State Department Noon Briefing Transcript

(Israel/Palestinian Authority, Iran, France, Hungary, Germany, Iraq,
terrorism, chemical weapons, department/anti-global protesters, UN
Human Rights Commission, Venezuela) (5900)

State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher briefed.

Following is the State Department transcript:

(begin transcript)

U.S. Department of State
Daily Press Briefing Index
Monday, April 22, 2002
12:55 p.m. EDT 

Briefer: Richard Boucher, Spokesman

ISRAEL/PALESTINIANS
-- Timeline for Israeli Withdrawal/Assistant Secretary William Burns'
Role
-- United Nations Security Council Resolution/Situation in Jenin
Refugee Camp
-- Chairman Arafat and Arresting Known Terrorists/Minister Ze'evi
-- Bethlehem and the Church of the Nativity
-- Secretary Powell's Meeting with King Mohamed VI of Morocco
-- Area A/West Bank and the Gaza Strip

IRAN
-- Support of Terrorist Organizations in the Region/Chinese President
Jiang's Visit
-- Punitive Damages for Victims of Terrorism and Senate
Legislation/Frozen Assets

FRANCE
-- Elections and Candidate Mr. Le Pen

HUNGARY
-- Elections and Socialist leader Peter Medgyessy

GERMANY
-- Prime Minister Schroeder's State-Level Elections

IRAQ
-- Kurdish Representatives meeting with U.S. Officials in Germany

TERRORISM
-- Status of Military Tribunals

CHEMICAL WEAPONS
-- The Status of Mr. Bustani and Responsibilities under the Chemical
Weapons Convention/Government of Brazil's Position on Mr. Bustani

DEPARTMENT
-- Anti-Global Protestors Critique of U.S. State Department's Policies

UN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
-- Human Rights Situation in China/Resolution on Sudan/Disappointment
with No Action for a Resolution on Zimbabwe

VENEZUELA
-- Secretary Powell's Communication efforts during his recent trip to
the Middle East

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING

12:55 P.M. EDT -- MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2002
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)

MR. BOUCHER: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It's a pleasure to
be here. I don't have any statements or announcements, so I'd be glad
to take your questions.

QUESTION: Let's talk timelines again, using the phrase loosely. Israel
is retreating or withdrawing, to choose your words, and the Secretary
is speaking of going there in the not-too-distant future. But there
are lots of people who are supposed to get into action -- in fact,
some are already, like Burns -- but you have Tenet and you have Zinni,
all sorts of things.

Can you, if you have some more detail, tell us -- you know, take us
down that road again? What is supposed to happen next? Who goes where?
And I guess the Israeli withdrawal is what you see is what you got.
There's no secret timetable that you've been told about, is there?

MR. BOUCHER:  No.

(Laughter.)

QUESTION: Okay. But how about the American players? When do they move
in?

MR. BOUCHER: When the American leaders decide it's time. I don't have
any more detail on that. It's just not decided at this point about
some of these things, some of these ideas that we brought back from
the region. As you know, Assistant Secretary Burns is out there. He
has visited the Jenin refugee camp. He is meeting with both sides. He
is meeting with Israelis and Palestinians, looking to move things
forward. We are interested also in restarting security cooperation as
early as possible.

So there are a lot of things that we're working on out there, but in
terms of some of these various ideas that came forward during the
trip, no, I don't have any more firmer schedule about the who, what,
when, where and how of those.

QUESTION: There is some distinction between different people's roles.
Burns -- you mentioned Burns, and then you talked about trying to get
security talks going. Burns is into what, the political process?

MR. BOUCHER: Burns is the Assistant Secretary for the region, so he is
ambidextrous in that regard. He can work on all the various aspects of
this. He is obviously looking at the particular situation on the
ground right now. He is about to lead our delegation to Oslo for the
humanitarian assistance and reconstruction issues for the discussion
on the conference that was scheduled for Oslo there.

We have been working it back here as well. We have worked with the
Secretary General and the UN Security Council to draft the resolution
on Friday. So there is a lot of going on in different places. Burns is
basically in the region to work with the parties on following up for
the Secretary's mission, talking about the withdrawals, the need for
Palestinian action against terror and violence, following up on all
the issues that the Secretary discussed while he was there.

QUESTION: He met with the two sides separately. Would it be his role
or goal to get those two sides together, or is that security where you
try to get the two sides together?

MR. BOUCHER: That is one of the many things that we are interested in
seeing happening as the situation moves forward. Whether he would
actually attend such a meeting, I don't know. It often has been
specifically security officials. But what we have been looking for
from both of the parties is for the Israelis to proceed on this path
of withdrawal, and we are pleased that they have been doing so. We
look to resolve the final issues so that those -- that withdrawal can
be made complete and can finish.

We also think there's more that Chairman Arafat can do, even now, with
the institutions under his control. He has the ability to reach out,
talk to leaders in the Palestinian Authority. He can authorize his
people to begin security cooperation with Israel. He can instruct
people not to take part in fomenting violence. So there are a lot of
things we're looking for from both sides at this point to try to keep
the process moving, try to keep the situation moving in a positive
direction that the Secretary was able to set during his trip.

QUESTION: Since the only new information I gleaned from that was that
Assistant Secretary Burns was both right and left-handed, I'd like to
move on to something related, which is the re-emergence of your old
friend, Martti Ahtisaari as the head of the UN investigation team for
Jenin. Do you have anything to say about that selection or that team
and its mission?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't have anything to say on the particular
individuals. They were all chosen by the Secretary General for the
prominence that they have and their ability to do the job that needs
to be done. They go out under a UN Security Council resolution that
the United States drafted and worked with other member of the Council.

We have expressed our serious concerns about the situation in Jenin,
about the humanitarian situation more generally of the Palestinian
people. We have called upon Israel to respect humanitarian principles,
and we do think it's important to support the Secretary General's
initiative in cooperation with the Government of Israel and the
Palestinian Authority to develop accurate information about the
situation in Jenin. We look forward to this team developing a thorough
and objective assessment of the facts.

QUESTION: On that list of things that you want or are looking for
Arafat to do, you didn't mention arresting terrorists. Do you think
that Arafat can arrest terrorists? And if he did, where would he put
them, considering there aren't that many jails left in the Palestinian
Authority?

MR. BOUCHER: There are different capabilities in the Palestinian
Authority in different places, and certainly to the extent that they
have these capabilities, they should use them to crack down on
violence and stop terrorists.

QUESTION:  But can he arrest them, do you think?

MR. BOUCHER:  Yes.

QUESTION: You think -- so you're asking the Palestinian -- where are
they going to be put?

MR. BOUCHER: It depends where they are arrested. The situation is not
uniform across the West Bank or Gaza. There are capabilities that the
Palestinian Authority still has, but we've also recognized that their
capabilities have been severely degraded in some places by the Israeli
offensive. And so one of the things we do want to do as we go forward
to assess their capabilities and help them reconstitute a security
service that can be capable of maintaining the peace and preventing
terrorism throughout the areas under their control.

So granted that they have severely degraded capabilities in some
places; they have capabilities in other places, and we look for them
to use that apparatus, whatever they have, to try to help prevent
terrorism, since that terrorism not only kills innocent people but
harms the cause that they are trying to achieve.

QUESTION: I have two questions. One, last week the Secretary was
saying, or alluded to the fact that he was unsatisfied with the amount
of humanitarian assistance getting into Jenin. And, as you know, Bill
Burns said that -- he said that Bill Burns found the situation very
disturbing. Do you see that the Israelis have made any progress in
opening up the camps to humanitarian workers, workers to treat the
wounded and take away the dead?

And also, on the Mukataa, do you think that Yasser Arafat should be
given more -- or his isolation should be ended, even if he does not
hand over these -- some suspected Ze'evi killers?

MR. BOUCHER: Let me try to deal with the facts of the situation. Yes,
there are humanitarian workers going into Jenin camp. There are more
people able to get in there and to help out. There are critical needs,
and we have urged the Israelis, as I have urged them just a few
minutes ago again, to permit the kind of access to humanitarian
workers that's needed, and to permit all these places that they're
withdrawing from to return to normal life.

The United States is providing a considerable quantity of humanitarian
assistance right away. We've got -- I believe most of it is arriving
in Israel today, and therefore it can be delivered shortly. But it's
water purification to take care of 10,000 people a day, it's tents,
it's 1,600 hygiene and disease prevention kits. So it's a substantial
quantity of immediate assistance, valued at, I think, about a quarter
of a million dollars. And then there's another 50,000 or so that we
can use on the spot from our Consul General. So the United States is
responding quickly. We want to see that that assistance gets to the
people who need it as soon as possible.

As for the situation in Mukataa, the Secretary has said before, will
say again, we are looking for the circumstances to be eased so that he
can do what the Israelis want him to do, do what we all want Chairman
Arafat to do, and that is to be able to direct the resources, direct
his own voice, direct the people around him with instructions for
everybody to stop the violence and to curtail the kind of attacks that
have been going on.

QUESTION: Can we move south to Bethlehem? Do you have any update on
the situation there? There was fighting reported, or shooting
reported, a little while ago.

MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't have any instant update. I'll leave that to
the wire services.

QUESTION: And do you have any update on the U.S. negotiating efforts
to resolve the situation, irrespective of what the wire services may
report?

MR. BOUCHER: Taking into consideration what the wire services may
report, I don't really have an update. We remain in touch with various
parties about how to resolve the situations in Bethlehem, and at
Chairman Arafat's compound for that matter. I don't have any new news
for you today, but these remain particular issues that we are
interested in resolving so that we can see the withdrawal continue and
be completed.

QUESTION: On a related matter, can you give us a readout, please, from
the Secretary's meeting with King Mohamed?

MR. BOUCHER: It was a good, useful, and thorough discussion of a
number of issues. As you might expect, the events in the Middle East,
the Secretary's trip to the region since we last saw King Mohamed in
Morocco, that was the main focus of our discussion. I don't know how
much I want to characterize it. I'll just say the King welcomed the
efforts the Secretary had made, described the results as positive. And
the Secretary informed him of a lot of different ideas that we had
heard during this visit, about the cooperation and support that he had
gotten and appreciated from the international community, including
Arab countries like Morocco and Egypt and Jordan. And then they
discussed other issues, like the Western Sahara.

QUESTION: Did the Secretary ask the King why he hadn't started his
visit to New York or Los Angeles?

MR. BOUCHER:  No, he didn't.

QUESTION:  Okay.  Can I ask -- 

MR. BOUCHER: They did talk a little bit about the press coverage of
some of those remarks, and I think the King's phrase was, "You know,
it was a question, not a remark."

QUESTION: What is the status of the latest PLO compliance report that
you guys are supposed to send up to the Hill?

MR. BOUCHER:  It went last week, didn't it?  

QUESTION: Well, I don't know. I've been asking around, and I can't --
I heard something about that in the air while on the trip, but --

MR. BOUCHER: I heard it on the ground while on the trip, but I believe
the White House releases that, and released it last week.

QUESTION: Back to the humanitarian aid. Who will distribute this on
the ground? Will the Palestinian Authority be distributing the tents
and the water purification systems?

MR. BOUCHER: It goes to the UN Relief and Works Agency, I believe, and
some of the NGOs that they work with.

QUESTION: Okay. Will it be coordinated with the Palestinian Authority?

MR. BOUCHER: I suppose so, but it's -- we do our assistance on the
West Bank and Gaza and the occupied territories, we do it through
nongovernmental organizations, through UN organizations. They have the
capability, they have the expertise, and we work through them and
support them. The $30 million the Secretary announced while he was in
the region just a week or so ago was for the UN Relief and Works
Agency.

QUESTION: Does the fact that you're still in the present tense urging
Israeli to allow access into these areas mean that you're not
satisfied with the level of access at the moment? I know it was worse
before, and you asked them to let these workers in. But that sounds
like there is still a problem.

MR. BOUCHER: I would put it the way I did, that there are -- there is
more access, there are humanitarian workers getting in. But given the
situation on the ground, a lot of this depends on a daily basis on the
facilitation of the Israelis, and we would urge them to continue to
provide access and allow the maximum possible access for aid workers
and people like that.

QUESTION: Can I follow up on that? Richard, you're saying two
different things. I mean, you're urging them to continue to allow, but
would you say at this point that this access is free and unfettered?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't want to try to characterize it beyond what I
have. As I said, I'm not trying to give a daily update on who got in
and who didn't. It's important that they provide that kind of access.
We've stressed that before, and we'll continue to stress how important
that is, that Israel needs to facilitate the access, because there are
people in need, and they need to get the assistance that's being
offered.

QUESTION: Are you satisfied with the media coverage overall that's
coming from this region? And also, Secretary Powell was on five
television networks yesterday talking about his mission. What are you
seeing also from Arab press? Are you satisfied overall that it's above
board and accurate?

MR. BOUCHER: The last thing I would ever want to do would be to
comment on media commentary. I would prefer to comment on intelligence
matters, frankly. (Laughter.)

QUESTION:  They're the same thing, aren't they?

MR. BOUCHER: No, they're quite a bit different many times. But I will
refrain from taking the opportunity now, if you don't mind.

QUESTION: I hope you (inaudible) these questions I'm going to ask you.
(Laughter.) I'm looking for positions. You know, we've been into
logistics. Maybe we can elevate the discussion a little bit.

Does the State Department have a position on Israel's demand for
suspects in the "paymaster," so to speak, and also, for the killers --
for the alleged killers of the Israeli Cabinet Minister? And does the
State Department have a position on, even as Israel withdraws, their
intention appears to be to keep a certain number of troops in the
strategic positions, so it's not really a wholesale withdrawal.
There's going to be some folks hanging out -- and whatever reason they
find to put them into action.

So on those two things, is there a position -- do you want a total
withdrawal --

MR. BOUCHER:  Do we have a position on Israel's desire -- 

QUESTION:  Demands.

MR. BOUCHER:  -- demands to get the -- 

QUESTION:  -- Israel's troops -- 

MR. BOUCHER: -- and Israel's desire to hang around? Okay. Let's take
them separately. The positions are the ones that we have described to
you previously, that the Secretary described to you previously, and
did yesterday on these TV appearances that he did. We certainly
understand Israel's desire to get custody and jurisdiction over the
people that are wanted for the murder of one of their ministers and
for supporting terrorist acts. We also understand the Palestinian
position that is based on the Oslo Accords.

So this is a question that needs to be resolved, and we have been
involved with the parties, discussing with the parties how that might
be done. At present, I don't have an answer for you. But those things
need to be resolved. We understand the positions that both sides have
taken in that regard, but there's clearly an issue that needs to be
resolved.

As for the issue of hanging out, as we have, I think, made clear many
times, Prime Minister Sharon has said himself in public that he
intended to get out of all Areas A. We think it's important to get out
of Area A, for that to be -- for that withdrawal to be completed. And
then, as you know, furthermore, as we head down to implement the Tenet
plan, the Mitchell plan, those things will bring the situation back to
where it was even much before that.

So we do think that this process is important. We need to get it
started. But we -- to finish the status of forces now, those issues of
Bethlehem and of Arafat's compound still need to be withdrawn --
resolved, so that we can get back to the -- where we can see the
complete end of the incursion and the beginning of security talks and
a real cease-fire take hold.

QUESTION: Did the Secretary discuss with the King the idea of a
conference, or has that kind of been left by the wayside, given that
things are still taking place --

MR. BOUCHER: No, the Secretary discussed it with the King, said it was
one of the ideas that we had heard, he had heard from various people
during the course of his visit in the region. And I think some of the
Europeans as well and others have talked about the idea of an
international meeting or conference, regional meeting or conference.
At this point there is no decision on it. We are interested in the
views of others, including people like King Mohamed, and will keep, I
am sure, discussing it with them as we look at a strategy of how to go
forward and whether and how this might fit.

QUESTION: Just to go back to Barry's question, in general, when Israel
takes action in Area A or any Palestinian territories to specifically
arrest or apprehend suspected terrorists, does that fall under the
realm of what you guys used to say, which was Israel has to take
actions to defend itself from -- you know, certainly in its own
self-defense, has a right to its own self-defense? Is that the State
Department's -- does the State Department believe that kind of action
falls under that?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't want to make any sweeping judgments on actions
that have not yet taken place. We'll have to see. In each particular
case we usually find an opportunity to express ourselves, if that's
necessary.

QUESTION: Can I phrase it another way, then? If Israel takes actions
--

MR. BOUCHER: You can phrase it any way you want. I'll give you the
same answer.

QUESTION: Okay. When Israel takes these actions, does it undermine
your goal of trying to revive security cooperation, which would assume
that Arafat --

MR. BOUCHER: That was a nice question that started with "when" instead
of "if" but it was basically a question to ask me to make a sweeping
judgment on all potential actions. I can't do that at this point.

QUESTION: But these are actions that are taking place right now,
though.

MR. BOUCHER: And we've expressed our view of actions that are taking
place right now or have taken place in the past, and we'll be happy to
express that view should such actions take place in the future.

QUESTION: When you see terrorist organizations in Palestine and
Lebanon supported by Iran, how is it possible to bring peace to the
Middle East without dealing with Iran?

MR. BOUCHER: I think there are a variety of efforts underway by
members of the international community to end terrorism. We have
direct relationships with some of the states that have influence over
those groups. We have made quite clear what our position is on Iran's
support for these groups, and we look to others as well that we
coordinate with who agree with us that the support for terrorism that
Iran provides is bad for the region and harmful there. So I think
there's a variety of ways of doing that. We have always said we are
ready to sit down and address these issues directly with Iran, but
it's not the only way to deal with the situation.

QUESTION: The Chinese President Jiang Zemin, he said in his trip in
Iran today that China opposes any U.S. forces stationed in the Middle
East and Central Asia. So how will you take that comment?

And my second question is that the Japanese Prime Minister, he visited
a war shrine on Sunday. I would like to see a comment on that.

MR. BOUCHER: I don't have any comment on the Japanese Prime Minister's
visit at this point. On the comments that are attributed to President
Jiang, I think all we've seen is Iranian media reports relating to
President Jiang's visit to Iran, so I don't -- I'm not able to comment
specifically on something he might have said. We don't have an exact
text, and I wouldn't want to try to jump on something until I knew the
context and what he actually said.

We have worked very closely with China to combat terrorism. The
Chinese counter-terrorism support was reiterated during the
President's meetings with Jiang Zemin. China has cooperated in law
enforcement, cutting off financing, information-sharing, and China has
also provided support and assistance to the Afghan Interim Authority.
So we have actually been working quite well with the Chinese on these
issues.

But I think, as you know, the general proposition is we're not looking
for bases, for permanent basing in Central Asia; we're looking for
relationships, long-term relationships and access when we have
situations like the one that developed now. But we're not looking to
establish permanent bases in Central Asia, so I'm not sure what the
question was and what the comment was that he was making.

QUESTION: Richard, it still applies that we're working closely with
China to combat terrorism when the head of their state visited the
leading sponsor of international terrorism, according to the State
Department's own report on the matter?

MR. BOUCHER: The facts are the facts, and I'll tell you what the facts
are.

QUESTION: Can we move on? A couple of elections in Europe over the
weekend.

MR. BOUCHER:  So we heard.

QUESTION: Yeah, first one, the more important one, I think -- Hungary.
(Laughter.) Yeah, I have to go back on that. Do you care to join on
the European bandwagon of concern on Mr. Le Pen's surprising victory
in the first round of elections?

MR. BOUCHER:  Is that the question from Agence Hungarian Presse?  

QUESTION:  Yes, indeed.  

MR. BOUCHER: I will only say France is a very close friend and ally.
We do follow its electoral politics with great interest, but the final
round of voting will take place on May 5, and that's the moment at
which the French electorate will make its choice. We'll leave it to
them.

QUESTION: So you don't have any of the same feelings about this as the
Europeans, other Europeans outside of France, who are vastly concerned
about it?

MR. BOUCHER: We leave it to the French electorate to make the choice.

QUESTION: Okay. Now in the other, do you have anything to say about
it?

MR. BOUCHER: In Hungary, we extend our congratulations to Socialist
leader Peter Medgyessy on his electoral achievement. We wish him and
his team every success in continuing Hungary's transition to a fully
developed market economy and a fully democratic society. The United
States looks forward to a continuation of the strong bilateral
relationship the United States and Hungary enjoy, including continued
cooperation against terrorism.

QUESTION: You have nothing to say about the state election in Germany
in which Prime Minister Schroeder's party seems to have lost?

MR. BOUCHER: No, we decline to comment on other people's elections,
and some of these elections at the state level we don't even decline
to comment on.

QUESTION: Do you have anything on the family of a Navy diver that was
killed by Iranian extremists during this hijacking -- I'm not really
sure when it is -- that just won this massive award from -- in a law
suit that the Iranian Government should pay them like over $300
million in punitive damages?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't know -- that's Stethem? I don't have any
particular comment about him. There is a little legislative history to
this. There's a whole legal history to this. It's a serious issue that
needs to be looked at. We do think that families deserve compensation,
but we've had to intervene in the courts at times to say that there
are immunity questions that need to be addressed and taken into
account.

There was legislation last fall that asked the administration to come
up with a proposal for a compensation fund of some sort, and the
administration basically is still working on that to come up with a
proposal for Congress on how to handle this to make sure that all our
various interests are attended to, including the very real interest on
the part of the victims and their families.

QUESTION: Is it still the position of the State Department that frozen
assets of a country should not be used for compensation?

MR. BOUCHER: That's the position that we've taken at various times in
court because of the nature of those assets and the nature of these
situations.

QUESTION: Richard, the proposal that -- the legislation you just
mentioned matches dollar for dollar from the U.S. Treasury of those
frozen assets, with the specific intention eventually of replenishing
them from the assets once they're resolved.

MR. BOUCHER: We have not made our proposal. We're considering the best
approach at this point. We are aware there's legislation actually that
Senators Harkin and Allen have put forward, but we haven't taken a
final position on that either. We're studying that legislation.

QUESTION: Do you have anything to say about U.S. officials meeting
Kurdish representatives in Germany over the last few days?

MR. BOUCHER:  No.

QUESTION:  Can you confirm it?

MR. BOUCHER:  I hadn't heard about it.  I'd be glad to look for it.

QUESTION:  Please do, thanks.

MR. BOUCHER: We meet with Kurdish representatives a lot in various
places.

QUESTION: Do you have anything on the decision to allow military
tribunals for some of the detainees? Apparently there's a new
procedure with --

MR. BOUCHER: No, we haven't tried to do that at the State Department
here. That's been in the hands of Defense and Justice.

QUESTION: Richard, in The Hague, Mr. Bustani is not going to go
without a fight. Do you have anything to say? The meeting has gotten
under way, I guess yesterday. He is refusing to resign. You've
obviously made your position on him quite clear, but is there
anything, any further steps you're planning on taking to convince him
to step down before the end of this?

MR. BOUCHER: We have expressed before our view that the organization
needs to be preserved, it needs to be effective, it needs to fulfill
its responsibilities under the Chemical Weapons Convention. Our view
is that it has not done so under Mr. Bustani, and that therefore he
must be replaced immediately, because this is an organization that has
gone into serious crisis because of his mismanagement. We made that
quite clear.

We always thought it would be better for the organization for him to
resign, but in any case it's necessary to get new management there so
that the organization can be effective. They have not been able to
carry out their mandate. For example, they're only carrying out this
year 55 percent of their planned inspections because of the financial
mismanagement that is there. And we want to see them be able to
fulfill their promise.

QUESTION: So are you disappointed that he didn't take your rather --
well, none-too-subtle hints over the past month that he should step
down?

MR. BOUCHER: He is an independent international civil servant. He
needs to take responsibility in that regard, and if he doesn't have
the support from the countries involved, we would have hoped that he
would have gotten the message earlier that he doesn't belong there and
he should resign.

QUESTION: Okay, well, how about -- are you disappointed at all in the
stance of the Government of Brazil?

MR. BOUCHER: This is not an issue between the United States and
Brazil. It's not a bilateral matter for us. It's a question of an
international organization and assuring the best possible leadership
for it.

QUESTION: Same subject. How is your campaign to muster support for his
removal going in The Hague? Do you have a --

MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't have a particular count at this point. You
remember that when the original issue was dealt with, there were very
few of the members who felt that he should remain.

QUESTION: New topic? Do you have any message for the anti-global
protesters who have come into the city this week? They've been
criticizing a number of the State Department's policies, everything
from Colombia to support for the war on terror in general.

MR. BOUCHER: I don't have any big message for them. Obviously we think
we're doing the right thing. And we'll continue to look carefully at
the needs of the people of the world and do what we think we can to
help their development and give them the opportunities that we all
hope to enjoy, including the opportunities to express themselves in
protest.

QUESTION: In Geneva, Richard, it looks -- the UN Human Rights
Commission is wrapping up this week -- you're not going to get what
you hoped for; no one is coming out to sponsor a resolution on China.
The EU tried and failed on Chechnya and Zimbabwe. Cuba, I guess, got
through, but it wasn't a condemnation. And it looks like Sudan -- I
noticed there was a condemnation there. What are your thoughts, as
this comes to a close, on this session?

MR. BOUCHER: I would say that we are pleased that the Commission
recognized that the human rights situation in Cuba requires the
attention of the international community. We are satisfied that they
passed a Sudan resolution that retains a Special Rapporteur, and we
applaud the countries that did stand up for human rights and democracy
in Geneva. We remain deeply concerned about the human rights situation
in places like Zimbabwe, Iran, and we're disappointed that the members
chose not to take action on the Zimbabwe resolution, again
disappointed by the narrow loss on Chechnya.

I guess what I would say is that we continue to believe it's important
for all nations to stand up in support of human rights. We will do so
when we return to the Commission, we hope in next year's session, and
we appreciate all those who did at this session.

QUESTION: Two things. You just said that you "hope." A couple months
ago, or a month ago, you were pretty -- it was in the bag, as it were,
that you were going to get on. Is there some new --

MR. BOUCHER: No, there's no new glitch. We understand that the Western
European Group has put forward a slate of candidates that includes us.

QUESTION: And the fact that China didn't come up this year? No one is
willing to sponsor it. And you were calling on likeminded democracies
with a subtle jab at the EU that maybe they should do this?

MR. BOUCHER: Well, once again I think at this point I'll express our
appreciation for those who did stand up for human rights at this
session. You know our concerns about the human rights situation in
China. But that's about all I'll say at the moment.

QUESTION: Wait, wait. There are persistent reports that U.S. officials
were present in this fort in Caracas -- do you have anything to say
about -- during the coup or resignation crisis with Chavez.

MR. BOUCHER: We've checked, we've checked again. The United States did
not have anyone present during the crisis. We had -- there were a
couple of officers in a car who drove down to the area and never got
out of their vehicle, just to see what was going on. I think they sent
somebody down to attend the press conference when that was finally
held. But these reports that somebody was there throughout are just
not true, as best we can tell.

QUESTION:  Okay.  Thank you.

MR. BOUCHER:  Elaine had one more.

QUESTION: I don't think anybody managed to ask this on the trip, but
was the Secretary making phone calls during this period? Was he trying
to get -- was he staying involved in that situation?

MR. BOUCHER:  In?

QUESTION:  On Venezuela.

MR. BOUCHER: On Venezuela? He was making phone calls back here and
keeping in touch with our people in Washington.

QUESTION:  Thank you.

(The briefing was concluded at 1:28 p.m. EDT.)

(end State Department transcript)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)