U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing #78, 00-08-08
From: The Department of State Foreign Affairs Network (DOSFAN) at <http://www.state.gov>
701
U.S. Department of State
Press Briefing
Tuesday, August 8, 2000
Briefer: Richard Boucher, Spokesman
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1 Statement on Conviction of Former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar
Ibrahim in Malaysia
MALAYSIA
1-2 Effect of Anwar Ibrahim's Conviction on U.S. -- Malaysian Relations
MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS
2 U.S. --Palestinian Authority Bilateral Relations
3-4 Assistant Secretary Walker Continues Journey in Region / Process of
Consultations And Discussions Continue
RUSSIA
4-5 Bombing in Moscow / Detention of American Citizen Edmond Pope
IRAQ / VENEZUELA
5-6 President Chavez Visit to Iraq
COLOMBIA
5 Under Secretary Pickering's Travel
11 Operations of FARC
CHILE
6-7 Chilean Court Ruling that General Pinochet Can Be Prosecuted for
His Crimes During His Dictatorship / Release of Documents Dealing
with the Killing of Three Americans
INDIA / PAKISTAN (KASHMIR)
7-9 Hizbul Mujahiddin Calls Off Cease-Fire / Danger of Nuclear Conflict
in South Asia
NORTH KOREA
9-10 U.S. Coordinator for Counterterrorism Ambassador Michael Sheehan's
Travel to Pyongyang for Talks on Terrorism, August 9-10 /
Continued Harboring of Japanese Red Army Hijackers
IRAN
11 U.S. Calls on Government of Iran to Uphold International Human
Rights Standards, Including the Right to Freedom of Expression
DEPARTMENT
12 Secretary Albright's Travel to Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Ecuador
/ Regional Cooperation, Support for Democracy, Economic Reform,
Regional Cooperation on the Environment, and Anti-Narcotics Efforts
NICARAGUA
12-13 Visa Issuance to Daniel Ortega
UZBEKISTAN
13 Uzbek Government Conducting Operations Against Islamic Extremists
ZIMBABWE
14 Draft Legislation Passed to U.S. Senate That Requires U.S. to
Freeze Aid and Vote Against Deft Relief Until President Mugabe
Reverses His Decision on Land Seizures
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING
DPB # 78
TUESDAY, AUGUST 8, 2000 12:45 P.M.
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)
MR. BOUCHER: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. If I can, I'd like
to start off with a statement on the conviction of former Deputy Prime
Minister Anwar Ibrahim in Malaysia. The United States is very distressed
by the August 8 convictions of the former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar
Ibrahim and his adopted brother on sodomy charges. We're also outraged by
the imposition of a nine-year sentence to be added consecutively to the six-
year sentence that Anwar is currently serving on his previous corruption
conviction.
We share the opinion and the concern of many Malaysian and international
observers about the questionable fairness of this trial. Our concerns
about the trial are many. They include multiple prosecution, changes in
dates of the alleged offenses, police coaching of key prosecution witnesses,
the court's charging of one of Anwar's lawyers with sedition for statements
that he made in court, and the court's refusal to permit Anwar to call key
witnesses who might have bolstered his contention that he is the victim of
a political conspiracy.
Anwar's conviction in this case and his previous conviction on four counts
of corruption in April 1999 cast serious doubt on the impartiality and the
independence of the Malaysian judiciary. I would also note in this
connection the Secretary is writing to Anwar Ibrahim's wife, Dr. Wan
Azizah. They have kept in touch throughout this process of the trials and
she will be writing to Dr. Wan Azizah. They last saw each other in Warsaw
at the Community of Democracy's conference, where both attended.
And with that statement, I'd be glad to take your questions.
QUESTION: You're concerned about the whole thing in general, not just the
sentence, right? It's not just that you think a nine-year sentence is
harsh for a sodomy conviction? It's the whole process --
MR. BOUCHER: We're concerned about the whole thing in general;
distressed by the conviction; outraged by the way the sentencing was
done.
QUESTION: And why is the Secretary not writing to Mahathir? Why is she
only writing to Anwar's wife?
MR. BOUCHER: Well, I didn't say she was only writing to Anwar's wife.
So I'm sure we'll have -- other than these statements -- I'm sure we'll
find ways of making our concerns known to the Malaysian Government. I
don't want to predict any particular letter or action by the Secretary, but
certainly the Malaysian Government has been quite aware all along of our
concerns on this. We've had discussions with them about it, and if there's
something official at this stage that we have to convey, we'll probably do
that as well.
QUESTION: But as far as you know, there hasn't been any communication yet,
between either the Embassy or this building and the Malaysian Government?
MR. BOUCHER: This just happened overnight. I'm not aware of anything
yet, but we'll see.
QUESTION: What effect does this have on relations with Malaysia
generally?
MR. BOUCHER: Well, we have had cooperative relations with Malaysia in
many areas. We've been able to cooperate closely. Malaysia is a key
member of ASEAN. We share many concerns together. Nonetheless, we've made
our serious concerns about the treatment of Anwar and other human rights
issues known to the Government of Malaysia, and we will continue to do
so.
The Government of Malaysia's record on human rights has indeed impeded
close consultations and cooperation on many matters. Today's verdict
certainly doesn't help that situation.
QUESTION: I can't authenticate this, but there's an Internet report --
and since I can't, I won't use the Palestinian official's name in the
question -- but the suggestion that the United States has not rescheduled a
meeting with the Palestinian Authority on aid and an improvement in the
bilateral relationship that's been building up in the last year or two --
the meeting to have been in July but suspended or canceled or postponed or
whatever, because of the talks. This is being represented as a symbolic or
systematic -- as symptomatic, I should say, of an attempt by the US to
freeze its relationship with the PA in a pressure technique. Let me stop
right there.
MR. BOUCHER: I hadn't heard about what specific meeting it was that was
supposedly not --
QUESTION: That's the only fact that seems to be in this account.
MR. BOUCHER: I'll check on the fact, but I think I can say generally
that there's nothing to reports that we've somehow frozen our relationship
with the Palestinian Authorities. We do remain engaged with all the
parties in the peace process. We remain willing to help move the process
forward in any way possible and our new Consul General in Jerusalem has
been having meetings with people in the Palestinian Authority. So, we
continue to have a relationship there. It's not frozen. I will check on
the specific question of those meetings and whether they've been scheduled.
QUESTION: Here's a question that I obviously can only answer one way, but
I'm going to ask it anyhow. The notion continues that not only is the
Assistant Secretary but other American officials are attempting -- the word
"pressure" comes up -- to twist the Arabs, the Palestinians, into accepting
something less than East Jerusalem, sovereignty over East Jerusalem, as a
way to get the peace talks off a dime. Of course, you'll never say they're
pressuring anybody, but what do you say to that characterization of US
policy now or US entreaties now?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't accept it. The characterization that we've used
for the point that we're at is it's time to reassess, it's time to reflect.
We are continuing to have our contacts with people in the region.
Assistant Secretary Walker continues his journey. He is in Oman and will
continue on to the United Arab Emirates, Yemen and the rest of the Gulf
states tomorrow, arriving back in Washington in roughly ten days. So, that
process continues. That's a process of consultation, of discussion,
briefing them on the situation at Camp David, the discussions at Camp David,
and then obviously encouraging people to support continuation of the peace
process.
The Secretary has continued her contacts. She has talked today with
Foreign Minister Ivanov of Russia, talked with Foreign Minister Moussa of
Egypt about the peace process. These are just in the way of continuing
contacts. We see the travels. People are meeting with people. Prime
Minister Barak has been to Cairo. Chairman Arafat has been to a number of
places, is going to others. So, people are keeping in touch with each
other and we're keeping in touch with the parties. But at the same time,
we are in this period we've described as a time to reassess and reflect.
So, the kind of concerted effort that you're describing is not the way we
describe it at this point.
QUESTION: Can I ask you a couple questions about Kashmir?
QUESTION: Can we stay on the Middle East a little bit?
QUESTION: I notice that this is the second day on which you've used
"reassess and reflect."
MR. BOUCHER: I think it's about the tenth day I've used it.
QUESTION: Omitting the phrase which you used earlier, which was
"promoting compromise." Why is Mr. Walker not "promoting compromise," or
what's happened on this?
MR. BOUCHER: I think it's in terms of his visit we've just adopted the
shorthand of "to brief Arab countries on the developments." Certainly we
are encouraging people to be supportive of the process the way we
originally described the trip, more lengthy, included promoting compromise,
promoting the need to make a deal. I think now that we've had some stops
we've described the meetings as good, as serious, as constructive, talking
about all those things. And we'll see where we go forward in the
future.
QUESTION: So, does that mean that you're actually admitting a change in --
MR. BOUCHER: No, I'm not admitting a change. I'm saying that we've just
adopted a shorter phraseology. The original phraseology remains --
QUESTION: Remains valid?
MR. BOUCHER: Remains valid.
QUESTION: So he is promoting compromise?
MR. BOUCHER: He is promoting compromise. He's encouraging people to
support a peace process. He is encouraging people to support negotiation
between the parties, and in fact that's what we're hearing back from the
people he's talking to, that they do indeed appreciate US efforts and that
they support the parties in making an agreement.
QUESTION: You said that the Secretary spoke to Ivanov today?
MR. BOUCHER: Yes.
QUESTION: Was that pre-bomb? And if it wasn't, do you have anything --
MR. BOUCHER: Yes, it was pre-bomb, so she doesn't -- she didn't have
anything --
QUESTION: Do you have anything to say about that?
MR. BOUCHER: We don't have any additional information to add. We've
certainly seen the reports. They're very distressing. It looks like a
very terrible event. We really don't have any further information at this
point about who might have done it and why, nor any details of things. Our
Embassy is certainly looking into the question of whether there were any
Americans involved.
QUESTION: I'm sorry I didn't let you know in advance, but I think you
might have something on it. There are new concerns about Edmond Pope's
health, the man who's being held in Moscow. Do you have anything on
him?
MR. BOUCHER: Well, I mean, we share those concerns. We've continued to
be concerned about it. We've made eight consular visits to Mr. Pope since
his arrest. Our most recent one was on August 1st. We are very
concerned about his health, which appears to have deteriorated further.
We've raised the issue repeatedly with senior Russian officials, raised it
yesterday with the Russian Foreign Ministry. We've made clear to the
Russian Government that they bear the responsibility for the physical well-
being of American citizens who are detained on their territory. We expect
to have another consular visit to Mr. Pope in prison this week, so it may
be occurring soon.
We've also asked permission to visit Mr. Pope as soon as possible with a
physician in order to perform an independent examination of his health but,
to date, the Russian officials have denied this request.
QUESTION: Did the Secretary mention this in the call with Ivanov
today?
MR. BOUCHER: I didn't check. I don't know. I'll have to check.
QUESTION: The Chavez visit to Iraq. Yesterday, you said you were going
to try to figure out a way to get him to cancel the visit, and I wonder if
you have a progress report.
MR. BOUCHER: As far as we know, he has not canceled his visit.
QUESTION: Do you have any --
MR. BOUCHER: Is that progress? No.
QUESTION: Are you disappointed that he hasn't canceled his visit?
MR. BOUCHER: He has embarked on this trip. We made quite clear what our
views are on the issue. We don't think it's wise or appropriate for him to
visit, and therefore we'll look to see what he does.
QUESTION: You've talked about a sanctions violation, or a potential
sanctions violation?
MR. BOUCHER: Well, there's the question of how he gets there and whether
he has permission to fly in, and all these other questions involving the UN
Sanctions Committee. I'm not aware they've done anything like that in
Venezuela -- in New York.
QUESTION: He says he's going to walk in now.
QUESTION: That means he's going in by road from Iran, I believe.
MR. BOUCHER: Well, I mean, okay, there's little bits of news here. That
has to be considered. They should take that into account. But nonetheless,
as I said, we don't think it's appropriate or wise to make this visit.
We've made that quite clear in our views, and it's just not the right thing
to show up in Baghdad, particularly as a democratic leader visiting a
dictator. We think that's particularly inappropriate.
QUESTION: Tom Pickering is going to Colombia over the next day or so, and
since he's in the neighborhood, is it possible he'll make a left turn and
go to Venezuela to talk about this?
MR. BOUCHER: I'll double check, but I'm not aware of any such plans.
And, obviously, Chavez is not there. He could talk to others, I suppose.
QUESTION: The Foreign Minister is there.
QUESTION: This is on Venezuela. The Chilean court ruled today that
General Pinochet can be prosecuted for his crimes during his dictatorship.
Do you have any comment on that?
MR. BOUCHER: Just to say that the decision is clearly historic. It's
significant for Chile, for the rule of law, and for the promotion and
protection of human rights. The decision affirms the fundamental principle
that no one stands above the law. We certainly hope that it will
contribute to the resolution of long-pending human rights issues, and
further advance the process of justice and reconciliation in Chile.
QUESTION: Just to follow up, is September 18 still the date for the
United States Government to release all the documents in regards to this
particular case, the release of documents --
MR. BOUCHER: There is two pieces to that. As far as I know, we haven't
changed the deadline on release of documents. I'll double check on that
one. But I don't think it's regarding this particular case.
QUESTION: Well, the relationship between the United States and Pinochet --
MR. BOUCHER: Yes, I think those documents dealt principally with the
question of three Americans who were killed there, and things like that.
So, as far as I know, that's still on track for September, but I'll double
check on it.
QUESTION: Thank you.
QUESTION: In the view of the United States, where does this leave the
internal reconciliation process, which was such an important factor in your
reasoning earlier in this Pinochet affair.
MR. BOUCHER: Well, I think it's a factor in our reasoning now, too. We
hope that this decision and the process that will be undertaken will
advance the process of justice and reconciliation in Chile.
QUESTION: And this is Chilean television. Since there are three
Americans cases in Chile, the State Department has requested for investigations
for more information about these three cases now -- Horman, Teruggi and
Weisfeiler. What does this means that Pinochet has lost his immunity in
terms of the Chilean commitment to resolve this case?
MR. BOUCHER: I think at this stage that would be kind of speculative for
me to say what this means in terms of those other cases. This was a
decision involving a particular case. It's a petition based on evidence
compiled by the judge in the investigation of the Caravan of Death case in
Chile, so we're really not able to speculate on what effect that might have
on other cases or decisions.
QUESTION: But when the State Department request for an investigation in
the Horman-Teruggi case, the answer from the Chilean Government was that
they can't do anything because they are under the amnesty law. What is
State Department going to -- it's going to do in these two cases?
MR. BOUCHER: Again, I can't take this decision and apply it to some
other case. We certainly remain interested in those other cases. If there
is an opportunity to raise them again and pursue them, we will. But I just
don't know the interplay between this decision, the amnesty law and those
other cases, and it would be speculative for me to try to draw those
conclusions at this point.
QUESTION: A last question. The Justice Department is looking or
searching for eventually blame of Pinochet in the case of -- in the
Letelier case. It sees the possibility that you request for an extradition
of Pinochet since that Pinochet has lost his immunity, this -- another case,
the Letelier case?
MR. BOUCHER: Same answer. This was a decision in a particular case.
That's a different case, and I can't speculate on what the implications
might be.
QUESTION: On Kashmir, if we've moved on.
MR. BOUCHER: We've moved on.
QUESTION: Just, firstly, what's the Administration's reaction to their
announcement from the Hizbul Mujahideen that they have called off their
cease-fire? Do you think this will mean the virtual and immediate
resumption of violence? And, secondly, how hopeful are you that Pakistan
will be included in the peace talks in the region?
MR. BOUCHER: Well, I think, first of all, we want to say that we regret
the decision that's been reported by the Hizbul Mujahideen. We would urge
all sides to nurture and continue the process of peace. We welcome the
initiation of discussions between India and the Hizbul Mujahideen and we
encourage their resumption.
Decisions on how the talks are actually structured need to be made by the
parties involved in the discussions and in the issue. It has always been
our belief that it's up to the parties themselves to shape the process and
to clear the road to peace. We have also consistently encouraged direct
discussion between India and Pakistan.
The President has said that for the Kashmir dispute to be resolved there
needs to be restraint, respect for the line of control, renunciation of
violence, and renewal of dialogue.
QUESTION: Now we know that the President took an active role last week
with a call to Prime Minister Vajpayee. Will the Secretary or, as far as
you know, the President be taking any kind of role like that this week off
the back of this announcement?
MR. BOUCHER: I'll have to see how we follow up on this, what we do next
in this situation. I'm not aware of any plans at this point.
QUESTION: Can you tell us what role the United States played in the
decision of the Hizbul Mujahideen to call a cease-fire in the first place?
Did you encourage this privately or through the Pakistanis?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't want to claim any particular role for us. We have
consistently, though, encouraged dialogue, as we've said, with the
President. We've encouraged renunciation of violence. We've done that with
all the parties fairly consistently in this situation.
QUESTION: As a matter of principle, do you think that talks between the
Hizbul Mujahideen -- well, between the Kashmiri groups and the Indian
Government should be unconditional, and do you think it is reasonable for
the Indian Government to impose conditions on the agenda?
MR. BOUCHER: We think it's reasonable for the parties to sit down
together to work on peace and to work out the structure of the talks. It's
not for us standing here to make conditions.
QUESTION: In the same general area, can you say anything about the
accuracy of the story in today's <I>Times</I>?
MR. BOUCHER: It's wrong. Which story? (Laughter.)
QUESTION: There was only one front page story that had to do with India
and Pakistan in today's <I>New York Times</I>.
MR. BOUCHER: Oh, that's right. Well, no, the comment doesn't apply.
QUESTION: So it is accurate?
MR. BOUCHER: No, I didn't say that, either. I have nothing to say about
alleged intelligence reports on the threat of nuclear conflict in South
Asia. We have had, as you know, continuing concerns about tensions between
India and Pakistan, particularly over Kashmir. We've also been concerned
about the threat to regional stability in South Asia that's posed by the
introduction of nuclear weapons to the region.
We've been working with Indians and Pakistani Governments for the past two
years. Deputy Secretary Strobe Talbott has worked very hard to bring both
countries into the international mainstream on nonproliferation. We've
worked to reduce tensions, promote dialogue between India and Pakistan over
Kashmir. The President, as I mentioned earlier, has expressed our concerns,
clearly spelled out our policy, and that's where we remain. We encourage
and support whatever steps the two countries will take to reduce violence
and resolve the differences, including dialogue between them.
QUESTION: So you don't think you need to explain the rationale behind
Clinton's statement that South Asia is the most dangerous place on the
planet?
MR. BOUCHER: We didn't need to explain it at the time; I don't see any
reason to explain it now.
QUESTION: Richard, it's pretty obvious that --
MR. BOUCHER: It's quite obvious and clear as far as --
QUESTION: It's pretty obvious that there is a nuclear danger in South
Asia.
MR. BOUCHER: Yes.
QUESTION: So that's not news.
MR. BOUCHER: And I said so.
QUESTION: Right. But has that danger increased? I mean, how would you --
you regard it as an intelligence and so on, but as an observer, an informed
observer, has it increased since -- in the last year, say?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't think we can give you a barometer that goes up and
down periodically. When we see the dangers as being acute, we sometimes
talk about them. At this point, I would say that we've encouraged peaceful
progress in this direction, a reduction of the tensions, but I don't want
to try to give you a gauge -- (inaudible) -- every day.
QUESTION: Acute now. You said when they're acute, we mention them. Are
they acute now?
MR. BOUCHER: I'm going to stick with what I've said and not try to draw
a picture every day, because if I draw one today I'll have to draw another
one tomorrow and we'll end up with a barometer here on every country that
sort of gives you a temperature level or something.
QUESTION: Can you talk about Assistant Secretary Sheehan's trip to North
Korea?
MR. BOUCHER: Sure. He left yesterday. He's on his way to Pyongyang for
talks on terrorism. He's our US Coordinator for Counter-Terrorism,
Ambassador Michael Sheehan. The delegation will hold talks in Pyongyang on
August 9 and 10. The last round of talks between the United States and
North Korea on terrorism took place in New York in March. Ambassador
Sheehan will again explain the steps the North must take to end its support
for terrorism, and therefore be considered for removal from the United
States list of state sponsors for terrorism. The Secretary and the North
Korean Foreign Minister did discuss this issue in Bangkok as well.
QUESTION: Was this meeting suggested by her or requested by Foreign
Minister Paek at that meeting, or was this something that had been set up
after Sheehan's last meetings?
MR. BOUCHER: This meeting was one that was expected as a result of the
last round of meetings in March. I would say it was confirmed by the
Secretary with the North Korean Foreign Minister in Bangkok.
QUESTION: Confirmed in terms of specific dates, or just confirmed that he
would be --
MR. BOUCHER: No, just confirmed that it would take place and that they
should get together again.
QUESTION: That it would be in Pyongyang?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't remember discussing time and place, actually, at
that point.
QUESTION: Are the North Koreans any closer to being removed from that
list of state sponsors of terrorism?
MR. BOUCHER: This is sort of the like the degree of tension in various
places. I don't take out a measuring stick. I can say that we have
described for the North Koreans what they need to do to meet our serious
concerns. In our bilateral talks we made quite clear what they need to do
to take -- to be removed.
Without going into complete detail on it, I think it's clear if you read
our terrorism report and other statements that we have made, the statements
the Secretary has made recently, the fact that North Korea continues to
harbor Japanese Red Army hijackers involved in the 1970 hijacking of a
Japanese airline is one of the issues that remains of concern to us. In
the past, the United States and other countries have expressed their
concern to the North Koreans about this issue and the need for them to take
appropriate steps to solve it. So resolving that issue certainly would be
an important step in addressing our concerns about their support for
terrorism.
QUESTION: Did you say that he -- is he also meeting with Japanese
officials in Tokyo? Did you say?
MR. BOUCHER: I'm not sure I have his itinerary, actually. No, I'd have
to check and see if he's stopping in Tokyo on the way.
QUESTION: (Inaudible) -- sure these Red Army terrorists are still
alive?
MR. BOUCHER: Well, it's been a while. Our terrorism report earlier this
year and our current information now indicates that they're still in North
Korea with safe haven. I'm not aware of any information to the contrary,
but that would certainly be interesting, too.
QUESTION: Richard, on a related subject, the talks in Hawaii, nonproliferation
talks with China, have begun today; is that correct? Or are beginning,
considering the time difference, are supposed to begin today?
MR. BOUCHER: Let me double check on the dates. I forgot to get
something on that. I don't remember exactly what date it was.
QUESTION: Barry McCaffrey, the Drug Czar, is reported to have told the
new president-elect of Mexico that he agrees with him that the US should
discontinue its drug certification program. Does this building agree with
that assessment?
MR. BOUCHER: With that reported statement that we haven't seen? I don't
think I can do that. I haven't seen the statement. We'll look at it and
get back to you, but you might check with Barry McCaffrey's office first
and foremost to find out if he has made such a statement.
QUESTION: (Inaudible) President (Inaudible) is coming to New York for UN
meeting next month. Is there any possibility that he can -- he is going to
meet with President Clinton in New York or planning any meeting in
Washington, DC?
MR. BOUCHER: I'm not aware of any plans at this point for the President's
meetings. That's a question you have to ask over at the White House.
They'll be putting together the President's schedule there.
QUESTION: On Colombia. Last week, Colombia received 83 new military
advisors who trained the second anti-narcotic battalion in Larandia. It's
about 20 miles away from San Vicente. The FARC has already decided that
they are a military target. Do you have any comments or any input in to
this declaration from the FARC?
MR. BOUCHER: I think we've expressed, in the past, our concerns about
the operations of the FARC in Colombia, our concerns about the way that
they have targeted people involved in anti-narcotics operations. And we
certainly support the government's efforts to deal with the problem.
Beyond that, I'm not aware of this specific situation, frankly.
QUESTION: Iran again. Another -- the last reformist newspaper is being
closed down. Do you have anything to add to what you said yesterday on
freedom of expression in Iran?
MR. BOUCHER: Certainly our comments of yesterday still apply. I think
we're still -- we're not exactly sure of what the status is of the reform
press in Iran at this point. We think it's still unclear. So we'll see
how that situation works out. But our serious concerns about freedom of
expression and freedom of the press in Iran remain.
QUESTION: What do you mean, you're "not exactly sure of the status"?
They've all been shut down.
MR. BOUCHER: Well, that's not quite clear at this point to us. We'll
see.
QUESTION: That's not clear to the US.
MR. BOUCHER: Yes.
QUESTION: So, at what point are you going to give up on this attempt to
engage the Iranian leadership, and smell the coffee, as it were, and say
that -- come out and say something a little bit stronger about what the
conservatives are doing over there in terms of crushing this nascent reform
movement that you wanted to build up, or at least offer support to?
MR. BOUCHER: Matt, we've made quite clear our views on Iran, on freedom
of expression, on freedom of the press. We've made quite clear our support
for freedom of expression. We've made quite clear that if we're going to
have a relationship to Iran, it has to be premised on dealing with many of
our concerns, and our willingness to enter into a direct dialogue to do
that.
I think we've expressed very clearly our serious concerns about the
situation as it's unfolded yet, but if you're asking me to write off any
prospects or possibilities, I don't think that's something we ever
do.
QUESTION: Is Ms. Albright going to Chile in the next couple of weeks, and
what is her purpose?
MR. BOUCHER: Going to where?
QUESTION: To Chile?
MR. BOUCHER: Yes, that's part of her South American trip that we
announced yesterday.
QUESTION: And could you tell us about her purpose there, her meetings or
whatever?
MR. BOUCHER: Well, in all the countries that she's visiting in the
region -- she's visiting Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Ecuador -- the trip
is about regional cooperation, about support for democracy, about support
for economic reform, support for regional cooperation on issues such as the
environment, anti-narcotics efforts, a chance to discuss with countries of
the region various developments in the region. So, it has a broad purpose,
a lot of things to discuss with the countries there.
QUESTION: And do you know when exactly is she going?
MR. BOUCHER: We haven't put out the full itinerary. She'll be in those
four countries between the 15th and the 19th of the
month.
QUESTION: The impending arrival of Daniel Ortega in Miami has raised some
hackles down there among the Nicaraguan exiled community, to say the least,
and also concern from some congressmen about the fact that -- or some
national lawmakers -- about the fact that he's got a visa. What do you
have -- and he has a multiple-entry visa, even though he is supposedly on a
list of banned people.
MR. BOUCHER: He's not on the visa lookout system, despite some people
saying that he's on the list as a suspected terrorist. He's not on the
list. His visa application was looked at very thoroughly. He applied for
a visa in November of 1999. We issued the visa after very careful
consultation between the Embassy in Managua and the Department. And the
conclusion was that he was eligible to receive a US visa, and we issued him
a two-year multiple-entry visa in December of 1999.
QUESTION: And do you have anything to say about the possibility that he
could be arrested and charged with any criminal crime -- I mean, with any
crime but, in particular, the allegations of his stepdaughter?
MR. BOUCHER: Allegations like that would have been relevant for visa
purposes if they had resulted in a conviction. We're not aware that there
have been any such conviction. It's the Department of Justice, not State,
who determines who should and should not be prosecuted while in the United
States.
QUESTION: I've got two more things. Yesterday I asked about the
situation in Uzbekistan with the Islamic extremists. Do you have anything
on that?
MR. BOUCHER: We understand, from press reports, that there are 60 to 100
members of the Uzbek rebel movement, the Islamic movement of Uzbekistan,
that have been interdicted in the last few days in the Southeast of
Uzbekistan. We also understand that Uzbek security forces claim to have
surrounded the group and intend to neutralize it. We have no information,
though, about their plans or strategies.
We've also seen press reports who say that the Uzbek Government is
conducting this operation while taking into account the safety of the local
population. We certainly recognize the right of the Uzbek Government to
defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity against armed incursion.
At the same time, we would urge the government to do so with the maximum
possible restraint in order to minimize unnecessary casualties.
We also understand that Tajikistan is cooperating in the Uzbeks' efforts by
increasing security on its side of the border. We urge all governments in
the region to cooperate closely to address threats like this to Central
Asian security.
Clearly this Spring, when the Secretary went out to visit Central Asia,
this subject was a subject of discussion. The need for cross-border
cooperation there was a subject of discussion and something that she
encouraged. And as we say here, she recognized the government's need to be
able to defend their territorial integrity, but she also urged the Uzbek
Government and others to do that in a way that doesn't result in unnecessary
casualties or violence.
QUESTION: Okay, and the last thing. What's this -- there's some
legislation making its way through Congress right now that would cut off
all aid, although there's not very much or none, and make Zimbabwe
ineligible for debt relief unless President Mugabe rolls back his land
reform proposal, rolls back the position on land reform to pre-January
position.
MR. BOUCHER: Well, as we understand it, the bill is not in final form
yet, but I can say the Administration does share the concerns that prompted
the sponsors to introduce the bill that has passed the Senate.
Congressional concern centers on the pre- and post-election intimidation
and violence in Zimbabwe. We certainly share the broad goals of the bill,
namely the economic and political reform and safeguarding of the rule of
the law. We're particularly supportive of the provision that would make US
financial support available for land acquisition. We share the view that
land reform is a key issue that deserves immediate attention and resolution.
We're following progress of the bill on the House side very closely.
As you know, our policy on land reform has been that we support land reform
that respects the principles agreed to with donors at the September 1998
Land Reform Conference, including the principle of proceeding on the basis
of the willing seller/willing buyer principle. So we've condemned the
illegal occupation of farms, the violent attacks in Zimbabwe, and we have
also, for some time now, suspended our assistance to land reform. In March
of this year, we joined other donors in suspending the assistance.
QUESTION: Thank you.
MR. BOUCHER: Thank you.
(The briefing was concluded at 1:25 P.M.)
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