the
embassy buildings in Moscow and here in Washington? I see the
lights burning at night out there on Wisconsin Avenue.
MR. BOUCHER: As far as I know, nothing has changed
with the Embassy in Washington. I just don't have an update for
you on our plans in Moscow.
Q Did you get the plans of the bugging in the
building, supposedly turned over?
MR. BOUCHER: Yes. Ambassador Strauss, I think, said
he got them in early December.
Q Richard, could you give us your reaction to the
announcement by the Palestinian delegation that they will not be
on hand here next week?
MR. BOUCHER: We're in touch with the Palestinians on
the issue. We have encouraged all the parties to focus on peace
and to resume bilateral negotiations next week as they had
previously agreed.
[Israel: Deportation of Palestinians/US Call for Reconsideration and
Condemnation of Violence]
Q Can I ask you one on the same area, Richard?
There are reports from Israel that they will deport, or they
decided to deport, 12 more Palestinians.
MR. BOUCHER: The United States strongly condemns the
Israeli Government's decision to deport Palestinians. We have
urged Israel at the highest levels to reconsider and to rescind
its decision.
Israel well understands our long-standing policy on
deportations. We strongly oppose deportations as a violation of
the Fourth Geneva Convention as it pertains to the treatment of
inhabitants of the Occupied Territories. The United States
believes that charges of wrong-doing should be brought in a
court of law based on evidence to be argued in a fair trial
which would afford full judicial process.
We also condemn and are saddened by the recent murder
of an Israeli citizen in the Gaza Strip and all other acts of
violence in the Occupied Territories. We view with concern the
rise of violence against Israelis in recent months. Those who
have carried out these acts of terror and murder against
Israelis are quite simply enemies of peace.
At the same time, we believe deportations are a form of
retaliation and are not a remedy, nor are they a deterrent to
violence.
We have long called on all parties to avoid unilateral
acts, be they words or deeds, that would raise tensions, invite
retaliation, or complicate the ability to pursue peace. The
real remedy for chronic violence in the Occupied Territories is
not retaliation but the process of Arab-Israeli negotiation.
Thus, on the eve of resumption of negotiations where
Israel has Arab and Palestinian partners for peace, it is hard
for us to understand why such unilateral acts were taken.
Q Who are you in touch with? Can you tell us about
-- from the Palestinian side -- calling on them to resume or to
appear here and to show up for the talks?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know who exactly they've talked
to, frankly. I think they may have talked to a number of
people.
Q Can I also ask if this statement was delivered to
Israel in an official fashion, or is that the way they will hear
about it?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know if these precise words have
been delivered to Israel, but our concerns and our condemnation
of the deportations certainly were. I said we've urged Israel
at the highest levels to reconsider and rescind its decisions.
Q Just one last thing about it, please. There are
also reports about budgeting money for settlements and a
decision already to build 5,000 more or 5,500 more housing units
in the territories.
MR. BOUCHER: I don't want to get into commenting or
trying to examine in detail Israel's budget. I would say that
our opposition to settlement activity is well known. In light
of our opposition to settlements, and in light of the enormous
challenge that Israel is facing in absorbing Soviet Jews under
stringent budgetary conditions, it is hard to understand, if
press reports are accurate, how an estimated quarter of the
government housing budget will go to increased units in the
Occupied Territories.
Q Why is that hard to understand?
MR. BOUCHER: They have many, many other needs for the
money, I think, is what I said.
Q Two other things. Do you expect any sort of talks
to resume on Monday here in the building?
MR. BOUCHER: As I think I said earlier, we are
encouraging the parties to focus on peace and resume bilateral
negotiations next week. At this point, the timing and the venue
are not pinned down.
Q What happens if the Israeli Government collapses
with the talks, which is a possibility?
MR. BOUCHER: That's a "what if" question. I'll deal
with that if it happens.
Q Have you heard from any of the other participants
in the bilateral talks?
MR. BOUCHER: We're in touch with all the parties.
We've been discussing these issues of timing and venue. As I
said, it's not pinned down yet, so I don't have anything to
announce for you. But we're in touch with all the parties
concerning the question.
Q When will the doors be open, Richard?
MR. BOUCHER: Again, I say the timing and the venue are
not pinned down at this point. I don't have anything to
announce.
Q Are you suggesting that the venue could be
different?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't think the venue was specified at
the end of the last round, nor have I specified it subsequently
from here, nor am I specifying it today. That's all.
Q So a building other than the State Department is a
possibility?
MR. BOUCHER: I'm not trying to raise any particular
possibility, Mark. I'm just saying it's not pinned down yet and
when it is, we'll tell you.
Q I thought, because there was never that second
bookend, that the doors were still open from December. They
never closed; right?
MR. BOUCHER: Chris, we've never made a big issue of
this. The parties said they intended to resume their talks
during next week. We've supported that, we've welcome that, and
we've been working with them to pin down the details.
Q Richard, have you been notified officially by the
Palestinians about their putting off plans to travel to
Washington?
MR. BOUCHER: I know we've talked to the Palestinians.
As I said, we've encouraged them to focus on peace and resume
bilateral negotiations next week, as we have all the parties.
I've seen what they've said publicly. I don't know
precisely what they've told us privately, but I assume it's more
or less convergent with what they've said publicly. But in any
case, you can ask them what they've told us. Not me.
Q Richard, the National Association of
Arab-Americans said they're coming in here this afternoon to
meet with Ambassador Djerejian. Do you know what the topic of
the meeting is? Is it related to this?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know. I hadn't heard about the
meeting. I'm sorry.
Q Richard.
Q Richard, your statement and your responses to some
of the questions raise a lot of questions. But let me start
with the question about -- that you said, I believe: "It's hard
to understand -- can you hear me?
MR. BOUCHER: Yes.
Q -- "hard to understand why such unilateral acts
are being taken by the Israeli Government." In response to
this, I was just wondering, you talked about going to a court of
law, so forth and so on. This is well understood. This is the
procedure that's followed.
Why haven't any Arab -- any official -- said anything
at all of remorse, made a plea to their people: Don't kill?
Four civilians were killed in the last two months; 67 in four
years or so in cold blood.
MR. BOUCHER: Joe, let me just cut you off.
Q Why don't we get something --
MR. BOUCHER: If you want to ask other people about
their views, you can go ahead and do that. I'll state for you
the views of the United States Government, as I've just done for
you.
Q Well, in the view of the United States Government,
have you asked the Arabs to appeal to their own people to stop
the killing?
MR. BOUCHER: I have expressed the views of the United
States Government.
Q Well, no -- I understand that, but I'm asking you
whether or not the United States Government has asked these
Arabs, these spokespeople who come here speaking for the
terrorist PLO, "Why don't you tell your people to stop the
killing?"
MR. BOUCHER: Again, Joe, we've consistently urged
everyone to act responsibly and to focus on the issue of
pursuing peace. That's been a position that we've taken
repeatedly with all the parties. That remains our position
today.
Q Would you undertake to ask -- would you undertake
--
MR. BOUCHER: Let's move on, if we can. I'm sorry.
Q Richard, Prime Minister Major is suggesting a
summit of heads of government of all the Security Council
nations. Does the United States support that idea?
MR. BOUCHER: Alan, we've had contacts with the United
Kingdom regarding a Security Council meeting like this, but I'm
afraid for anything at the summit level you'd have to ask your
questions at the White House.
Q Richard --
MR. BOUCHER: I'll move back to you Mark soon.
Q -- has there been any decision made to upgrade the
level of talks with North Korea in Beijing above the political
counselor level; and, if so, was that a response to actions by
North Korea in the past few weeks?
MR. BOUCHER: That's something I'll have to check on
for you.
Q Richard, you mentioned, I think, the need to
resettle -- to settle -- Soviet Jewry in connection with the
Israeli budget decisions. Are you drawing a possible connection
here with the issue of loan guarantees, and do the budget
decisions imperil the loan guarantees?
MR. BOUCHER: At this point, I'm not going to get into
the question of loan guarantees.
Q Your l20-day silence has expired, hasn't it?
MR. BOUCHER: We never set a precise date to it, so I
can't say that absolutely, no.
Q Richard, do you have anything on this helicopter
of Cubans that landed in Florida today?
MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't. I think Customs Service was
tracking it and received it and that they've been talking. I've
seen them on the news.
Q O.K. And while we're more or less in that part of
the world, do you have anything on these Kennedy-Khrushchev
letters on the Cuban missile crisis?
MR. BOUCHER: We have had requests to release the few
remaining classified pieces of correspondence between President
Kennedy and Soviet General-Secretary Khrushchev from the period
of the Cuban missile crisis. We're looking closely at the texts
to see if they can be released, and we have been in touch with
the Russians on this issue as well.
I don't have a decision to announce today on this
question, nor do I have at this point a date when a decision
could be expected.
Q Richard, the reports that the United States has
decided not to seek sanctions against Libya because of the
Lockerbie indictments -- can you comment on those reports?
MR. BOUCHER: Those reports are simply incorrect.
Should Libya continue to fail to comply voluntarily with our
demands for justice, we have ruled out no option to gain their
compliance.
We're currently engaged in an extensive diplomatic
effort in capitals worldwide, including those of the U.N.
Security Council members, to secure Libya's full and prompt
compliance with the demands made on November 27. The demands,
which up to now Libya has sought to evade, require Libya to do
the following:
-- to surrender for trial all those charged with the
crime and to accept responsibility for the actions of Libyan
officials;
-- to disclose all it knows of this crime and to allow
access to witnesses and evidence;
-- and to pay appropriate compensation.
We have demanded, further, that Libya cease all forms
of terrorist action and all assistance to terrorist groups. To
date, Libya has not complied with any of these demands.
Q Richard, the Administration consistently rules out
no options. The statement is fairly strong against Libya, but
it again fails to say what else -- what the U.S. would do. Can
you rule in any of the options? Can you say finally what's
being discussed?
MR. BOUCHER: At this point, I can't. We've been
consulting closely with the French and the British, as well as
other governments, about what actions we can take -- including
possible U.N. Security Council action -- to make clear to Libya
that it must comply with the demands.
That's about all I can say for the moment.
Q I have a question. Have you any further
evaluation of what General Kalugin has been saying the last
several days?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't think I have any further
evaluation for you. The latest news on that is just to say that
he's been cooperative in facilitating a meeting with the
officials that he's talked about. We expect that meeting might
take place very soon.
Meanwhile, General Kalugin has agreed to meet with
Department officials during his visit to Washington.
Q Second point: We had a long talk yesterday with
Mark Souter, an independent journalist who's now in Moscow, and
Souter has some questions to pass on to the State Department.
MR. BOUCHER: He's been here himself in person.
Q Yes, but he had one particular question. He says
the Embassy in Moscow recently gave the former Soviet Union a
list of 50 persons that we thought were missing; and according
to what the Soviets told him, the first two people on the list
had already been repatriated.
The question: Who's coordinating this list that goes
through the Department and the Embassy to the CIS of persons who
are supposedly missing?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know where that particular list
came from, frankly. I'd have to check on that.
Q A third question: You say the Department does
have plans to meet with General Kalugin while he's in
Washington?
MR. BOUCHER: That's right.
Q And since the USSR is demised, are there any new
requests that have been made to the CIS for information on POWs
or MIAs?
MR. BOUCHER: We have consistently followed up,
consistently tried to work with officials at different levels
and different Republics to pursue this issue. We continue to
work with Russian officials and officials of other Republics
where it's appropriate to pursue any reports that we get -- even
ones that we don't have real substantiation for -- to check out
as best we can, and to gain their cooperation as best we can in
pursuing all these leads.
Q What about consular access to the areas where some
of these persons have been reported?
MR. BOUCHER: We had one problem getting to a town
called Saryshagansk, where there was a report that an American
from Vietnam had moved. The Secretary raised this during his
recent trip to Alma-Ata. President Nazarbayev assured us that
the trip would be approved and that Embassy officials will visit
Saryshagansk with a Kazakh escort shortly.
Q Shortly.
One other question then, on a related matter: Izvestia
has also reported several times the recovery by the USSR
military of the black box off a KAL 007. Is any request
outstanding for access to this black box information?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know that.
Q Richard, on Cambodia, there have been calls for a
speedup in deployment of peacekeepers -- U.N. peacekeepers. Is
the United States considering supporting those calls because of
the deteriorating situation in Phnom Penh?
MR. BOUCHER: Ted, I'll have to check on that. I'm not
sure if we've had a schedule yet from the U.N. So I'll check
and see if there's anything we can say on that.
Q Richard, on the Arrow --
MS. TUTWILER: Hold on. We've got people over here
waiting.
Q Do you have anything to say about the development
on the Korean Peninsula?
MR. BOUCHER: I have nothing new to say today. I think
we welcome the steps that President Roh has taken and the
progress that he's achieved, and I'm not aware of anything
brand-new today.
Q The North Korean nuclear threat has been a primary
concern of the United States. And now that North Korea has
agreed with South Korea [on a] nuclear-free Korean Peninsula,
can you expect an improvement of relations between North Korea
and the United States?
MR. BOUCHER: I have nothing really new to say on that
at this point. We have stressed that the steps that were taken
and agreed to recently emphasize the primary importance of the
North-South dialogue in improving the situation on the
peninsula, so I don't have anything from the U.S. side at this
point.
Q Richard, just coming back to these letters for a
second, please. Where are these letters physically? Are they
in the National Archives, Kennedy Library -- or just where?
And then I have a separate question that's unrelated.
MR. BOUCHER: I'm not sure I know that at this point.
Q [Inaudible] two questions and a clarification.
(Laughter)
MR. BOUCHER: No, I just don't know that, Frances. I'm
sorry.
Q O.K.
The unrelated question concerns Georgia and the virtual
civil war there. Is the U.S. Government monitoring that, and is
there any thought to sending someone there, sort of like Cyrus
Vance was sent to Yugoslavia?
MR. BOUCHER: Well, Cyrus Vance was sent to Yugoslavia
by the United Nations --
Q That's right.
MR. BOUCHER: -- and the Secretary-General. I haven't
heard of any plans --
Q But with the support of the United States, right?
MR. BOUCHER: I haven't heard of any plans from the
U.N. to get involved in Georgia, but you can ask them.
And, yes, we are following the situation as best we can
-- following closely the situation in Georgia.
Q Why isn't there any thought to sending someone
there?
MR. BOUCHER: You know, I don't think I can say that
the two situations are comparable. I'm sure that -- well, I'll
just leave it at that. There just isn't --
Q O.K.
MR. BOUCHER: -- that I'm aware of.
Q Richard, what do we know about the whereabouts of
the businessmen who were held in Iraq, and do you know of any
others at this point?
MR. BOUCHER: I don' know of any others. On the two
that were held in Iraq, the Polish Government has notified the
U.S. Embassy in Warsaw this morning that Iraqi officials
released the two detained Americans to Polish officials in
Baghdad late yesterday.
The two Americans are staying at a Baghdad hotel. They
are expected to depart Iraq for Kuwait sometime this weekend.
Members of the International Committee for the Red Cross will
assist in the handover of the two Americans.
And, as usual, we've notified the families of all the
developments.
Q Can I follow up?
MR. BOUCHER: Yes.
Q What do you know about their treatment during that
time?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't have any real information on
their treatment at this point. I think some of the newsmen have
talked to them, and we've started to see some reports and I'm
sure we'll be interested in talking to them as well.
Q Richard, any comment on the results of the
elections in Algeria?
MR. BOUCHER: No, not at this point. They have a
second round still to come that will decide the final make-up of
the parliament.
Q You're following the elections and --
MR. BOUCHER: Yes, certainly.
Q O.K.
Q Yesterday, the Ambassador of North Korea to the
United Nations said the United States should pull out the
military from South Korea now that the threat of the Soviet
Union has disappeared. What is the reaction of the United
States on that?
MR. BOUCHER: I think I'll let the Pentagon update you
on their plans for the military in Korea. As you know, what we
do is done in careful consultation with our Korean ally.
At this point, I'm not aware of any plans to pull out
the U.S. military from Korea.
Q There's another question --
MR. BOUCHER: Let's go over here.
Q All right.
Q The Middle East again, please. Who is the co-
sponsor of the Middle East peace conference with the United
States? And another thing: What is the current status of the
Moscow multilateral conference?
MR. BOUCHER: These are both questions that I believe
the Secretary answered during his trip. The Russian Federation,
I think, has agreed to co-sponsor -- continue as the co-sponsor
-- to the peace talks and that the multilateral talks are still
scheduled for Moscow at the end of the month.
Q Do you have a date for the Soviet aid conference
here?
MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't at this point.
Q Why not? (Laughter)
MR. BOUCHER: I don't have anything to announce today,
John.
Q Has anything happened, to the best of your
knowledge?
MR. BOUCHER: The conference is still being planned.
Q Richard, Amnesty International has complained
that U.S. authorities are not allowing them to go Guantanamo to
talk to Haitian boat people. They say they can't understand
why, but it raises suspicions that the U.S. might have something
to hide. Do you have any reason -- any explanation for why
they've been denied permission?
MR. BOUCHER: I didn't know that they complained about
it nor that they've been denied permission. I think the
Pentagon controls access to Guantanamo, and they've had a lot of
reporters down there, a lot of people down there. I'm not sure.
I don't know anything about the Amnesty case.
Q Would you be able to look into it?
MR. BOUCHER: I think you'd better ask the Pentagon.
Q A follow-up with this story. Do you have any
comment on the report by Human Rights Watch to effect that the
U.S. Administration hurt the human rights position all over the
world by its policy during the last year?
MR. BOUCHER: I think I made a comment on that on
Monday.
Chris?
Q Another POW/MIA story. There's a Newsday story
about a former NSA official giving an affidavit saying that
there were several hundred POWs shipped to the Soviet Union in
the early Eighties.
MR. BOUCHER: We're aware of the allegations contained
in the article. I don't believe we've yet seen the affidavit
that is referred to.
We have no evidence to substantiate such a claim, but
we will raise it with Russian authorities and others as we have
done with the other reports which we've seen.
Q Richard, there have been some reports about the
Arrow project. I was wondering whether the State Department has
any plans about moving forward in the budget for it in the past
several years?
MR. BOUCHER: I think that's a Pentagon question, not
mine.
Q Do you have any idea when you might get some
information about the Syrians and the Lebanese coming here? I
understand that the Jordanians said they will be coming. Is
that right?
MR. BOUCHER: Various parties have talked about their
plans at this point. If you want to know what their intentions
are, I suggest you ask them. As I said, it's not all pinned
down at this point. When it is, we'll tell you about it.
Q On Cuba again. Carlos Aldana, a leading member of
the Cuban Communist Party, says the opposition in Cuba is
directed by the CIA. He made a speech to the National Assembly.
Any comment or reaction?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know what you're talking about.
I don't understand. What did he say?
Q He says the opposition in Cuba is directed by the
CIA.
MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't have any comment on that.
Q Can you make available to us what you read about
the deportations?
MR. BOUCHER: Yes. I'll try to get it cleaned up for
you.
Q Thank you.
MR. BOUCHER: Thank you.
(Press briefing concluded at 1:24 p.m.)