US Department of State Daily Briefing #49:
Tuesday, 3/31/92
Boucher
Source: State Department Deputy Spokesman Richard
Boucher
Description: Washington, DC
Date: Mar, 31 19923/31/92
Category: Briefings
Region: MidEast/North Africa, Eurasia, East Asia, E/C Europe,
Europe, Subsaharan Africa
Country: Iraq, Israel, USSR (former), Zaire, Libya, China,
Croatia, Serbia-Montenegro, Turkey, Germany, Spain
Subject: Military Affairs, Mideast Peace Process,
Development/Relief Aid, Regional/Civil Unrest,
State Department, Human Rights, Terrorism, Arms Control
12:29 P.M.
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)
[Middle East Peace Process: Multilateral Talks]
MR. BOUCHER: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I'm sorry
for the delay in the start. At the beginning, I thought I would
answer one of your questions from yesterday and give you a little
more information.
We were asked yesterday about the dates for the Arms Control and
Security Working Group under the multilateral peace talks. In
checking into it, we found that we think we're in a position to tell
you when we expect the other meetings to be as well. So I'm going to
run down the list for you, first, with the proviso that other than
the Arms Control and Security Group, the other meetings will hosted
by other nations and it will be up them to put out the final details
and schedule. We expect them to do that. This provides some more
definition to what was decided in January in Moscow. Our
consultations with the others have produced the following tentative
schedule.
The working group on arms control and regional security is
scheduled to meet here in Washington from May 11-13. The working
group on economic development will meet in Brussels from May 11-13.
The working group on refugees will meet in Ottawa from May 13-15.
The working group on water will meet in Vienna from May 12-14. The
working group on the environment will meet in Tokyo the week of May
18.
Letters have not yet been sent out, as far as I know, on these
specific events. So we will withhold, I think, further details on
that until the time approaches.
We also -- we expect there to be a steering group meeting
scheduled in Lisbon in late May or early June.
Q There are two questions that come with that kind of announcement.
First is: Do you
have expectations that the Palestinians and Syrians will drop -- and
Lebanon -- will end their boycott of multilateral discussions?
And, secondly: Did you follow through on what was said in Moscow
that you would set new terms for attendance? You wouldn't be bound
by the terms of the bilateral negotiations as it was put in its last form:
that Palestinians
from outside the territories, etc., in Jerusalem, could come to the refugees
thing, the economic thing, and some others, is the way it was
put at that point.
MR. BOUCHER: The terms for participation -- the view
of the United States -- remains the view that the Secretary
expressed in Moscow. As I said, the letters have not gone out
on these specific meetings. We're still six weeks away, so I'm
not going to be able to provide you with any more detail on the
actual representation and participation.
Q Still, would you try to vamp a few words whether,
by loosening the terms, you hope to seduce the Palestinians and
the Syrians to drop their boycott? The Lebanese, of course,
would trail along if the Syrians --
MR. BOUCHER: Barry, I will not try to "vamp" a few
words on that. I'm sorry. The terms for participation, as the
views of the United States Government, remain the views that the
Secretary expressed in Moscow, and I can get those for you.
Q No, I have them.
Q I know you said the letters haven't gone out yet.
Is there anything you can say about the scope of the invitees.
It's obviously beyond the core group that's participating in the
bilaterals. Is it beyond the group that was, for example,
invited to the Moscow session?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't think there's much more I can say
at this point that provides any more definition to it. You're
aware of the wide range of participants that were there in
Moscow. And the fact that the meetings were open to others to
participate is appropriate. So we'll just have to get closer to
the time and see who is --
Q Can you say whether the U.S. has received any
requests or suggestions from nations that may not have
participated in Moscow that now have said, "Hey, don't forget to
send us a letter when the time comes."
MR. BOUCHER: I don't think I could say that at this
point.
Q At what level will these discussions be?
MR. BOUCHER: More or less along the lines of that
second day in Moscow. The sub-ministerial people and some
experts were there on the second day when the working groups
actually met in Moscow. It would be more or less along the same
lines this time.
Q I'm afraid I didn't follow your answer to Ralph.
Are the same people who were invited to Moscow -- whether or
not they attended or not -- still eligible to be invited to
these meetings? I assume they are.
MR. BOUCHER: Of course, Barry. But what more --
Ralph's question, I thought, was what other participants --
Q What you might add on.
MR. BOUCHER: -- do you expect? At this point, I'm not
in a position to do that. That will have to be worked out as
the time approaches.
[Libya: Update on Developments/UN Vote on Sanctions]
Q Can we move onto Libya? There are suggestions
that the Libyans are no longer allowing foreigners to leave the
country.
MR. BOUCHER: The British Government has reported that
some foreigners are experiencing difficulties in obtaining exit
visas from the Libyan authorities.
At this point, we have no reports of Americans
experiencing such difficulties. We would remind Americans in
Libya that the U.S. passports are not valid for travel to Libya
and that they should depart.
Of course, we would view with concern any moves by
Libya to impede the free travel of foreign workers. We've
talked to the British Government and to others, and we'll be
consulting further with other governments regarding the
situation.
Q Did any Americans attempt to leave?
MR. BOUCHER: Barry, I don't have that kind of detail
for you at this point. As you know, we don't have a post there
so it's difficult for us to track. But based on the information
available to us, we're not aware that Americans have encountered
difficulties.
Q I know but that's a huge -- if nobody applied, of
course, they wouldn't have experienced difficulties.
MR. BOUCHER: Well, that's right, Barry. I'm afraid I
can't --
Q I'm sorry, it doesn't give us a notion of how the
Libyans are treating Americans these days.
MR. BOUCHER: Well, I think you do have reports from
other governments -- the British Government, in particular --
that their people and some other foreigners have encountered
difficulties. We don't yet have any reports like that about
Americans. I would expect that some Americans have tried to
leave, although I'm not in a position to give you any numbers.
Q Richard, since your estimates last week of 500 to
1,000 Americans, do you have any more information on the numbers
or the nature of the people who were there?
MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't.
Q Can you review the law on passports? The United
States does give waivers to some people to be there; is that
correct?
MR. BOUCHER: Yes. It's in the travel advisory. I
don't have it handy with me, but there are some specific
categories of people, including journalists, who can get waivers
-- and for humanitarian cases. I'm not aware -- I think those
waivers have actually been few and far between, and the vast
majority of the five hundred to a thousand Americans who would
be in Libya would not be there with any sort of passport waiver
or any sort of valid passport, in our view.
Q Richard, I wonder if --
Q Was there any communication between the U.S. and
the Libyan Government on this subject in recent days?
MR. BOUCHER: Not that I've heard of, Ralph.
Q Richard, would you address the remarks made by the
Libyan Ambassador this morning which suggest that this
resolution has been set up as a prelude for attacks -- military
attacks -- against Libyan cities?
MR. BOUCHER: I'm afraid I didn't see the remarks by
the Libyan Ambassador. Is this at the U.N. session that's
currently going on now?
Q In a (inaudible) sense, could you address the
question of whether or not it is the intent of this resolution
to make it possible for the United States to launch military
strikes against Libya?
MR. BOUCHER: I'm sure that Ambassador Pickering will
be addressing remarks made at the U.N. Security Council in his
remarks up there. The U.N. Security Council has continued -- is
meeting now and is continuing to meet on the subject.
I think the only thing I would say about the intent of
the resolution is that the intent of the resolution is to
address the means by which Libya has supported terrorism and
carried out attacks such as the one on Pan Am 103.
Q But you wouldn't deny that this resolution would
provide at least some kind of a legal framework for an attack if
you should decide to launch one?
MR. BOUCHER: The resolution is intended to gain Libyan
compliance with the terms of the previous resolution on the
subject -- Resolution 731. And, as I said, it's intended, in
its sanctions, to address the means by which Libya has carried
out its terrorist activities.
Q Is this not the day to get at least the
conclusions of the Patriot mission team?
MR. BOUCHER: No, it's not the day, Barry.
Q Does that mean tomorrow might be the day?
Q One more on Libya.
MR. BOUCHER: One more on Libya.
Q Would you comment on the column by Mr. Rosenthal
of the New York Times suggesting that Libya was not the only one
involved in the terrorist attack on Pan Am 103?
MR. BOUCHER: We don't really comment on columnists.
I'd remind you that's a subject we have addressed in the past,
and we've described, I think, very clearly the evidence that was
developed during the course of the investigation -- the
possibilities that others were involved; the fact that the
evidence increasingly pointed directly towards Libya; how we
reached those conclusions, and we've always said that if anybody
has other information, we'll be happy to have it so we can look
into it.
Q Richard, I think the last time around you gave
absolution -- not you; maybe even the Secretary -- gave
absolution to Syria, which had been suspected for a long time?
MR. BOUCHER: We said that the evidence in this case
had pointed to Libya and that there was no evidence that Syria
had been involved in this particular attack.
Q Richard, can you comment on Qadhafi's offer to
meet with President Bush in Washington?
MR. BOUCHER: I think the White House has probably
addressed it already. But we just basically see that whatever
it is, it's a sort of third-hand news report by the time I saw
it this morning. But any such proposal, I think, would just
have to be seen as another attempt to delay the process and
would not contribute in any meaningful way to Libya's compliance
with the U.N. Security Council resolutions.
Q So they made no offer to -- literally, no offer to
the U.S. Government to do that?
MR. BOUCHER: All I've seen is the press report.
Q Richard, do you have anything --
MR. BOUCHER: Barrie asked about the Patriot first.
Q No, actually, this is before the Patriot, if I
may. Still on Libya.
I understand the resolution does talk about tangible
evidence to indicate that they are giving up support for
terrorism. I was wondering if you had anything there that might
give us a sense of what that would have to be, in terms of their
compliance with the resolution?
MR. BOUCHER: Again, I think it's better -- right now,
as the U.N. Security Council is discussing this for the specific
terms of this resolution to be discussed --
Q I think they've agreed they're just about to vote
on it. But anyway --
MR. BOUCHER: They had not voted at the time I came
down here. I think that's better discussed by our people at the
U.N. in New York.
Q I thought of one more thing to ask on Libya. I
forget who stands in for the U.S. in Libya. But has the U.S.
asked them to do anything on behalf of Americans, based on the
British problem, for instance?
MR. BOUCHER: The Belgians are our protecting power in
Libya. At this point, I really don't have anything further on
them.
[China: Human Rights/US Inquiry into Goods
Produced by Prison Labor]
Q Richard, there are reports that three protesters
were beaten outside the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. Do you have
anything?
MR. BOUCHER: George, there have been two incidents
that I'm aware of that took place on separate days. These were
in early March. Guards of the People's Armed Police, which is
the organization that mans boxes and stations in front of
diplomatic establishments in Beijing, took two Chinese citizens,
on separate days, into their guard box. The guards used
considerable force with the Chinese people, and the persons
entering the U.S. Embassy Chancery heard screams from within the
guard box. The Chinese citizens were taken off in the custody
of other People's Police guards.
We've raised these incidents with Chinese officials.
We've stressed that we consider the use of force -- whatever the
reason, in this case -- to have been excessive and that we
believe that we were owed an explanation by the Chinese
authorities.
To date, we've received no information which would shed
light on the intentions of the two Chinese citizens, nor from
the Chinese authorities on the reasons for the harsh treatment
that was meted out by the Chinese guards.
We'll continue to pursue a response from the Chinese
authorities.
Q Has the U.S. requested the guard protection at the
Embassy in Beijing?
MR. BOUCHER: I'd have to check on that, Ralph. It has
always been there.
Q In some countries --
MR. BOUCHER: I'm not sure we ever requested it at some
point in the past.
Q Do we have the option to refuse?
MR. BOUCHER: It's not on our premises. It's outside
the gate, essentially, on Chinese turf. So I'm not sure the
question has ever arisen of our requesting it, but I'll check.
Q There are some places where -- notably, the former
Soviet Union -- where the United States used to complain from
time to time about diplomatic security personnel outside U.S.
Embassies preventing citizens of the country from coming to
visit the U.S. Embassy. Has that been a problem -- aside from
these two incidents that you mentioned in Beijing recently? It
was for a while, for example, after the Tiananmen Square
massacre.
MR. BOUCHER: I'm told that certainly in the case of
attacks like this that they are not common; that we don't know
of many incidents like this. These are the only two that I had
a report on today. I'd have to check if there have been other
sort of general interference.
As you know, our view is generally the only that you
expressed. We expect protection from host countries for our
embassies, in terms of the security, but we don't want people to
interfere with legitimate visitors and people that we may have
business with.
Q Are you saying that two Chinese citizens, on each
of these two occasions, were subjected to these attacks?
MR. BOUCHER: No. I think it's two people on separate
days. So one each.
Q One each?
MR. BOUCHER: One each on each occasion.
Q Were they protesters?
MR. BOUCHER: We don't really know. We don't have any
reason to believe that they were seeking visas or assistance
like that because this was at the Chancery, in front of the main
embassy compound and not in front of the compound which houses
the consular section. But we really don't have any more
information on what their intentions were.
Q And these were both separate days in early March?
MR. BOUCHER: That's right.
[Israel: IG Report on Report Transfer of US Patriot Technology]
Q You were going to talk about Patriots and IG
reports?
MR. BOUCHER: Barrie was asking me where we stand on
the Patriot report.
Yesterday, as Margaret said he would, the Deputy
Secretary met with Sandy Martel, the head of the team. We
expect that the Deputy Secretary will receive the final written
report today for review, and he will then send it on to the
Secretary.
As Margaret said yesterday, after we've looked at the
report, we will have something to say, but that will be later
this week.
Q And how about the IG report?
MR. BOUCHER: The IG report: Late yesterday, the
Inspector General's audit of the defense trade controls function
was sent to Deputy Secretary Eagleburger. Sometime today we
expect the Deputy Secretary will send it on to the Secretary for
the Secretary's information.
We expect that the Inspector General will shortly
arrange for copies to be sent to the Hill. Perhaps that will be
tomorrow. And shortly after it goes to the Hill, we expect to
release the public portion. We just put it out in the Press
Office the way we do with other reports that we send up to the
Congress. Of course, we've said that at that point, after the
public portion is public, we'll be prepared to answer your
questions on that portion.
Q Richard, there are reports -- sorry -- from
Yugoslavia that Secretary Baker is proposing some sort of summit
between the Croatian and Serbian leaders. Can you comment on
that?
MR. BOUCHER: We heard those reports and had some time
to check around. We have not made any such proposal.
As you know, we've strongly supported the efforts of
the European community and Lord Carrington and the U.N.
Secretary General and Cyrus Vance to make arrangements to work
on a political settlement to the disputes there, and we continue
to support those efforts.
Q Richard, do you have anything to confirm reports
of Iraqi military attacks on Kurdish areas?
MR. BOUCHER: The situation in northern Iraq is as
follows: Iraqi forces have reinforced their positions in the
vicinity of Kirkuk and Mosul over the past few weeks. They've
also shelled Kurdish positions around the Aski Kalak Bridge.
We have no confirmation of Iraqi violations of the no
fly zone. We're actively pursuing reports of continuing Iraqi
military and economic repression against the people in northern
Iraq. As you know, United Nations Security Council Resolution
688 prohibits repressive actions by the Iraqi Government against
its citizens.
At this point, we characterize the situation as one of
continued troop movements and skirmishing between Iraqi forces
and the Kurds.
I wouldn't characterize it at this point as a major
offensive. We understand from the U.N. that they have moved
some 400 Kurdish-Iraqi citizens from around the area of that
specific bridge. There was a figure, I think, in the press of
some 40,000, but that's off the mark.
Q (Inaudible) moved the 400 away from the area of
the bridge; is that what you --
MR. BOUCHER: Away from the area of the bridge where
the shelling was occurring.
Q They moved them into the area within Iraqi control
or into the -- did they move them north or south?
MR. BOUCHER: I'm sure they moved --
Q Richard.
MR. BOUCHER: -- them north.
Q North.
MR. BOUCHER: In the same kind of circumstances that
they're currently in. This is --
Q You said "reinforced." You know, there was at
least one report of -- I don't now what -- four or five
divisions. Do you have any notion of the proportions of this
reinforcement? Is it massive or --
MR. BOUCHER: I don't have any characterization of it
at this point, Barry.
Q Richard, you said there had been no confirmation
of reports of violations of the no fly zone. Do you mean that
the United States and its allies have checked that out and don't
have any violations, or you don't have the information that
enables you to decide whether there have been any violations or
not? In other words, should we rely on reports from the ground
to look at that?
MR. BOUCHER: Well, I mean, to the extent that reports
from the ground may be more detailed and more up to date, you
can rely on the reports from the ground. But from particularly
our forces and our people in the area, I would say that we have
no confirmed reports of Iraqi violations of the no fly zone.
And that's particularly, as you know, the area above the 36th
parallel where there should be -- that's off-limits to Iraqi
planes and helicopters. And then separate from that or within
that northern area, there's also the security zone, which is the
zone right closer to the border. It's a smaller area formed by
the triangle of the towns of Zakho, Dohuk and Amadiyah. That's
where no Iraqi forces may enter.
Q And there are no violations of that either, you're
saying?
MR. BOUCHER: That's right.
Q And do you have any characterization, if you will,
of the amount of flying that's going on? Are they coming right
up to the 36th [parallel] and backing off, or is there just not
a lot of air activity there or --
MR. BOUCHER: I don't have any characterization of
that, no.
Q Richard, is there insufficient evidence at this
point to conclude that a violation of the cease-fire terms has
occurred?
MR. BOUCHER: I think what I would say is that we have
no documented instances of Iraqi military forces violating
either the security zone or the no fly zone.
Q Do you have reports of that that you're attempting
to confirm?
MR. BOUCHER: We have people in the area who follow
these things very closely, and we continue to follow these
things closely. I think I'd just put it more in that direction
than what you're saying at this point.
We've looked at the situation. We have no documented
instances of where there have been violations of either the no
fly zone or of the security area. That we are, of course,
concerned about any Iraqi actions against its own citizens,
concerns that we have expressed in the past on our own and which
are expressed in U.N. Security Council 688; and, therefore, it's
something that we watch carefully, and we keep under continuing
close scrutiny.
Q And the shelling that's occurred doesn't fit the
definition of repression?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't want to minimize the importance
of the shelling, and certainly for the people who live in the
area who may have been dislocated or even hurt because of this
shelling, it's certainly tragic and serious.
In terms of sort of a massive offensive by the Iraqis,
no, I wouldn't say that.
Q And these are all conventional types of shelling?
You have no reports of chemical weapons?
MR. BOUCHER: As far as I know, yes.
[Turkey: Review of Situation with the Kurds]
Q On the subject of Kurds, does the State Department
take any view about the Turkish attacks on Kurdish settlements
in their areas?
MR. BOUCHER: We've discussed this situation before,
Jim. Let me try to do two or three things to sort of review it
and try to separate out the general situation as regards Kurds
and their rights versus the PKK, which we see as a terrorist
organization which needs to be countered.
I'd say our views on human rights in Turkey are
thoroughly documented in this year's Human Rights Report. If
you look at that report, you'll see that we've encouraged the
Turkish Government to continue its efforts to improve its human
rights record and to ensure that all of its citizens are treated
with respect. We've told the Turks that the fight against
terrorism cannot be allowed to abrogate its responsibilities to
protect the human rights of all its citizens.
Prime Minister Demirel has made it clear that improving
human rights practices in Turkey is a high priority for his
government. Over the past year, some restrictions on Kurdish
political and cultural expression have been lifted, and we look
forward to further progress in the future.
I'd contrast that with the activities of the PKK. Some
months ago, the PKK announced that it intended to launch a major
campaign against the Turkish state around the time of the
Kurdish New Year celebrations. Turkish authorities increased
the number of security forces in the southeast in anticipation
of violent incidents and carried out pre-emptive measures,
including raids on suspected PKK bases in northern Iraq.
We regret that, in fact, violence did occur. We
believe the PKK must be held responsible for its acts.
Q "Pre-emptive measures" means bombing raids,
doesn't it?
MR. BOUCHER: Bombing raids into --
Q O.K. I just didn't know if that was something
other than that.
Q Have you all given any discussion to whether these
air strikes are legitimate national defense?
MR. BOUCHER: I've just given you our view of the
situation. I don't really have any further characterization at
this point. I'm not sure that we're required to make a formal
determination like that, but this is our view of the situation
-- that they were responding to the threat from a terrorist
group.
Q Coming back for just a second to the Kurds and the
Iraqis, in some parts of the world you comment when efforts to
hold elections are somehow interfered with. Does the U.S. think
that the Iraqi actions at this time are in any way targeted at
indications that the Kurds may be trying to hold elections in
late April?
MR. BOUCHER: I hadn't heard those two things linked,
and that's about as much as I can say, I guess.
[Zaire: Review of US Policy]
Q Richard, on Africa, there was a story that
Zaireans blame the United States for their problems because of
the Mobutu -- our support for Mobutu. Do you have any comment
on that?
MR. BOUCHER: There are a number of things going on in
Zaire right now, and I think the best thing is maybe to review
what U.S. policy is.
We've strongly supported the reconvening of the
National Conference. President Mobutu has now announced that
that will reconvene on April 6, and we, obviously, welcome that
announcement.
What's important to us now is that the conference be
allowed to conclude concrete steps leading to a national
dialogue, formation of an acceptable transition government, a
new constitution and free and fair elections.
There has been -- I think you've seen reports as I have
-- some reports of anti-American sentiment. I think we have
tried to make the views of the United States Government known
and to make them very clear. We've supported a transition to
democracy and free elections. We've supported the need to
change the -- put the economy firmly in the hands of the
democratically-elected government, an independent government.
We think that President Mobutu's mismanagement of the
economy has been a major source of Zaire's current troubles, and
so we have supported steps that would lead them out of those
troubles by moving towards a democratically-elected and
independent government that can manage the economy the way it
should be.
Q Richard, back on Iraq just for a second, have you
said whether the United States wants to maintain the security
zone after it expires in a couple of months? Has a decision
been made on that?
MR. BOUCHER: I'm not aware of any statements that
we've made on that at this point, Mark. It's a couple of months
away now.
Q Any more on Zaire that you wanted to contribute?
MR. BOUCHER: Do you have any other questions on Zaire?
Q Actually, I want to go to UNITA. Anything new on
the UNITA situation today? Have you had any reply?
MR. BOUCHER: No. There hasn't been a reply.
Q Back on Zaire, wasn't there a meeting involving
Assistant Secretary Cohen and the Belgians and the French on the
question of Zaire recently? If so, do you have anything on that
meeting?
MR. BOUCHER: How recently? There was one a couple of
days ago, right?
Q Two days ago, three days ago.
MR. BOUCHER: I'll have to check on that. I don't have
anything on that specific meeting.
Q Coming back for just a second to the Inspector
General's report, has the Secretary indicated whether -- has the
Secretary indicated before receiving the Inspector General's
report whether he intends to review the operations of the office
that handles technology transfers upon receiving it
and intends to set up any kind of review to see whether it needs
to be reorganized, or anything of that sort? Has he shown any
interest in this subject prior to receiving the report?
MR. BOUCHER: Ralph, the Secretary -- yes, he's showed
interest in this subject. Yes, he's aware of the process, and
he understands the progress of the report.
The Inspector General's report, as they generally are,
will come to him for his information. The Inspector General, in
the preparation of reports like this, usually comes up with some
recommendations about improvements that might be made or changes
that might be made, and then it's incumbent upon the Bureau
itself where it's responsible for the area that the
recommendation concerns or for others in the Department to see
if they can make those changes, if they can make those
improvements.
So that's generally the process with an Inspector
General's report, and I think it would be premature to say
exactly how that process will work until we've seen the results
of the --
Q Could we find out whether the recommendations
would be in the public report, or are they going to be
classified as well?
MR. BOUCHER: We'll just have to see, Barrie.
Q All of what you said is certainly true, of course,
but that was also true the last time this office was reviewed by
the Inspector General, which was at the beginning of the
Bush-Baker Administration. And one would assume that after that
process had completed, that recommendations would have been
implemented, and that things would have been fixed up.
I guess I ask the question, because it looks -- at
least to me any way, at this point before receiving the report
-- as though the process didn't work the last time and required
another review and another set of recommendations.
MR. BOUCHER: Ralph, I think it's very premature to
jump to a conclusion like that, certainly, since we're a day or
two away of actually seeing what results and recommendations the
Inspector General might have come up with. But it would be
unfair to jump to that sort of conclusion at this point. I'm
sure the Inspector General, in doing this audit, has looked at
the previous recommendations that he might have made, and we may
or may not see something on how they've been carried out.
Q On another subject: It appears that the exodus of
Haitians has surged again. Do you have any recent numbers or --
MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't, Jim. I don't have any new
numbers.
[Former Soviet Union: US Aid Package]
Q And can you tell us anything about Secretary
Baker's or this Department's consultation with members of
Congress on the subject of the Administration's aid to the
former Soviet Union package?
MR. BOUCHER: No, I can't at this point, Ralph. I
don't have anything different to say. I don't have anything
different to say than what Margaret said yesterday.
Q So is it accurate, then, today to say that Baker
has not been involved in any consultations on this package as
Margaret said yesterday?
MR. BOUCHER: I think what Margaret said yesterday is
that he's, obviously, had discussions. He hasn't had any formal
meetings or consultations on this particular thing.
Q That's still operative?
MR. BOUCHER: That's still operative. Yes.
[Germany: Possible Extradition of Polish Officials]
Q Richard, do you have anything on possible
extradition of some Polish Government officials who were
arrested trying to sell arms to the Iraqis? I think they're
being held in Germany.
MR. BOUCHER: It sounds interesting, but, no, I don't.
I'll have to look into it.
Q Richard, I just wanted to clarify something on
multilaterals. You have nothing to say on whether Palestinians
from the Diaspora could join the talks on refugees?
MR. BOUCHER: On the question of "could," the question
of "could" was addressed in Moscow by the Secretary, and he gave
our policy on the participation of Palestinians from the
Diaspora. That remains the operative policy. I'm not in a
position at this point to tell you how it will work out --
whether they actually will or not.
Q Is there any relationship that -- what's the
status of the International Court case on Libya at this point?
Is it under advisement? I just don't know. I'm sorry.
MR. BOUCHER: I believe they concluded the oral
arguments with the -- on Saturday; that the Court would be
expected to issue some sort of preliminary indication or
decision within a few weeks, and that a final decision could
take as long as a year.
[Spain: Impact of Arrests of ETA Terrorists on Olympic Games]
Q Richard, the French police arrested Sunday the
leader of the ETA, the Basque guerrilla organization. The
Government of Spain is saying that this arrest diminishes the
threat of a possible terrorist attack during the Olympics in
Barcelona and also during the World Exhibition in Seville.
Do you agree with this assessment, and in which way is
the U.S. Government cooperating with the Government of Spain
regarding the terrorist threat to the Olympics and the
Exhibition?
MR. BOUCHER: That's something I'll have to look into.
I haven't seen any U.S. Government assessment at this point of
the situation. I mean, obviously, we support the efforts that
they've made in fighting against terrorism.
Q Put it in the category of "pre-emptive measures."
MR. BOUCHER: Well, it sounds like an arrest to me, but
we'll look at it and find a proper word.
Q Richard, is the Inspector General going to
possibly be available to us?
MR. BOUCHER: At this point, my understanding is that
he has -- you know, that we'll make copies of the report
available, and then we'll answer questions on the public
portion.
Q Richard, on the CR, is the Secretary involved in
any consultations on that subject today? Is he going to be on
the Hill by any chance?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know if he's going to be on the
Hill. I didn't look at his schedule to see that. He's had some
discussions of the continuing resolution, and we've continued to
have meetings and discussions of it with people on the Hill at
staff level and through our Bureau of Legislative Affairs.
Q I mean, how hard is the State Department pushing
to try to get this legislation through?
MR. BOUCHER: Well, you know from the Secretary's
testimony that we have some important legislative priorities.
We have some important things that we believe we need to be able
to do. Obviously, we're interested in seeing continuing funding
for our foreign aid programs and seeing funding for many of the
important new responsibilities that we have.
We've been in discussions with the Hill on the
continuing resolution. This date has been out there for a long
time. We've had various discussions.
Q Have you been able to rally Republican support
behind it, though?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't want to attempt to count any
votes or describe support. A lot of that's going on on the
Hill, and I'll just have to see how it works out.
Q What would happen if the continuing resolution
were not passed? Would that mean an automatic cut-off of AID
funds?
MR. BOUCHER: Oh, that's hypothetical at this point,
Jim. I don't know the details of how exactly to describe it.
Q Well, put it in non-hypothetical terms: Are AID
funds dependent on passage of a continuing resolution?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know exactly what categories and
accounts this continuing resolution covers. I know generally
it's a continuing resolution for foreign aid programs. I assume
that that includes AID, but I don't know exactly. You'd have to
look at the language in the text.
Q One more just on the IG --
MR. BOUCHER: I'll see if we have it, if I can get
that.
Q Just on the IG once again: From the point of view
of its relationship -- that office's relationship to the Public
Affairs Bureau in the State Department, I presume that if the
Inspector General wanted to make himself available, he is
independently able to make that decision. The Public Affairs
Bureau of the State Department doesn't make those decisions for
the Inspector General, does it?
MR. BOUCHER: The Inspector General is independent.
Yes.
Q So you really can't speak to the question of
whether the Inspector General will be available or not.
MR. BOUCHER: I've described the -- obviously, in all
these things where we're talking about the Inspector General's
report and his activities, that's information that comes to us
from the Inspector General, and he's kind enough to inform us of
what we can say and what his views are.
If you want to call him up, go ahead and do so. He's
independent. At this point our plan is that we will provide you
with copies of his report, and that we'll try to answer your
questions on the public portion.
Q And this podium would be available to him if he
chose to use it, would it not? Or would it be denied to him?
Would he have to find some place else to talk about it if he
wished to do so?
MR. BOUCHER: He can have the podium if he wants it,
Ralph.
Q The State Department issues invitation for the IG
--
MR. BOUCHER: No. That's not what I said. [Laughter]
Q One last question: Do you have anything on the
resignations of Ambassador Black or Ambassador Zappala in Spain?
MR. BOUCHER: Nope.
Q Richard, regarding the Ambassador of Spain,
they're saying that journalist Richard Capen is going to be --
the President is intending to name Richard Capen who works for
the Miami Herald and the UPI as new Ambassador to Spain.
MR. BOUCHER: I wasn't aware that there were any
reports about this, so I have to start off by saying I'm totally
unfamiliar with the situation. Any appointments and nominations
of new Ambassadors would come out of the White House and not
from here. And if any Ambassadors have anything to say on their
intentions, then we try to make that available from here.
Q Thank you.
(The briefing concluded at 1:05 p.m.)