*EPF501 09/29/00
White House Report, Friday, September 29, 2000
(Peru/Fujimori, Serbia, Middle East, Lockhart farewell) (880)
ALBRIGHT, BERGER MEET WITH PERU'S PRESIDENT FUJIMORI
Peru's President Alberto Fujimori, who is in Washington, "spent the morning in a meeting first with the Secretary of State, and then over here (at the White House) for about 45 minutes with Sandy Berger, the President's national security advisor," White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart said.
Both Albright and Berger told him "that we think he's going along the right path towards full democracy in the context of what the OAS (Organization of American States) has done and the work we have done along with them. The message that we heard was that he believed in the OAS process. And we reiterated that we wanted to see" democratic elections in Peru "as soon as possible," Lockhart said.
Fujimori announced September 16 that he would call new elections in which he would not be a candidate.
Fujimori held meetings September 28 with OAS officials, Lockhart said.
MILOSEVIC SHOULD GO, LOCKHART SAYS
Asked what the United States would do if a civil war broke out in Serbia, Lockhart said that "those are the kind of hypotheticals that I learned long before today not to walk down.
"We've made very clear that we believe the Serbian opposition has won this election, that Milosevic should go. We believe that his ultimate destination should be The Hague."
Lockhart said the results "from the fair monitors" of the September 24 national elections -- "and those who are not under the thumb of the government -- have been very clear that the opposition has won this election."
"Most countries who have spoken" out on the election results, say "it is not needed to go to a second round, that the first round results were clear, and that Milosevic should go and respect the will of the people of Serbia," Lockhart said.
Regarding a recount or a second round, Lockhart made clear that "anything done under the auspices of the Election Commission controlled by President Milosevic is inherently suspect."
U.S. URGES RESTRAINT BY ALL SIDES IN MIDDLE EAST
Asked to comment on the recent violence at the Temple Mount and whether it will harm the Middle East peace process, Lockhart said:
"We are always concerned and condemn violence of any kind. I think the recent violence underscores the sensitivity of the issue of Jerusalem and provides even further illustration of how difficult this issue is. And we, as we always do in these cases, call on all sides to exercise restraint and respect for the difficulty of these issues."
Lockhart pointed out that Clinton has "remained in constant contact over the last many months with the parties, as has the team. I think they certainly understand our views. And I think that what's important here is that we continue the process that is obviously ongoing. There were discussions yesterday, I believe, between the parties to try to get to some sort of agreement."
Lockhart said the United States sees the recent spate of violence "as a reminder of how urgent this process is and how important it is for the parties to use the remaining time that they have to try to work as hard as they can to find ways to compromise and to reach an agreement that can resolve these issues."
CLINTON SPEAKS AT LOCKHART'S FAREWELL BRIEFING
President Clinton and Chief of Staff Podesta appeared at the middle of Lockhart's September 29 briefing to praise him for his service to the nation.
"He's been tough, he's been funny, he's always been straight. I said to the staff this morning I think you can't count on one hand the times that Joe has made a mistake here, despite the fact that you guys throw him fastballs on a day-in and day-out basis," Podesta said.
It was Lockhart's last official day of work. He is leaving the White House for what is expected to be a lucrative career in the private sector. He began in the job in October 1998.
He will be replaced by Jake Siewert, who has served as deputy press secretary since January 1999.
Clinton joked that "most people think Joe's leaving for purely selfish monetary reasons, but the truth is, he told me that I was no longer in enough trouble to make it interesting for him, that getting up every day and going to work and making policy and helping the Democrats, you know, it's boring him to tears. And he said he couldn't stand to be alone in his office crying anymore, and so he had to leave."
Clinton gave Lockhart a picture of their one and only day playing golf together with Lockhart "lost in the weeds."
But in a more serious note, he said he'd never seen "anybody do this job better. I admire you. I'm grateful to you. I'll miss you. Thank you, friend."
Lockhart said he would miss every one of the press corps.
"It has been fun. It has been a pleasure to work with each and every one of you," he said, adding that he even enjoyed the daily press briefing.
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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