*EPF401 03/21/2002
Transcript: State Department Noon Briefing, March 21
(Department, Israel/Palestinian Authority, Peru, China, Taiwan, defense, Colombia, Zimbabwe, Cuba, Pakistan, war crimes) (6530)

Deputy State Department Spokesman Phil Reeker briefed.

Following is the State Department transcript:

(begin transcript)

U.S. Department of State
Daily Press Briefing Index
March 21, 2002
1:30 p.m.

Briefer: Philip T. Reeker, Deputy Spokesman

DEPARTMENT
-- President Bush and Secretary Powell's Meeting with Milton Green
-- Secretary Powell Accompanying President Bush to Latin America
-- Secretary Powell's Trip to Europe in April (Germany and Spain)
-- Deputy Secretary Armitage's Trip to Romania - NATO

ISRAEL/PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY
-- General Zinni's Mission/Suicide Bombings/Call to Chairman Arafat/Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades/Trilateral Security Meeting
-- Today's Bombing in Jerusalem
-- Possible Meeting between Vice President Cheney and Chairman Arafat in Egypt

PERU
-- Bombing Near U.S. Embassy in Lima

CHINA
-- Conviction of Fong Fuming/Visit of Mr. Hu

TAIWAN
-- Distress Call from Taiwan Vessel near Hawaii

DEFENSE
-- Admiral Blair and Movement of Submarines to Guam

COLOMBIA
-- Supplemental Plan

ZIMBABWE
-- Possible Sanctions/Morgan Tsvangirai

CUBA
-- UN Development Program and Castro's Departure

PAKISTAN
-- President Musharraf Calls for Referendum In October

WAR CRIMES
-- Milosevic Trial and U.S. Witnesses


U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING

1:30 P.M. EST -- THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2002
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)

MR. REEKER: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome back to the State Department. As you are aware, Secretary Powell is traveling with President Bush, on their way to Monterrey, Mexico and other points in Latin America. Ambassador Boucher is accompanying the Secretary on that trip. I do have a couple of announcements to begin with, and then I will take your questions.

First, regarding the return of the bodies of the Americans killed on Sunday in Pakistan. This morning, at Andrews Air Force Base, President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, Mrs. Alma Powell, and senior US officials greeted Milton Green, whose wife and 17-year-old stepdaughter were murdered in a terrorist attack on Sunday at a church in Islamabad, Pakistan. Mr. Green, accompanied by his son Zachary, both of whom were wounded in the attack, returned on a US military flight with the remains of his wife, Barbara, and stepdaughter, Kristen. They were met by a military honor guard, which in a brief ceremony escorted the coffins from the aircraft. The Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage escorted Mr. Green to a reception area, where he met President Bush and Secretary Powell, who offered their sincere condolences.

On behalf of the Department of State, Deputy Secretary Armitage told Mr. Green in a short statement, that included the following remarks: "You exemplify the dedication and the decency, the spirit and the courage of the extended family that is the State Department. Just as surely as our men and women in uniform do, the men and women of our State Department and their families serve on the frontiers of freedom. American families like the Greens are willing again and again to serve in difficult and often dangerous places because they know their services advance our nation's most cherished values and enduring interests."

QUESTION: Whose words were those?

MR. REEKER: Deputy Secretary Armitage's.

Also, on the travel front, I will take this opportunity to announce that the Secretary of State will travel to Europe beginning April 8th through April 11th. The trip will take the Secretary to Berlin, Germany and Madrid, Spain. We will have further details the next week, after the Secretary returns from his current travels, and at that point we will put up a sign-up sheet for the press.

Also on the travel front, the Deputy Secretary of State, Richard L. Armitage, will travel on March 24th to Bucharest, Romania to attend a summit of the ten countries that comprise the Vilnius Group. The Deputy Secretary's participation will of course reaffirm the United States support for launching a new and robust round of NATO enlargement at the Prague Summit in November of this year, and of course underscore the US commitment to President Bush's vision of a Europe whole, free and at peace.

On the 26th of March, the Deputy Secretary will travel on from Bucharest to NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, where he will review the summit and progress of the aspirant countries with the members of the North Atlantic Council.

With those introductory statements, I will be happy to start with questions, turning to the Associated Press, Mr. George Gedda.

QUESTION: Any comment on the latest suicide bombing in Israel, and any comment on how that affects the Zinni mission?

MR. REEKER: We condemn in the strongest terms the terrorist suicide bombings in Jerusalem today that killed at least two Israelis and left dozens injured. This attack, and a similar one yesterday in northern Israel, underscores the necessity of immediate maximum Palestinian actions against terror.

Secretary of State Powell this morning, from President Bush's aircraft, called Chairman Arafat and underscored that the time for Arafat to act is now. The Secretary called upon Chairman Arafat to condemn today's acts publicly and personally in the strongest manner in English and in Arabic. The Secretary told Chairman Arafat he must punish the leaders of organizations responsible for recent attacks, making sure those responsible are brought to justice. Chairman Arafat must speak out personally and tell the Palestinian people that these terrorist actions destroy his leadership and dash the dreams of the Palestinian people for a Palestinian state.

Chairman Arafat and the Palestinian Authority must expend 100 percent effort to control the violence and to prevent horrible attacks such as have occurred in the past two days. Chairman Arafat must move for implementation of the Tenet work plan. This includes unambiguous orders to the Palestinian security services to enforce the cease-fire and a serious effort to prevent terror attacks. These attacks, as I indicated, take the Palestinians and Israelis even further from achieving the peace both parties have sought for so long. The killing has got to stop now.

In terms of General Zinni, we note the cancellation of today's scheduled trilateral security meeting because of the bombing. Cooperation on security, together with the immediate action by the Palestinian Authority to end terror and violence, are absolutely critical to help restore an atmosphere of calm. As I said, we see the need for the parties to move into Tenet immediately, and so we will continue to keep in touch with General Zinni as to when security talks may be able to resume.

QUESTION: Do you have any comments on the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, any US action being taken against them? They have claimed responsibility for this attack.

MR. REEKER: In terms of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, as you are aware, designation of an organization as a Foreign Terrorist Organization is a process under United States law. Secretary of State Powell took action to designate the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on March 19th. We notified Congress of the Secretary's decision yesterday -- that is March 20th -- and we are working very closely with Congress to expedite this process.

We are moving forward with other steps to look at adding Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades to executive orders and other aspects where we can designate them, and working with the Department of Justice on possible steps to designate them under the Patriot USA Act; that is, the terrorist exclusion list.

QUESTION: Can I follow up?

MR. REEKER: Yes, sure.

QUESTION: Many of these members of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades are believed to belong to Yasser Arafat's Fatah Party. Can you speak to whether you believe this to be the case and whether you think that Yasser Arafat, in some way, is responsible for the actions of these potential party members?

MR. REEKER: We have always said -- certainly many times in the past -- that we have reported this in the so-called PLOCCA report, the Palestinian Liberation Organization Commitments and Compliance Act, that elements of Fatah have been involved in acts of violence and terror against Israelis. It is unclear to what extent they act with the knowledge or approval of senior leadership of Fatah, and that remains the case here.

But obviously, as I indicated, the steps we are taking to make these formal designations obviously show that we have been reviewing for some time the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and their role in this. And the designation of course will have a set of legal and other effects once that goes into place.

QUESTION: (Inaudible.)

MR. REEKER: Well, in terms of the legal effects, a Foreign Terrorist Organization designation makes it unlawful for a person in the United States, or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, to provide funds or other material support to a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. Representatives and certain members of such an organization, if they are aliens, can be denied visas, excluded from the United States, and US financial institutions must block funds designated for such organizations or their agents and report that blockage to the Treasury Department.

Also, the designation helps deter donations or contributions to named organizations, obviously heightens public awareness and knowledge of terrorist organizations, and we think it signals to other governments our concern about such organizations.

QUESTION: If in fact Al-Aqsa is a branch of the militia wing of Fatah, are you going to be taking any steps to see that Fatah financial supporters in the United States -- I mean, I just was wondering if you could explain it, because the Israelis -- and not to mention the Israelis -- over I think about 200 members of Congress now are saying that Tanzim, as well as Al-Aqsa, should be listed, and they have been saying it for some time.

So my question is, if you're trying to enforce this in this country, how do you know that contributions to Fatah, which has been said to have this link, are not going to in some way end up in Al-Aqsa? How is that going to work?

MR. REEKER: Clearly those are things that have to be examined in terms of implementing the law, once a designation is made. There are parts of the government responsible for implementing the law. I can't predict, and as I said, in terms of Fatah, we have been quite clear for some time that elements of Fatah had been involved in acts of violence and terror against Israelis. It is just unclear -- remains unclear to what extent they act out of knowledge of approval of senior leadership of Fatah. But obviously we continue to watch these organizations very closely. The process for making such designations is done according to our law. Very carefully analysis is done, and we will continue to look at this.

QUESTION: Is there an investigation into this issue? Is there somebody looking at this at the appropriate agencies, Fatah's senior leader --

MR. REEKER: I couldn't say in terms of the agencies that are responsible for implementing the law after such a designation exactly how they will proceed to do that. You could check with the agencies responsible for that, and we will look and see. But we have to do things according to the law. That is what we are doing here, and as I said, Secretary Powell took that action earlier this week, and we have already notified Congress and continue to consult with them on that.

QUESTION: Sort of following up on this is this chain of responsibility, which leads -- I'm looking at Al-Aqsa Brigades; then you've got Fatah; then you've got the Palestinian Authority. And is it possible that by calling this a terrorist organization, that the Palestinian Authority would then be deemed unable to receive international funds from Europe and from the United Nations and from the United States?

MR. REEKER: Well, again, I don't want to get ahead of ourselves here. I think we can't speculate. We have to use our laws appropriately, and we continually monitor activities of groups and organizations for possible designation as Foreign Terrorist Organizations under our law. We don't discuss which groups we are reviewing specifically, but a lot of effort goes into that, and we will continue to do that.

The important thing here is that Palestinian leaders, including Chairman Arafat, have got to exercise leadership. As the Secretary told the Chairman, he has got to speak out now; he has got to punish leaders responsible for today's attack, yesterday's attack; make sure that those responsible are brought to justice. This is undermining his leadership of the Palestinian Authority and of the Palestinian people, and undermining the dreams of the Palestinians for their own state and for peace in that region.

QUESTION: Forgive me if you have already said this, but I don't think you have. Do you know a date specific when this takes effect? What I'm trying to get at is, when can we accurately say the United States designated --

MR. REEKER: I couldn't tell you at this point, because it is a matter of law. I did say earlier that we are working with Congress to expedite the process, given the events on the ground. But the designation that the Secretary made, the action that he took to formally make the designation, occurred on the 19th. We notified Congress yesterday.

QUESTION: Right. But is it -- I just want to make sure that I've got this right -- is it not -- does it not really take effect until it appears in the Federal Register, right?

MR. REEKER: I would have to double-check for you. I believe that is what is required under the law. So we will have to look at how we can go about expediting that.

QUESTION: Okay, but you don't know when?

MR. REEKER: I couldn't say at this point. We are working with all of those parties that are necessary to this process to make sure that that happens on an expedited basis.

QUESTION: If I could just return to the statement on the horrible violence today in Jerusalem. Could you -- I noticed that you didn't call on any kind of restraint from the Israelis. Obviously, they -- I don't think they have responded yet. But would you be calling on restraint for the Israelis, in terms of their counter-reaction?

MR. REEKER: First of all, as you know, we have always understood Israel's need to defend themselves against terrorist attacks like this. We have also always said that there is a process here. They have to think about their actions, think about how we can move forward on this. The important thing right now is to see action from Chairman Arafat. We have been talking about the 100 percent effort required of him. The President has spoken of it -- the Vice President, Secretary Powell, General Zinni.

As you are well aware, he has got to speak out, as we called for, in terms of public and personal statements condemning these acts, and speaking directly to the Palestinian people and making them understand clearly that this undermines his own leadership and undermines their own future. That is what we are looking for now. We need to get into Tenet, to provide the security so that we can have an end to the violence. They need to pursue a cease-fire, implement the Tenet security work plan, move into Mitchell. It is the only way forward so that both Israelis and Palestinians can live without this type of senseless violence.

QUESTION: If I could just follow up, last week the President said that the kinds of incursions that the Israelis had done in response to similar kinds of attacks were "unhelpful" was the word he chose. Would you say that if -- that -- I can't say "if." Should Ariel Sharon redeploy his forces inside the areas where they were before? Is that the kind of thing you would find excessive or --

MR. REEKER: Again, I'm not going to speculate on something. We have said what we think needs to happen. Action needs to be taken by Chairman Arafat, the Palestinian Authority. They need to get into Tenet. You have seen that the trilateral security meeting was cancelled today. It had been scheduled following up on the earlier meetings that General Zinni had convened.

QUESTION: Who canceled the meeting?

MR. REEKER: I couldn't tell you specifically. I know the meeting has been canceled due to the bombings.

QUESTION: Well, on the cancellation, so you just note the cancellation of this meeting, but do you not have a view on whether such meetings should go ahead regardless of the circumstances? The whole point of these meetings, as I understand it, is to improve the security.

MR. REEKER: Absolutely. That's right. Cooperation on security is necessary, together with action by the Palestinian Authority to end the terror and violence. That is absolutely critical to ending that. I think everyone can understand why a meeting that was scheduled to take place was canceled in light of the event that occurred, this horrible terrorist attack in Jerusalem resulting in death and destruction. We would hope of course that we can then get back to -- to reschedule such trilateral meetings because it is imperative that we get the cease-fire in place and into the Tenet security plan.

QUESTION: So if I can just follow up, doesn't this again -- as for so many months, does this not give the initiative back into the hands of people who are opposed to peace?

MR. REEKER: I don't think that is true at all. I don't know how you make that connection. There are people that are opposed to peace, but to --

QUESTION: You're saying the meeting has been canceled and you understand why, because there's been an act of violence.

MR. REEKER: To suggest that that means that meetings won't take place at future times, I think is just wrong. All we are saying is that meeting was canceled. We note that it had been scheduled. It hasn't taken place because of the immediacy of what happened and the need to deal with that at a variety of levels. But we would hope that trilateral security meetings can take place because that is crucial to moving ahead while the Palestinian Authority, and Chairman Arafat in particular, exercise their leadership and take the steps that the Secretary described to the Chairman in his telephone call this morning.

QUESTION: Do you know if General Zinni is now trying to reschedule that meeting, or is that --

MR. REEKER: I just don't know specifics on that.

QUESTION: Can we move on?

MR. REEKER: Elise has something.

QUESTION: On Peru?

MR. REEKER: Matt wanted to change, but -- Peru, yes.

QUESTION: Do you have any word on who is responsible for the car bombing? There have been some reports that perhaps it was the Shining Path and --

MR. REEKER: I have seen a number of reports on that. I think at this point it is all somewhat speculative. First of all, let me say that we deplore the loss of life in Lima and express our deepest sympathies to the families of those killed in this despicable terrorist act that occurred there at approximately 11:00 p.m. last night when a car bomb exploded in a parking lot in front of a bank in Lima, the capital of Peru.

The explosion, at last reports, killed nine, injured about 30 people. No Americans were injured, according to information we have. A Peruvian police officer normally assigned to the American Embassy, which was nearby, was killed in the blast. Two others assigned to the police unit that protects the Embassy were injured. Of course we express, as I said, our deepest sympathies to their families and the families of all those killed.

There was no damage to our Embassy. At latest word, no one has claimed responsibility for the attack. Our Embassy in Lima, Peru remains open.

QUESTION: Given the circumstances, do you have any reason to suspect that the target or the -- should I say the psychological target was the Embassy itself?

MR. REEKER: I don't think I have seen anything to that. I don't think anybody has, first of all, claimed responsibility. I don't know if we can draw any particular distinctions or determinations at this point. It may be early; I haven't seen anything that would indicate that.

Other questions on Peru?

QUESTION: There was a -- well, first, China. Do you have anything to say about the conviction of the American -- he is American, isn't he? -- by the Chinese?

MR. REEKER: Yes. In terms of the sentencing that we understand was reported of Fong Fuming, who is a United States citizen, a Chinese court today, that is March 21st, convicted Mr. Fong of illegally obtaining state secrets and of bribery on behalf of a foreign company. He was sentenced to five years imprisonment, which includes the two years he has already served. He was acquitted of charges of individual bribery and obtaining state secrets on behalf of a foreign entity. That is as much of the facts as we have.

Our Embassy will continue to communicate with Mr. Fong and with his family and with the Chinese Government about his well being, as we normally do in terms of our consular responsibilities. An Embassy officer and a family member of Mr. Fong's attended the sentencing, and beyond that, the Privacy Act considerations, as you know, don't allow us to discuss the specifics of his case.

QUESTION: But you -- can you not say what you think of the procedures and the fairness of the trial?

MR. REEKER: I don't have any more detailed information on that, other than to indicate what took place. I will try to check if we have anything further to say on it. But at this point, I think that is all we have to say.

QUESTION: I have one on something else. Do you have anything on a -- perhaps it was a Taiwanese vessel that the US Coast Guard near Hawaii responded to a distress call from, a Taiwanese vessel, where there were supposedly some dead bodies aboard?

MR. REEKER: I have not heard that story, but I would suggest you call the Coast Guard.

QUESTION: Well, on Taiwan again. WHO, I saw it posted on your website. It said we have urged the WHO to find ways for Taiwan to participate. Have you talked toWHO already, and what are those appropriate ways?

MR. REEKER: I think we have talked to WHO, the World Health Organization, on that matter over a period of years, in fact. So I think the statement we posted yesterday after the question pretty much speaks for itself. That is about all there is to say.

QUESTION: (Inaudible) but the observer status doesn't require statehood of this participant?

MR. REEKER: I would have to go back and check. I don't have the statement we posted yesterday -- that's why we posted it yesterday -- on what that said. But that was as much -- I mean, I would refer you to WHO. They would really be the ones that could tell you about observers and how that organization operates.

QUESTION: Are you aware of any problems with -- that may be arising over the visit of Mr. Hu because of the -- have you gotten any indication from the Chinese? I think it's pronounced "who". I'm not --

MR. REEKER: It is pronounced "who".

QUESTION: Yes. Have you heard anything that there might be a problem with that now from the Chinese?

MR. REEKER: I have not heard that, no.

QUESTION: However, at the Chinese Foreign Ministry's briefing, they did confirm that he is coming, and there are people cautioning us reporting the dates of his --

MR. REEKER: I would just refer you to the Chinese Foreign Ministry on that. I don't have any information on his travel.

QUESTION: Well, I have one last one.

MR. REEKER: Okay.

QUESTION: Admiral Blair of the Pacific --

MR. REEKER: Command.

QUESTION: -- Command, yes -- don't refer me to the Pentagon, because I asked them, and they won't answer -- he said --

MR. REEKER: You read my mind.

QUESTION: He said yesterday that America will be sending submarines to Guam. Would you say that's enforcing the regional security in that region?

MR. REEKER: America sending submarines to Guam, which as you know is an American territory. I just can't find anything where that attaches itself to the State Department, I'm afraid. So as much as you implored me not to, I have to refer you to the Department of Defense or to Pacific Command for that.

QUESTION: Has the State Department informed China or other countries that you plan on sending submarines to Guam?

MR. REEKER: I don't know why we would, and I send you to the DOD, because that is where they do that. We wouldn't do that.

QUESTION: Maybe this was asked when I was out of the room, but are any -- were any Americans injured in the bombing in Israel?

MR. REEKER: In Jerusalem? Not that we were aware of at this point. Coming out here some minutes ago, I was told our consular officials were still working with Israeli authorities to determine if any American citizens were among the dead or wounded. It is an ongoing process. I don't have details, but at that point, we were not aware of any so far.

QUESTION: Is that language on Colombia ready yet?

MR. REEKER: You are shifting the gears on me here. The language on Colombia -- I think you are talking about the supplemental that we plan to send up to the Congress with a number of things, one of them being Colombia. That's right. I don't have anything new on that. We decided, as you know, as Secretary Powell has made clear, to seek new and more explicit legal authorities for our assistance to Colombia supporting that government's unified campaign against narcotics trafficking and terrorist activities, other threats to their democracy and national security. But the bottom line is, no, I don't have anything further to report on that.

The week is not over, and if the week ends, we may have to go to next week.

QUESTION: Another possible update. Where do we stand now on the next round of possible sanctions against Zimbabwean politicians?

MR. REEKER: I don't think I have anything particularly new on Zimbabwean politicians. We were able to get for you the additional information after your question yesterday. Did we not post that? We posted that.

QUESTION: Can you tell us what (inaudible)?

MR. REEKER: I am trying to determine if I can tell you that or not. Lynn may figure that out before -- no. You can get the hard copy outside in the hall, and for the viewers at home, you can check our website at www.state.gov.

QUESTION: You're talking about (inaudible) vindicated, right, have been vindicated for this whole -- okay, all right.

MR. REEKER: I really don't have anything particularly new, other than to note -- we talked about it a little yesterday -- that the opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, was asked to report to police yesterday. I think Ambassador Boucher talked about that. We understand he was fingerprinted and subsequently was formally charged with treason. He was released on bail. I understand the bail amount was some 1.5 million Zimbabwe dollars, approximately 5,000 US dollars. He was required to surrender the deed to his house and surrender his passport, report weekly to the police. And as we have said before in this matter, we haven not seen the charges but we understand they stem from an alleged plot to assassinate President Mugabe. We are not aware of any convincing evidence to suggest that there is any basis to those allegations underlying the charges in this case.

QUESTION: Can I follow up on that?

MR. REEKER: Yes.

QUESTION: When you say you've seen no convincing evidence, does that mean that you doubt the authenticity of the videotape which allegedly provides evidence of this conspiracy?

MR. REEKER: I haven't seen the videotape. I haven't even read much about an alleged videotape alleging to support alleged allegations. So all I would say at this point, we are not aware of any convincing evidence to suggest that there is any basis to those allegations that seem to be politically motivated.

QUESTION: Aren't all allegations alleged, Phil, or did you just want --

MR. REEKER: It sounds better. It's almost alliteration.

QUESTION: Can I go back to the travel? Can you just tell us briefly what the Secretary intends to do at each of his stops? And also on the Deputy Secretary's trip, I'm assuming that it's just those two stops, Bucharest and then Brussels and nowhere else?

MR. REEKER: At this stage, yes.

QUESTION: Okay.

MR. REEKER: Bucharest and Brussels on the Deputy Secretary. You are very aware, I think, that there is a summit taking place in Bucharest on those days called the Spring of New Allies, which is taking place the 25th and 26th. It includes the heads of government and senior officials from all of the Vilnius Group countries. That would be, just for clarification, Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia, as well as representatives from other NATO member countries, NATO allies.

And it is an opportunity for the Deputy Secretary to urge the aspirant countries to continue their efforts, continue working on their membership action plans, their efforts at democratic, economic, military reforms, in order to make their candidacy as compelling as possible for the next round of enlargement.

And then in Brussels, as I said, he would discuss with NATO allies at the North Atlantic Council.

On the Secretary's travel, really the details will come next week. In Berlin, he will have an opportunity for a series of meetings with the German leaders about European issues. As you know, we consult regularly, sometimes in person like this, other times through the telephone and other diplomatic contacts and channels on a variety of issues with our European friends and allies. Obviously the war on terrorism will be an important aspect of that.

In Madrid, the Secretary will be able to participate with the Spanish Foreign Minister currently representing or currently holding the presidency of the European Union, consulting on a variety of US-EU issues. So we will have more details on that next week.

QUESTION: And during the course of these two stops, is this also -- is this what is envisioned for a meeting with Foreign Minister Ivanov, as Richard said? I mean, he kind of --

MR. REEKER: I think we will look at that. I just don't have anything to announce on that at this point. But by next week we should have details.

QUESTION: Do you have any details about Mr. Cheney's possible visit to Sharm el-Sheikh to meet with Arafat?

MR. REEKER: I don't. I would refer you to the Vice President's statements this morning.

QUESTION: I thought you said that --

MR. REEKER: He was speaking with the President from the White House. I don't have anything further to that.

QUESTION: You have no -- nothing to say on that?

MR. REEKER: No, because I think they pretty much covered it in terms of the conditions that were made quite clear. I think I have echoed those conditions today in terms of calling on Chairman Arafat to take 100 percent effort, maximum effort to take those steps, to show leadership, to get the violence down. We will continue to monitor that.

As the Vice President said, General Zinni is key to this. He will be out there advising, making his judgment on whether or not Chairman Arafat is, in fact, implementing the Tenet security work plan -- not just promising, as the VicePresident said, but implementing. And then we will move on from there.

QUESTION: Just one thing. Does he report through Mr. Powell?

MR. REEKER: Sorry?

QUESTION: Does he report directly to the President?

MR. REEKER: Who?

QUESTION: Zinni.

MR. REEKER: Oh, Zinni, not the Vice President.

QUESTION: No.

MR. REEKER: You're throwing me for a loop there.

QUESTION: Does he report to Mr. Powell or does he report directly to the President?

MR. REEKER: General Zinni has reported through the Secretary of State to the President. I am sure he has obviously been in close touch with the Vice President during the Vice President's trip when he was there in the region. All of our senior leaders keep in close touch on this issue. And as I indicated, the Secretary is with the President today on their way to Mexico, and it was from the President's aircraft that the Secretary called and made his extremely emphatic statements to Chairman Arafat.

QUESTION: So the answer was yes to Ben's question?

MR. REEKER: I think so. Do you have a problem with that, Matt?

QUESTION: No, I just wondered why it took so long to get out the one word. That's all right.

MR. REEKER: Phil's House of Punditry here, and Matt Lee doesn't want to play. Okay, next question. Ms. Koppel from the Cable News Network.

QUESTION: Okay. I'm not sure if you have anything on this, but apparently Fidel Castro has said that he is leaving the UN development program early because of a special situation, and I was just wondering whether or not the State Department cared to comment.

MR. REEKER: I had not even seen that report. I think the "special situation" of course should be attending to, giving back to, the people of Cuba the freedoms, the human rights that they deserve, and we would always call on Mr. Castro to focus on that type of thing. It certainly is a "special situation" when you are the only country in the hemisphere that cannot be considered part of the democratic family.

QUESTION: That was very impressive.

(Applause.)

QUESTION: And off the top of your head.

MR. REEKER: I'm not calling on you. (Laughter).

QUESTION: In Pakistan, President Musharraf is making the political rounds there, telling people that he intends to essentially put himself up for a referendum in October. This is -- as opposed to a regular type presidential election. Is that anything you have a reflection on?

MR. REEKER: I am afraid I haven't seen anything specific on that. I have heard some of those reports. I think, as you know, for a long time we have called on President Musharraf to look toward a return to democracy in Pakistan because we think that is what is in the best interest of the Pakistani people.

Certainly in his speech in January he indicated a vision for Pakistan where the vast majority -- the silent majority, he called them -- of Pakistanis would stand up against extremists, against Islamic fundamentalists who do not represent well their religion, and would stand for democracy, for moving forward for a future Pakistan with economic development, with better lives for all of the people there.

And we have been very pleased with his cooperation in terms of the war on terrorism. He has been a steadfast partner and ally in that effort. But in terms of those specific internal Pakistani developments, we will continue obviously to watch that, as we do, but I don't have anything specific for you on that.

QUESTION: What is a referendum, which conceivably he really almost by rote would be extending his term for five years, is that something --

MR. REEKER: I wouldn't want to characterize it without knowing what exactly is being proposed or what is -- I am not aware that any formal announcement of such a step has been made. And we can certainly look into it and watch developments there as they happen.

Now, Mr. Lee.

QUESTION: There was a report this morning, Phil, that you guys have decided that you will not oppose, or that you will allow, officials from the previous administration to testify at Milosevic's trial should they be called. Is that correct? And if it is, or even if it isn't, is that something that was discussed between the Secretary and Carla del Ponte when she was here?

MR. REEKER: Certainly that issue was raised when Prosecutor del Ponte was here earlier this week when she met with the Secretary. She raised the issue of witnesses for the Milosevic trial. That meeting took place on Monday, as you know.

As we have said, we would, and we have said for quite some time, we are entertaining requests for US Government officials to testify, but we are not at this point prepared to comment on specific identities or circumstances of their testimony. QUESTION: Okay. But in essence, though, you would -- you're not opposed to --

MR. REEKER: Right. We have always said we would entertain the requests, look at them, determine circumstances, determine who. And that is the type of thing that we are looking at with them.

QUESTION: Do you know -- and if you don't, which I'm not sure you do, but could you look into it if you don't -- what -- could the Administration tell an official from a former administration that they couldn't testify or that they couldn't -- or could they -- could you tell them that they couldn't answer certain questions that might involve classified information?

MR. REEKER: I guess I could try to look into that more carefully with the lawyers. That is really what it involves is law matters. Former and current US officials have in the past provided testimony, when appropriate, in foreign criminal cases. Obviously they are testifying in their official capacity. Whether they are a current official with the State Department or any other part of the US Government or a former official, they would be testifying in their official capacity at that time. And as in those cases, as in previous cases that we have dealt with, we will examine the particular modalities for testimony.

I will be happy to try to see with the lawyers as we get more. And probably if we have any announcements to make, I will be able to give you more details.

QUESTION: Okay, and just one last thing. Have you actually received requests?

MR. REEKER: I am told that we are entertaining requests, which would lead me to think that there are requests that we are looking at, making those determinations in terms of former or current -- former and/or current officials. And I will continue to watch it. If there is a point where we can give you more information, I will be happy to do that.

QUESTION: Would Holbrooke be the first one to go if that happens?

MR. REEKER: Again, I'm not going to talk about identities of any specific former or current officials, or the circumstances of their testimony. Certainly we keep in touch with former officials when it comes to this type of situation since they would be testifying in their capacity as a US Government official at the time appropriate. And I just don't want to get into any specific names at this point.

QUESTION: You noticed that, too?

MR. REEKER: Yeah.

QUESTION: And don't think it was anything personal.

MR. REEKER: I won't take it personally, George.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MR. REEKER: Thanks.

(The briefing was concluded at 2:10 p.m. EST.)

(end transcript)

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