*EPF202 01/08/2002
Transcript: State Department Noon Briefing, January 8
(Afghanistan, Israel/Palestinian Authority, India/Pakistan, Department, Argentina, Venezuela, Singapore, China) (5700)

State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher briefed.

Following is the State Department transcript:

(begin transcript)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING
Richard Boucher, Spokesman
TUESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2002 -- 12:45 P.M.
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)

Index

AFGHANISTAN
-- Offers for Taliban Surrender in Kabul
-- Calls for Investigation of Mazer-e-Sharif Uprising

ISRAEL/PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY
-- Israeli Seizure of Vessel Containing Weapons
-- Zinni Meetings in the Region
-- Palestinian Connections to Seized Vessel
-- Travel of Assistant Secretary Burns

INDIA/PAKISTAN
-- Meeting between leaders
-- Update on Situation/Musharraf's Upcoming Speech
-- Secretary Powell's Meeting With India Home Minister
-- Situation in Kashmir

DEPARTMENT
-- Discussions of Meetings With Senior U.S. Officials

ARGENTINA
-- Update of Political/Financial Situation

VENEZUELA
-- Mob Attacks on National Newspaper

SINGAPORE
-- Arrest of Suspected Terrorist/Threat to American Interest

CHINA
-- Arrests and Religious Persecution

MR. BOUCHER: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I don't have any announcements or statements. I would be glad to take your questions.

QUESTION: There are reports from Kabul that the Taliban has offered to surrender, and that the Afghans are weighing that offer. I don't know if you've seen the report, but I wondered if the US Government has any position on that?

MR. BOUCHER: No, I'm afraid I haven't seen the report, and I don't have any particular position on it.

QUESTION: All right. Let me try something maybe you do have. Has the US sorted out the facts yet on Israel's interception of the weapons-laden ship?

MR. BOUCHER: We have some of the evidence. We don't have all of it. We're looking forward, tomorrow, to a visit by some senior Israeli military intelligence people, and we will talk to them further. We expect them to tell us more about what they know. We have been cooperating closely with the Israelis in this matter. We look forward to receiving further information from them. And as I think I mentioned, General Zinni, in his meetings with Chairman Arafat last Friday, made clear that this is a very serious matter, that we condemn the escalation of violence and the introduction of new weapons into this area, and asked Chairman Arafat for a full investigation. And we have seen Chairman Arafat promise that as well. So we would hope that would produce information.

But we look forward to hearing from the Israelis tomorrow, from this team that is coming. They will meet with a senior group from our side, Assistant Secretary Burns, head of our Intelligence and Research unit, and other experts on the US side.

QUESTION: May I ask you just a fine point about the statement you just made. "New", you mean additional? You don't mean --

MR. BOUCHER: Yes. Additional information.

QUESTION: You don't mean up -- no, no, so far as the weapons? You don't like new weapons -- you don't mean new technology; you mean additional weapons, correct?

MR. BOUCHER: I would mean both.

QUESTION: Okay.

MR. BOUCHER: Additional weapons, upgraded weapons, new weapons. I'm not sure we have the entire rundown. We have had diplomats who have seen some of the things on board, and the quantity and the quality of these shipments are of serious concern, and I think we find the fact that there are Palestinians involved in shipping these weapons deeply troubling.

QUESTION: Well, Richard, the Israeli Justice Minister met here this morning with Deputy Secretary Armitage, and after that meeting, he came out and basically called Arafat a liar for saying that he didn't know any -- for Arafat saying that when Arafat said that he had no knowledge of this, he said he was a liar. Does the US agree with that? And also, can you give us a rundown of what the conversation with Armitage and the Justice Minister was?

MR. BOUCHER: First of all, I'm not going to try to comment on every single statement, and as I said, we look forward to hearing more from the Israelis tomorrow. We have been cooperating with them. We have received some information from them, of course, all along, and we look forward to hearing more from the intelligence people that are coming tomorrow.

In terms of the meeting with the Minister of Justice, they discussed a number of subjects, bilateral as well as multilateral issues, including -- and they discussed the issue of this ship.

QUESTION: Okay. Well, then forget about commenting on it. Does the United States believe that Arafat is telling the truth when he says he didn't have any idea or any knowledge about these weapons?

MR. BOUCHER: I would say we are waiting to hear a full explanation of the incident from Chairman Arafat.

QUESTION: Is one of your working theories still that these arms may have been going to Hizballah?

MR. BOUCHER: There are all sorts of possibilities, I suppose. The question, as I said -- the issue of Palestinian involvement and the fact that we've seen the statements from the Palestinian commander of the ship obviously reinforces our deep concern about the situation, but as I said, we look forward to receiving more information on this.

QUESTION: Is one of your working theories, then, that the Palestinian Authority did not do enough on importing arms?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't think I want to go through every possible working theory at this point. The issue is that we've seen Palestinian involvement in this. We've seen statements from the Palestinian commander of the vessel. General Zinni made very clear to Chairman Arafat on Friday this is a serious matter and it required a full explanation. And we've been acquiring information on this and we'll continue to do so.

QUESTION: Has Zinni had his meeting with the Secretary to go over the status of --

MR. BOUCHER: Not at this point. They will probably meet in the next couple days.

QUESTION: Richard, the Israelis, the Justice Minister as well as others in the region, in Israel actually, appear to be extremely impatient or angry that you guys are refusing to accept their allegations at face value. What is your message to them? I mean, the Justice Minister this morning expressed shock that you were still buying into Arafat's lies. I realize you don't want to comment on that specifically, but what do you tell the Israelis: "Just hold on? We're working on it"?

MR. BOUCHER: I read an unedited version of the transcript. I didn't see that phrase in there.

QUESTION: Well, actually, it's a direct quote.

MR. BOUCHER: It's a direct quote? Well, I read it too fast. The message is that we are working very closely with the Israelis in this matter, that we have heard from the Israelis, we have seen some information from them already. We are deeply concerned about the situation, about the involvement of Palestinians in this arms shipment. We have expressed that concern directly and early to Chairman Arafat. We have told him we need a full explanation. He has now promised a full investigation.

And we will continue to work closely with the Israelis in this matter. We are receiving tomorrow here a group of senior Israeli intelligence officials and we'll discuss the matter further from them, and we look forward to hearing further from them about some of these matters.

QUESTION: I'll drop it after this. Has anyone spoken to Arafat directly from the US side after Franks -- I mean, Zinni did on Friday?

MR. BOUCHER: Our representatives in the region, our Ambassador, our Consul General, have been in close touch with the Palestinians. I can't remember if there has been a precise meeting with Chairman Arafat, but they have been in close touch with the Palestinians as well as the Israelis.

QUESTION: You don't know if anyone has talked to Arafat since the captain of the ship said what he said?

MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't know. But didn't he have a press conference afterwards?

QUESTION: Who?

MR. BOUCHER: Chairman Arafat. He did some interviews or something.

QUESTION: But, no, I'm talking -- I didn't realize your diplomats went to press conferences and asked questions. I'm talking about --

MR. BOUCHER: We do read the press, Matt.

QUESTION: Yeah, I know.

MR. BOUCHER: Including some of your stories.

QUESTION: For better or for worse. My question is then you don't know if anyone, a US official, has spoken directly to Arafat since?

MR. BOUCHER: No. If you're asking for what have we heard from Chairman Arafat about the statements the Palestinian commander made, I don't know if we have heard anything directly from him. He may have said something in public, given that I think he was out in public.

QUESTION: Does the US find the statement by the commander of the ship to be credible, to be entirely credible?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't quite know how to evaluate that kind of question at this point. Certainly we find it credible. Certainly we are deeply concerned about the statements that he has made, and we look forward to having more information on these topics. I think that's where I'd put it at this point.

QUESTION: I mean, I asked the question because he is obviously being held by the Israelis and there were some, I think within the Israeli press corps, who asked why he was speaking with them and why he wanted to talk. So I'm just wondering if the US believes that the statement he made was not made under duress and that he, in fact, is to be believed.

MR. BOUCHER: I don't think I'm -- let me put it this way. We take the statements at face value. We would consider them credible. There is other information that indicates the involvement of Palestinians in this matter that the Israelis have put forward, and we look forward to hearing from the Israelis and the Palestinians as well for further information about the incident. I suppose over time that a more complete picture will come together as this other information comes in.

QUESTION: Do you think he is following orders from the PA?

MR. BOUCHER: He has named a person in the Palestinian Authority who he was in contact with. I'm not sure what other information we have on that at this point.

QUESTION: So does that -- is there a question in the US mind then that this guy --

MR. BOUCHER: I'm not trying to raise questions; I'm trying to collect all the possible information, and what I'm saying is the information that we have so far, including the statements that this guy made, that the Palestinian commander made, do raise very deep concerns, and we find them troubling. We found this incident serious and of serious concern right from the beginning, and that is why General Zinni raised it right away with Chairman Arafat.

QUESTION: I thought that this came up last week, but what other information is being put forward about Palestinian involvement, other than the captain's statement that you just mentioned?

MR. BOUCHER: Let me think about that.

QUESTION: Can I ask another one then, while you think about it?

MR. BOUCHER: Yes.

QUESTION: Have you heard back from the UAE?

MR. BOUCHER: No, we haven't heard anything new.

QUESTION: Wait, I take it you didn't remember?

MR. BOUCHER: I'm sorry?

QUESTION: You're not --

MR. BOUCHER: Let me withdraw my -- let me take the question about other information. It may have stepped a little bit too far. It seems to me I have seen things, but now that you ask specifically, I can't remember.

QUESTION: If you could take it, that would be good.

MR. BOUCHER: I will take it and see if we have other information. Let me pose it as an interrogative that -- are there other pieces of information that indicate the involvement of the Palestinian Authority.

QUESTION: Given what you know so far about the involvement of the Palestinians, how much of an impediment to the cease-fire negotiations is this? Does it have an impact one way or another?

MR. BOUCHER: I mean, our view is that the incident with the ship, the finding of this quantity and quality of arms, the finding of the involvement of the Palestinians, is in itself deeply troubling because of the potential for escalation of the violence that these weapons would represent. And they reinforce the need for immediate action by the Palestinians to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure that perpetuates violence and terror, reinforces the need for concrete action by the Palestinian Authority to prevent future attempts to bring in additional weaponry or escalate the conflict.

So that remains the task that General Zinni has been engaged in. That remains the task General Zinni has pressed in his discussions with Chairman Arafat. And when he discussed the incident, the need for a full explanation, the steps that had been taken, he continued to press, as we have mentioned repeatedly, for further steps to dismantle the terrorist organizations that operate, and to end the violence. And that remains a task that we are engaged in, that we think the parties need to engage in as well.

QUESTION: To follow up on that, Richard, what does this incident tell you about Palestinian intentions? And particularly the intentions of the Palestinian Authority with regard to deescalated violence and moving towards the peace process?

MR. BOUCHER: It tells us that there are Palestinians that seek to escalate the violence, that seek to introduce new weapons, additional weapons, and that would hope to escalate the violence in the region. That is of serious concern to us.

QUESTION: Another thing the captain said was that he fully expected to be intercepted, he said by Israelis or by Americans or by others. Does that make any sense to you? Do you know --

MR. BOUCHER: I'm not going to try to parse all the words. I have seen the wire stories as well, but I don't think I can parse every statement this guy made. I wasn't there for the interviews, and no, I can't explain what he said.

QUESTION: There is no reason why Americans would be intercepting the ships?

MR. BOUCHER: Oh, there is every reason to believe that we know a lot of what is going on in the world. But I don't think I would go beyond that.

I would hope that anybody that is up to no good would believe that the Americans would probably find out and stop you, because in many cases we do.

QUESTION: I just want to make sure. You're accepting the fact, then, that it was Palestinians who are responsible for this; you're just not convinced yet that it was the PA and Arafat?

MR. BOUCHER: I have referred to Palestinian involvement, yes.

QUESTION: Yes. I'm just saying, when you said -- when you answered Mark's question, you said that tells us that there are Palestinians who wish to escalate the violence; you're convinced that at least some Palestinians were behind this?

MR. BOUCHER: Yes. We have seen statements by a Palestinian ship commander about it. And I took the question as far as whether there were other things that pointed to Palestinian involvement, but I think we accept the fact that Palestinians were involved, yes.

QUESTION: But you don't yet accept the Israeli contention that it was Arafat and the PA that were --

MR. BOUCHER: I'd say we look forward to receiving more information from the Israelis on topics like that.

QUESTION: Richard, do you have any comments or any agenda tomorrow? The Home Minister of India, Mr. Advani, is coming here to meet with Mr. -- I mean, with the Secretary of State, and his main agenda actually of his to fight terrorism with the United States combined. So what do we have on this?

MR. BOUCHER: We have an opportunity for the Secretary to continue his discussions with the Indian Government, discussions that he had when he was in New Delhi. And he met at that time with the Home Minister in New Delhi. He has continued to be in very close touch, as you know, with Foreign Minister Singh all along about the situation, the fight against terrorism and also the situation between India and Pakistan. So it's an opportunity to continue those discussions with the Home Minister tomorrow.

QUESTION: So far, if Secretary has received anything in advance, because parliamentary attack took after Secretary's visit to India? So did he receive anything in advance what this agenda will be all about when he comes and meets with him tomorrow?

MR. BOUCHER: I think given that we've had constant and ongoing discussions with the Indian Government, including our ambassador's discussions -- and he meets with a variety of people in the Indian Government, including the Home Minister, on a regular basis -- the ball has been moving forward in terms of our cooperation, in terms of our discussions of the situation between India and Pakistan. So we'll continue to move forward in those discussions here.

QUESTION: We also saw on TV films of the riots in Mazer-e-Sharif of the 600 prisoners who were supposed to be delivered to the United Nations and the killing that took place. Now the Organization of Islamic Conference is asking for international investigation of this. Does the American Government have a position on this request of an international investigation to the events that took place?

MR. BOUCHER: I haven't seen the request, so I don't have a position at this point.

QUESTION: I was just going to ask if he would be discussing travel, but I know you won't answer, but I'm asking you anyway.

MR. BOUCHER: If what?

QUESTION: If the Secretary had discussed travel.

MR. BOUCHER: A visit to the region by a senior US official?

QUESTION: Yes, exactly.

MR. BOUCHER: We should start abbreviating that, shouldn't we?

QUESTION: That's why I said travel.

MR. BOUCHER: The VRSUO question may indeed come up during their discussions tomorrow.

QUESTION: Speaking of visitors to the building, yesterday a bunch of us saw the National Security Advisor here. Can you tell us if that was just a routine meeting, or was there something special that prompted it? And also, at least --

MR. BOUCHER: Sorry, this is --

QUESTION: Condoleezza Rice.

MR. BOUCHER: Yesterday?

QUESTION: Yes? I asked the question yesterday, but there was no answer.

MR. BOUCHER: That's my fault.

QUESTION: No, no, that's okay. And also, Mr. Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz is here, or was here right now, and perhaps even General Franks. Do you know what they're doing here?

MR. BOUCHER: Meeting, talking, coordinating.

QUESTION: What are they talking about? I mean, does this have anything to do with, you know, tying up diplomatic ends to the prisoner transfer?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't think so. We meet with people from the Pentagon, Pentagon people meet with us, all the time. There is back and forth, constant cab rides between the two agencies, as well as official vehicles.

General Franks, I think, is in the building today, I know from a variety of assistant secretaries, various people, meeting with him today. We try to stay in close touch with him.

Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz -- I'm not exactly sure who he's meeting with, but he is also one of the people that we talk with all the time. Do you know who he's talking to? All the chiefs of mission from Europe who are in -- both are meeting with them. So it's just part of the constant back-and-forth, and as Phil mentioned, we have a conference going on of the chiefs of our missions in Europe, who are back for a conference with the Bureau, and a variety of people are speaking with them during the course of the day, including General Franks, Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz.

As far as the visit of Condoleezza Rice yesterday, she came by to talk to the Secretary. They, as you know, talk frequently on the phone, in person, at the White House and here, and it was just one of those periodic chats.

QUESTION: Do you know if Franks and Wolfowitz are giving the chiefs of mission the Pentagon line so that they can bring it back to their host countries? Or are they here discussing the coming (inaudible) Canada or something?

MR. BOUCHER: I think they are discussing US policy.

QUESTION: Military policy, obviously.

MR. BOUCHER: Obviously.

QUESTION: Is that related to the war on terrorism, or the war on --

MR. BOUCHER: Absolutely.

QUESTION: Okay, well, why don't you just say --

MR. BOUCHER: Well, I don't --

QUESTION: Then I won't ask the same question.

MR. BOUCHER: Well, I don't quite know -- they are discussing what they are doing, the subjects under their control, concern, things -- the campaign against terrorism, the military efforts against terrorism. They are discussing with the chiefs of mission and hearing from the chiefs of mission how cooperation is going with various other governments and militaries, and this is part of the way the US Government works; we talk to each other.

QUESTION: Go back quickly to India and Pakistan. An address that General Musharraf is supposed to make this week is being touted today as something that could help defuse the tensions very significantly. I believe the Secretary spoke with General Musharraf this morning. Do you believe that this address -- do you expect this address to really make a big difference in the situation?

MR. BOUCHER: We have been in frequent contact with President Musharraf and his government. Our Ambassador to Pakistan is in very close touch with them. The Secretary spoke with President Musharraf again this morning. They continue to look at ways to fight terrorism and ways to deescalate tensions between India and Pakistan. And so they continue to discuss, as I said, the fight against terrorism, and ways to deescalate the tensions between India and Pakistan.

The statement that President Musharraf has made in his joint press conference with Prime Minister Blair, and we attach some importance to -- he said Pakistan rejects terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, period. We expect that they will continue to move against terrorist organizations because of the danger that these organizations pose to Pakistan and its neighbors, that we do understand that President Musharraf is planning to make a speech in the coming days, in which he will elaborate his thoughts for the Pakistani people on the course that their country needs to follow, and we look forward to hearing from President Musharraf in that speech on the course that he believes the nation should follow.

QUESTION: The Home Minister also is still carrying a list of those 20 terrorists that he is going to ask Secretary of State tomorrow that the US must put pressure on Pakistan to hand over to India. So what -- where do we stand now today? I mean, the US Government.

MR. BOUCHER: Where we stand today is there is nothing new today, and the Home Minister is coming tomorrow.

QUESTION: Richard, a question that -- well, first of all, I'm a little confused as to why you didn't mention the phone call when you were asked about India in the first place. It seems --

MR. BOUCHER: Because the phone call was with the President of Pakistan.

QUESTION: Yes, I know, but we should go alphabetically, maybe, through the list of every country every day to -- what did --

MR. BOUCHER: If you want to ask me about President Musharraf, I'll tell you the Secretary talked to him.

QUESTION: Yes. Well, did -- you said that the issue of a very senior US official traveling to the region might be raised with the Home Minister tomorrow. Might that also --

MR. BOUCHER: Might come up or be discussed.

QUESTION: Yes. Well, did he speak with Musharraf, or was that a subject of the conversation this morning?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't actually know. You know, we have mentioned it as a possibility. It's been certainly discussed with people in the region. At this point there are no decisions about it. But I don't know if it specifically came up in today's phone call or not.

QUESTION: Can you say anything, Richard, on what would be the trip wires of the decision process, how that decision would ultimately be made, and by when?

MR. BOUCHER: The Secretary would decide when he is good and ready.

QUESTION: I think the Secretary said that the United States would be willing to help on the issue of Kashmir. Would that require a request by both sides, or would the United States take the initiative on its own to get involved in that?

MR. BOUCHER: I think the Secretary repeated what we said before, which is we're willing to help out if we can in any way we can, in any way we can as the parties want us to. And that has always been our position. It's the position he stated to them when he traveled there last year, last fall, and it's always been the position that we're willing to help out to the extent we can.

Certainly, we're making efforts right now to see what can be done to deescalate the tensions. Whether they would want us in some further effort remains to be seen.

QUESTION: But just to pin that down, it would require consent or a request from both India and Pakistan for the United States to get involved in Kashmir?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't know of any situation in the world where we can help out, help the parties, without the parties wanting us to help.

QUESTION: On another visitor, do you have anything to say about the meeting of Secretary Powell and the Foreign Minister of Mexico yet?

MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't, really. We look forward to the meeting. I am sure there is any number of subjects to be discussed -- cooperation between our two countries, immigration questions of course, and cooperation against terrorism in the hemisphere and some of the other developments in the hemisphere as well. So I think there is certainly plenty to talk about, and they have talked periodically in the last month or so, so it's getting together and continuing conversations they have been having on the phone.

QUESTION: With the campaign against terrorism, does the US Government still believe that the immigration accord with Mexico is still a priority for the US policy?

MR. BOUCHER: Certainly, with the campaign against terrorism and homeland security questions coming up, immigration questions coming up, our cooperation with Mexico on immigration questions is as important as ever, and there are a great many subjects in this regard to discuss.

QUESTION: And on Argentina, has the US Government been in contact with the new president in terms of how to deal with the pressure of political parties that are calling for civilian unrest in the country?

MR. BOUCHER: I think we leave it to the Argentine Government to work out domestic questions, of course. The Secretary spoke with Argentina's new Foreign Minister, Carlos Ruckauf, on Friday to convey a message that we see Argentina as a valued friend and an ally, a neighbor, a valued neighbor and friend.

We are following closely the new government's efforts to return the economy to growth. We remain engaged with Argentina. The strength of Argentina's democratic institutions is evident in the peaceful and constitutional process that has been followed during this difficult time, and we are confident the Argentines will find a way to work together to overcome the current difficulties. So that remains our view, that remains our interest, and that is what the Secretary conveyed to the Foreign Minister on Friday.

QUESTION: Venezuela. Last night, the Venezuelan national newspaper, El Nacional, was attacked by a mob of supporters for President Chavez. Considering that El Nacional has a critical editorial line against Chavez, is this something that concerns the US, that it's one of the only independent newspapers?

MR. BOUCHER: Yes, we are concerned about the events of last night. We are concerned about the attempts by Chavez supporters to intimidate both opposition politicians and the press. Obviously, demonstrations are part of any normal democratic process, but we don't believe that intimidation is or should be. Democratic opposition and the free press are essential to the healthy functioning of the democratic process. We urge all Venezuelans to foster the democratic process through constructive, peaceful engagement and to refrain from statements and actions that create an environment conducive to intimidation. Our Ambassador to Venezuela, Donna Hrinak, will visit El Nacional today.

QUESTION: What makes the US certain that, in fact, this attack was directed by President Chavez himself?

MR. BOUCHER: I didn't quite say that. I said these are efforts by Chavez supporters to intimidate the press and the opposition. I'm not sure -- well, I just don't have anything more than that.

QUESTION: Has the Ambassador been to see anybody in the Foreign Ministry about --

MR. BOUCHER: About these actions?

QUESTION: Well, about the actions and about getting the government to tell its supporters to not --

MR. BOUCHER: I don't know. I'll have to check on that.

QUESTION: What is she going to do when she goes to the paper? Just --

MR. BOUCHER: Go visit, express our support for a free press.

QUESTION: I believe the Ambassador was in Washington some weeks ago to discuss US policy towards Venezuela. Have there been any decisions on changes of US policy towards the country, or have you been in touch with the counterparts in Venezuela on that issue?

MR. BOUCHER: We have had an ongoing dialogue with our Ambassador down there, as well as others about the situation in Venezuela. I think at various moments we have expressed our concerns about developments there, including concerns I'm expressing today about attempts to intimidate the opposition and the free press. It is a situation we follow very closely and one that we'll continue to follow closely.

QUESTION: A policy question with regard to arms shipments and undermining of the Singapore Government and reports that perhaps al-Qaida is possibly going to either hit the US Embassy there and/or undermine the Government of Singapore.

MR. BOUCHER: Yesterday I welcomed the arrests that had been made in Singapore by the Singapore authorities of people who were planning attacks. I think the Singapore Government has subsequently confirmed that the United States Embassy and US commercial interests were indeed targets of that planning. We applaud the action that the Singapore Government has taken. We certainly welcome the cooperation we have had with the Singapore Government, the information exchange in this particular matter, but also more broadly in the campaign against terrorism.

So I would say that we think our cooperation with Singapore is excellent, and therefore, we are sure that both our government and their government are doing everything we can to protect Americans and others against these threats.

QUESTION: Did you hear anything back about the Hong Kong (inaudible)? Not just the team, but (inaudible) and their evil cult indictment in China?

MR. BOUCHER: No, we have not heard back at this point from the Chinese. We certainly have been in touch with other people about the situation. We have heard from members of the church; it's called the "Local Church," I think is what they call themselves. So we understand a little more about the situation today -- we're still concerned about the situation, both for the individual, andmore generally, about religious persecution in China. It's something we will continue to follow closely.

QUESTION: Can I go back to the Middle East for one second? You don't have any comments today about the ship incident from Assistant Secretary Burns? The Israeli media seems to have picked up saying that Burns was taking a stronger line than what you have, or at least what you had to say about it yesterday. Do you know of anything like that that he said?

MR. BOUCHER: I have been talking to him all day about the question of what I should say, so hopefully I'm saying what he wants me to.

QUESTION: No, but you don't know of him -- you don't know of any comments that he has made to the Israeli --

MR. BOUCHER: I'm not aware he has made any comments on his own, no. I'm Spokesman for the State Department, the Secretary, and the Assistant Secretary for Near East Affairs today. So hopefully I'm doing my job.

QUESTION: As to the suspension of funding to the Iraqi National Congress, could you kindly tell us at which level the decision was taken? Was it made at the level of the President or Secretary of State?

MR. BOUCHER: The answer is no. I can't kindly tell you at which level decisions are taken. We don't do that. I'm sorry. At the appropriate level, that's a good line.

QUESTION: One more on India-Pakistan. You've made it clear what you expect the Pakistanis to do, but is there anything that the Indians could be doing, irrespective of Pakistan, to calm things in Kashmir? For example, opening negotiations on autonomy with local authorities.

MR. BOUCHER: We're getting back to where I think we've been for the last couple of days, and that's to explain that there is an immediate situation that remains dangerous that we believe we all need to look for ways to deescalate that situation. We're talking to both of the governments about that, about what they can do to deescalate the situation.

Second of all, there is the broader issue in Pakistan of President Musharraf's move against violence and extremism, and that's a process that we have certainly supported, that we welcome, and we think that remains a key to defusing the tensions of the situation with India, but also to the future of Pakistan itself.

And then, third of all, there are the issues of Kashmir. And we have encouraged direct contact between the two parties over those issues. And we continue to encourage that.

QUESTION: Yes, but irrespective of Pakistan, couldn't the Indians do something unilaterally to defuse the situation, and make the Kashmiris feel more comfortable about Indian rule?

MR. BOUCHER: I suppose so, but I don't really have a list for you at this point.

QUESTION: Okay.

MR. BOUCHER: You can say thank you.

(end transcript)

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

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