*EPF402 05/09/2002
Transcript: State Department Noon Briefing, May 9
(Israel/Palestinian Authority, Norway, Syria/Iraq, Russia/Iraq, Iran/Armenian/China/Moldova, Afghanistan, Congress/biometric identifiers for passports, China/North Korea, Lebanon/Tripoli, Yugoslavia/war crimes, Nepal, Burma, Cuba, Colombia, Taiwan, Indonesia) (7320)

State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher briefed.

Following is the State Department transcript:

(begin transcript)

U.S. Department of State
Thursday, May 9, 2002
12:40 p.m. EDT

Briefer: Richard Boucher, Spokesman

ISRAEL/PALESTINIANS
-- Israeli Tanks Moving Toward Gaza and Reports of an Israeli Retaliation
-- Secretary Powell's Telephone Calls Regarding the Region
-- Church of the Nativity and the Final 13 Palestinians/High Representative Solana and Italy/European Union
-- Palestinian Authority Reform/Replacement of Chairman Arafat/Arab Support
-- Enunciation of the Need to Democratize/Assistance to Palestinians
-- Arrest of Terrorists and Chairman Arafat's Role
-- Monitors in Jericho
-- Differing Accounts of Prime Minister Sharon's Meeting with President Bush
-- Retired General Anthony Zinni and CIA Director George Tenet

NORWAY
-- Secretary Powell's Meeting with Foreign Minister and the Norwegian Labor Union's Boycott of Israeli Goods
-- Peace Efforts in Sri Lanka

SYRIA/IRAQ
-- Syria Holding Up Iraq Resolution/Secretary Powell's Communications with President Assad/Oil-for-Food Vote

RUSSIA/IRAQ
-- Reports that Russia is Holding Up the Iraq Resolution/Secretary Powell's Communications with Foreign Minister Ivanov
-- Bomb Attack in Dagestan/Chechnya Related

IRAN/CHINA/ARMENIA/MOLDOVA
-- New Sanctions Concerning Nonproliferation Act of 2000
-- Under Secretary Bolton's Speech on Changes in Proliferation Policy

AFGHANISTAN
-- Reports that U.S. Military Tried to Assassinate Islamic Leader Mr. Hekmatyar

CONGRESS
-- Legislation Supporting Biometric Identifiers for U.S. Passports

CHINA/NORTH KOREA
-- Additional North Korean in Consulate General Shenyang/Status of other Asylum Seekers

LEBANON
-- KFC Bombing in Tripoli

WAR CRIMES/YUGOSLAVIA
-- Arrest Warrants Issued In Belgrade for 17 Persons

NEPAL
-- Media Reports that the Maoists Have Declared a Cease-Fire/$20 Million in Grants to Fight Terrorism

BURMA
-- Colonel Kyaw Thein's Visa and Sanctions/Counter-Narcotics

CUBA
-- U.S. Charge of Offensive Biological Weapons Program

COLOMBIA
-- Reports of Suspension of U.S. Aid to Colombia

TAIWAN
-- Members of Congress Plans to Invite Taiwanese President to the U.S.

INDONESIA
-- Activists Complaints Regarding U.S. Effort to Boost Ties to Indonesian Military


U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING

THURSDAY, MAY 9, 2002
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)

12:40 p.m. EDT

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

QUESTION: Anything on the Israeli tanks moving toward Gaza after the approval of retaliation by the cabinet?

MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't have anything on the particular situation there. I would make clear again what I made clear yesterday and what I think the President talked about a bit in his remarks. The Israelis don't seek nor do we provide any sort of green light for their military action or counterterrorist actions. We have always said that Israel has a right to defend itself, and that remains the US position.

It is essential, as we said yesterday, and as the President said in his remarks, that both sides think carefully about the consequences of any action they decide to take. I think the President phrased it in terms of it is important that they keep peace in mind, or words to that effect, that both sides do all they can to create and sustain an environment in which progress can be made on the strategy that we talked about and that we have agreed to, that we have discussed with the Madrid Quartet.

QUESTION: Have there been any telephone conversations with Secretary Powell and people in the region since the bombing?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't think the Secretary himself has had any calls with people in the region. We have certainly been in close touch through our representatives there and through our Near Eastern Bureau here.

QUESTION: Richard, what European leaders is the Secretary -- if any has the Secretary called today, or yesterday, from the briefing yesterday on can you tell us about?

MR. BOUCHER: He talked to Foreign Minister Ivanov this morning. Of course he talked to the Norwegian Foreign Minister, who was in the building today.

QUESTION: (Inaudible.)

MR. BOUCHER: It does?

QUESTION: For those who look at the schedule, yes.

MR. BOUCHER: I think that's it for the moment in terms of Europeans.

QUESTION: Have you guys basically --

MR. BOUCHER: We have been in touch with Europeans in various other ways, though, I'd have to say -- our representatives in Europe, our people here have been in frequent touch with the Europeans, as well as we're working very closely with them out in the field. If you're asking about Bethlehem --

QUESTION: Yes, that's what I want to get into.

MR. BOUCHER: -- Bethlehem and Italy and 13 people and where they go and those kinds of questions, the update is really that we are still working on it. We are working on it in the region with the parties themselves. We look to the Israelis and Palestinians to try to conclude these understandings, these agreements as soon as possible to resolve this situation. We remain in close touch with the Europeans. They have played a very helpful and positive role on the ground and in the region itself. And as you know, they are now discussing other questions about what can -- what might be done to help resolve this situation.

QUESTION: If I could, they've played a very good and positive role on the ground in the region itself? How about in their respective capitals?

MR. BOUCHER: As I said -- and they're still working now on what else they might do to help resolve this in terms of the 13 people --

QUESTION: Okay, so you don't want to go there. Have you basically given this portfolio to Solana now and basically -- the fact that the Secretary has not made any calls, is this really a kind of -- you've decided that this is a matter best left to -- Commissioner Solana or -- best left to Solana, High Representative Solana, to do the actual -- the nitty-gritty details?

MR. BOUCHER: In terms of the way we work foreign policy with Europe, that's one of the very frequent interlocutors we have. So yes, we are keeping in close touch with High Representative Solana on these matters. And he, in turn, I think is in touch with the other Europeans, but you'd have to ask him a little bit more about how the Europeans have organized their effort.

QUESTION: But that's what I -- sorry. Just you're contacting Solana and he is doing the actual person-to-person or phone call-to-phone call stuff; the Secretary is not? I mean, on Monday he made two -- or Tuesday or whatever he made two calls to Berlusconi himself.

MR. BOUCHER: In anything that we work with the Europeans, we frequently work with the European Union -- Commissioners, Representatives -- but we also work in capitals. So we are in frequent touch with High Representative Solana and you can see from press reports that he's been working on this issue.

That is not to preclude contacts in capitals as well. I'm sure our embassies and ambassadors are in touch with people in embassies. But I would say principally we work closely with the European Union on the ground, and now they are working further in Europe on these issues to see if there's more they can do to help resolve the situation.

QUESTION: Have you given up on Italy?

MR. BOUCHER: I'm not in a position to talk about any particular country at this stage. We continue to work with the Europeans, and I think they continue to discuss this among themselves, including with Italy.

QUESTION: Would it be fair to say, though, that the search for a suitable site for these Palestinians has expanded beyond Italy?

MR. BOUCHER: You'd have to ask the Europeans that.

QUESTION: The question about Arafat, you know Sharon says he can't deal with him. Mr. Powell wants to reform the Palestinian Authority. Does that mean a symbolic role for Arafat? Are you reaching out to other Palestinians who might replace Arafat or, you know --

MR. BOUCHER: First of all, I refer you to the 20, 30, maybe 40 minutes that we talked about this yesterday. Second of all, to summarize that --

QUESTION: Only 20, 30, 40 minutes?

MR. BOUCHER: Yes, I think that was about all it went yesterday on this particular topic. As we made clear, as we look to all the things we need to do in the future, whether it is establishing a Palestinian state that has the ability to have a government, I think was the way the President put it, or whether it is humanitarian relief, making sure it gets to the people who need it, or whether it is rebuilding a security apparatus in the Palestinian Authority that can actually exercise authority and stop violence and terror, all these things require the basic principles of transparency, good governance, responsibility and accountability. That is what we are looking at. We want to work with Chairman Arafat, with the international community, with regional leaders to rebuild the Palestinian Authority on the basis of these principles -- democratic principles, market economics, good governance, accountability, transparency, opposition to terror. That is what we are continuing to explore with the various parties.

QUESTION: You're looking for Arab support in this?

MR. BOUCHER: We have been working very closely with Arab partners. As the President said in his April 4th speech, we look to Arab partners to help in this endeavor, to take responsibility. I will remind people once again, we are not asking the Palestinian leadership itself to do anything that we don't ask of other national leaderships around the world.

In terms of the Arab partners, we look to them in particular to take a more prominent role in helping steer the process as we move forward. We are encouraged by the willingness of some of our friends in the Arab world to assume that greater responsibility to bring about a lasting peace. That is what the President asked for in his April 4th speech.

QUESTION: Isn't it a little bit incongruous to ask Arab allies, who themselves are either monarchies or don't have very much in the way of what we consider democracy and accountability and transparency, to pressure the Palestinians to adopt these systems?

MR. BOUCHER: I think from many points of view -- as potential donors, potential supporters, colleagues, friends -- Arab governments find some of the same needs as we do, in terms of the kind of accountability and transparency they want to see in the Palestinian institutions.

QUESTION: Well, Richard, Ben does have a point, in that you long --

MR. BOUCHER: I didn't say he didn't have a point.

QUESTION: -- you've long said that Israel is the only real --

MR. BOUCHER: I said there was at least one point on the other side that I could think of.

QUESTION: You've long said that Israel is the only real democracy in the region, and that it's surrounded by countries that are, say, perhaps they're not as democratically minded as it. You give billions of dollars in aid to not-so-vibrant democracies, like Egypt and Jordan. Aren't you holding the Palestinians then to a double standard?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't think we're holding the Palestinians to a double standard. First of all, the assistance, the work we do with Egypt and Jordan -- as I said, we have the same kind of standards throughout the world where we go in with money, we look for accountability, we look for insurance, transparency, to make sure that our money -- I'm sure other donors do this as well -- goes to the people for whom it is intended. I don't see why any donor would want to give money without some kind of system to ensure that.

So anybody, whether it is us or other Arab governments who are involved, want to make sure the money gets to the people who need it. We do that in other countries; we do that in Egypt and Jordan. We work with them in their development of democratic institutions, and that's what we would expect to do with others in the region, including the Palestinian Authority, as we move forward.

QUESTION: Given that the top priority for Arafat has long been from the United States to catch and apprehend and keep jailed terrorists, do you think it's more difficult for Arafat to take care of the terrorism problem if you're also placing demands on him to be democratic and transparent and so forth?

MR. BOUCHER: No. We think it is part and parcel of the same endeavor, that if you are going to have a Palestinian Authority that can exercise true authority, that can stop violence before it happens, that can keep free of corruption, that can keep free of terrorism, it needs to be rebuilt on this new basis. Otherwise you could end up in a situation where they can't effectively carry out their requirements.

QUESTION: But you wouldn't grant that it's easier to catch and stop terrorism if you don't know the benefits of things like a fair trial and stuff like that?

MR. BOUCHER: We believe that fighting against corruption, that having accountability and responsibility, that keeping terrorism out of the security services, having responsibility and controls in the security services, and having a judicial process that works and works fairly and transparently, they are all essential parts of fighting against terrorism and fighting against violence. Democracies around the world fight successfully against violence and terrorism.

QUESTION: This might be a stupid question, but --

MR. BOUCHER: No stupid questions. Just stupid answers.

(Laughter.)

QUESTION: Thank you. That was required. Is there any chance that other countries outside the European Union would also be weighing in on whether they're willing to take the Palestinians? We've only been talking about the EU primarily. Do you know if other countries are willing, or have we approached other countries about some kind of compromise?

MR. BOUCHER: Again, I'm not going to start fingering particular countries. At this point the Europeans are trying to work the issue. We're trying to work with them. I'm not going to start indicating that they have to go to here or there at this point.

QUESTION: I'm not saying that, but we talk about the European Union and we've all been working on it --

MR. BOUCHER: Is there any chance that others might be willing to do something in this situation?

QUESTION: Yeah, are there countries from Africa or, you know, some other --

MR. BOUCHER: I am sure there are other countries that might be willing to do something in this situation. Whether that will be required or not remains to be seen.

QUESTION: So this is Plan A, and you'll see about Plan B if this doesn't work? I mean, it seems that you're focusing all your attention on the European capitals.

MR. BOUCHER: I'd just say we're working with various other governments in this matter, and the Europeans at this point are considering or looking at what they can do further.

QUESTION: Can we move on to Russia?

QUESTION: Well, can I get one? Can I just ask one more, but I want to go back to the transparency, especially when you mention judicial transparency. Aren't you at all concerned that by providing these monitors in Jericho that you've lent your imprimatur to a closed judicial proceeding that really does not meet any kind of standard for judicial transparency? Or are you willing to sacrifice that for the sake of expediency?

MR. BOUCHER: I'll take Option C, and that is we are trying to work with the situation. These people are suspects. Some of them have been tried in a judicial process. It may not have been a judicial process that we designed, but what's clear now is they need -- that they've been sentenced and they need to be kept incarcerated, and we're just helping them do that.

QUESTION: Isn't this exactly the kind of thing that --

MR. BOUCHER: They are in Palestinian custody. The issue of whether they remain in that custody or not is of concern to all the parties in the region, and we are just helping assure them that as long as that remains the rules, that those rules are followed.

QUESTION: But isn't that kind of trial precisely the thing that you don't want them to have? All right, never mind. You don't have to answer that, because you won't.

QUESTION: Please can I move on to Russia?

QUESTION: No --

MR. BOUCHER: You can fight among yourselves for a little while. Okay, Ben. Where are we?

QUESTION: When the Norwegian Foreign Minister was here today, did Secretary Powell -- first of all, is he aware of the fact that the Norwegian labor union is boycotting all Israeli goods and that trucks have been intercepted and searched for Israeli goods? And did the Secretary bring this up with the Norwegian Foreign Minister?

MR. BOUCHER: The subject didn't come up in the meeting, and I don't know what reporting we might have had on that. I'll have to check.

QUESTION: Syria is still continuing to, I think, hold up your resolution on Iraq. And I wondered what -- I'm not sure of what kind of power the non-P-5 members have to actually stop a resolution from coming to a vote or delay it. And also, when was the last time that Secretary Powell spoke with Bashar since the President -- the Syrian President, since we came back from the region? And is part of your -- I mean, do you think Syria is trying to stop this resolution because it would mean they've got to get this pipeline under UN control?

MR. BOUCHER: I'm not aware that any particular country is trying to stop this resolution at this point. I think it has pretty much been agreed and worked out. It is not -- it may take until Monday to get it, but I'm told that that is largely because there are holidays in Moscow and there's a Children's Summit in New York, and just getting everything pinned down and agreed to has taken a little time.

The last time the Secretary talked to President Bashar Assad is I think when we were there. I don't think there have been any phone calls since then. Obviously we do have an embassy out there. We talk to the Syrians about these issues all the time, and we work with them and other members of the Council in New York.

QUESTION: Did the Secretary bring up the pipeline, or were you focused on the Hezbollah situation in those brief meetings?

MR. BOUCHER: When he was in the region?

QUESTION: Right.

MR. BOUCHER: It was discussed. I can't remember which one of them raised it, frankly.

QUESTION: And what was the outcome, since they've said to the Secretary before they were going to put the pipeline under UN control?

MR. BOUCHER: The outcome was that we still believe it is important that this pipeline be brought under the Oil-for-Food program, and President Assad talked about the possibility of doing that.

QUESTION: And one last thing. You don't feel like Syria is holding up the process now in the UN?

MR. BOUCHER: Not that I'm aware of. I'll double-check and see if we want to blame somebody, but the explanations I've gotten were it just was a matter of pinning everything down at a moment when people seemed to be in five directions.

QUESTION: Thanks.

MR. BOUCHER: I think we've got other -- do you want to go back to the Middle East?

QUESTION: Russia and Iraq is one of the things I wanted to ask you about, because Russia is actually the country that's holding up that resolution, and not Syria.

MR. BOUCHER: I don't think anybody is particularly holding it up. I think we just haven't pinned everybody down quite yet.

QUESTION: Okay. Did you talk to -- did Secretary Powell talk to Foreign Minister Ivanov? Is the reason you're mentioning the holidays because of the telephone conversation they had this morning? Has he provided him assurances that they're not holding out except for other sort of coincidental reasons?

MR. BOUCHER: This was not a major topic of discussion on the phone call this morning. I'm not even sure this particular issue came up this morning. We are in touch with the Russians in New York as we work the resolution, and in other ways through Moscow. And of course we look forward to having everybody lined up in favor of the resolution as soon as we can.

QUESTION: (Inaudible) already had Russia (inaudible) down?

MR. BOUCHER: We have agreed with Russia on the goods review list. We have worked the resolution with them. Frankly I'm not quite sure if they've given their final answer on the actual text of the resolution yet.

QUESTION: Richard, on the phone call, though, was it -- presumably it was about the US -- sorry, the NATO-Russia Council next week, and maybe the bomb attack in Dagestan came up?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't think the bomb attack in Dagestan came up. They talked about strategic framework issues; they talked about NATO, NATO-Russia; they talked about Middle East; and I will have to double-check on the bomb attack in Dagestan, whether that came up.

QUESTION: Anything to say about that?

MR. BOUCHER: Yes. Let me do -- I do definitely want to say something.

We were saddened to learn of the bomb blast that reportedly killed at least 25 and injured over 150 Russian participants in a Victory Day celebration. Many of the victims were elderly and were children. Our sincere condolences go out to the Russian people and the victims' families.

We strongly condemn this cowardly and violent act. We look forward to seeing the perpetrators of these attacks brought to justice.

QUESTION: I wanted to go back to Israel for a moment.

QUESTION: Well, I have more on Russia. Why don't you do the Middle East now?

QUESTION: Well, we're on Russia. Go ahead.

MR. BOUCHER: I can flip the pages.

QUESTION: Do you have any sense of whether this has been a Chechen-related act? And do you think it shows a necessity for negotiations between Moscow and Chechnya?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't think at this point we have a sense of who is responsible for committing this atrocity. I would have to say it looks like terrorism plain and simple, and the first issue therefore is to find, identify and punish the perpetrators.

Our views on Chechnya haven't changed.

QUESTION: I wanted to follow up a little bit on the differing accounts that the Israelis were giving of the conversations between Prime Minister Sharon and the President yesterday. Of course, you and the Secretary and I think White House officials disputed their characterizations and remarks. Has there been any follow-up with the Israelis about them telling people that the US had changed to accept their position when apparently you hadn't?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't know that there -- the only -- I'm not sure I saw any Israelis quoted on the subject, frankly. I saw anonymous sources quoted, or something like that. But I don't know if we have had an opportunity to discuss those reports in -- at our Embassy in Israel or not.

QUESTION: All the people quoting the anonymous sources were on the plane with the Prime Minister. One report did actually quote Sharon himself, I think.

MR. BOUCHER: Okay. I just don't know if we followed up the press reports. We tend to stick to the issues.

QUESTION: You don't speak for other governments. Do you remind them that they shouldn't speak for you? (Laughter.)

MR. BOUCHER: Sometimes.

QUESTION: Fair enough.

QUESTION: Richard, can you please clarify one more unofficial source. The question is regarding new sanctions of the Administration imposed against Armenian, Moldovan and Chinese companies selling to Iran items to develop weapons of mass destruction. Do you have any official remarks on that?

MR. BOUCHER: I can tell you a little bit about that, if I can catch up with it. Here's what I can tell you for the moment, that we will be imposing some penalties on Armenian, Chinese and Moldovan entities, pursuant to the Iran Nonproliferation Act of 2000. The sanctions determination will be published soon in the Federal Register. We have to deliver -- we have I think at this moment delivered a report to the Congress, which was one of the requirements. Now we are in a position to publish in the Federal Register and thereby disclose the identities of the entities that are being penalized.

The penalties are being imposed on entities, as provided in the Iran Nonproliferation Act for the transfer to Iran of equipment and technology listed on multilateral export control lists. The penalties are specific to the named entities, do not extend to the Armenian, Chinese or Moldovan Governments. Indeed, we appreciate the efforts that Moldova and Armenia in particular have made in nonproliferation.

I'm afraid that's about as much as I can say about the transfers of the specific items or roles of these entities.

QUESTION: Can you say anything about the impact of this? How big will be the impact of sanctions on --

MR. BOUCHER: The penalties last for two years. They are that no department or agency of the US Government may procure or enter into any contract for the procurement of any goods, technology, or services from these entities. No department or agency of the US Government may provide any assistance to these entities, and these entities shall not be eligible to participate in any assistance program of the US Government.

US Government sales of any item on the US Munitions List to any of these entities are prohibited, and sales of any defense articles, defense services or design and construction services controlled under the Arms Export Control Act are to be terminated. And new licenses are to be denied, and existing licenses suspended for the transfer to these entities of items controlled under the Export Administration Act of 1979, or the Export Administration Regulations.

So the actual impact depends on what contracts, assistance, procurement, purchases of dual-use technology or munitions items these entities may have or may depend on to do their business.

QUESTION: Do you expect the impact (inaudible)?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't know.

QUESTION: Do you have the names of the companies?

MR. BOUCHER: Not yet. That will appear in the Federal Register.

QUESTION: When were these alleged transfers -- or when were the transfers -- when did the transfers take place? And also, when was the Hill notified?

MR. BOUCHER: The Hill was notified today, and I don't think I am able to share the information on when the transfers took place.

QUESTION: Are there any of those companies that already had sanctions on them?

MR. BOUCHER: No, not at this point. That would be apparent, though, once you -- once it's published in the Federal Register. I am told that there are now 14 entities, once this is done, that will be subject to sanctions under this act.

QUESTION: Including all three countries?

MR. BOUCHER: Including entities in these three countries.

QUESTION: (Inaudible.)

MR. BOUCHER: Sorry, I can't go into that.

QUESTION: -- companies in all three countries --

QUESTION: (Inaudible.)

QUESTION: -- seven-day exempt?

MR. BOUCHER: I have to double-check on that.

QUESTION: They won't do it because it's secret?

QUESTION: -- because it has to --

MR. BOUCHER: I can't go into -- the entities will be published, but the information on what was being sent, what was being transferred and to whom it's being transferred is not information I'm able to disclose because of the way we get such information.

QUESTION: -- able to handle repeat offenders, though, without telling us who they are?

MR. BOUCHER: I'm not in a position to talk about the entities yet, so I haven't had a chance to look through and see if they're repeat offenders. But it will be apparent because you have the existing list, and once the new Register comes out you'll be able to see if they're on it or not.

QUESTION: Does it involve weapons of mass destruction?

MR. BOUCHER: Again, it involves items that are on multilateral control lists. That's as far as I can go.

QUESTION: If I can just get one more. The sanctions don't come into effect until the publication of the Register, right?

MR. BOUCHER: I believe that's true, yes.

QUESTION: It was reported that the Moldovan and Armenian companies were actually fronts for Russian entities. Do you have anything to say about that?

MR. BOUCHER: We have no evidence that these entities are acting as fronts for other entities or for any governments. That much I can say.

QUESTION: Thank you. The Middle East.

QUESTION: (Inaudible.)

MR. BOUCHER: No, hang on, Beth. Back there. She has one on the same subject.

QUESTION: Middle East.

MR. BOUCHER: Were you on the same topic or not?

QUESTION: Yes.

MR. BOUCHER: Please.

QUESTION: Secretary -- Under Secretary Bolton said there will be -- might be changes in proliferation policy regarding China and/or Russia. Can you say anything?

MR. BOUCHER: He did? In his speech on Monday?

QUESTION: Yeah, in the Q&A section.

MR. BOUCHER: I'd have to look more closely and see what it is, but if there's anything I'll be glad to tell you if there's anything new to announce at this point.

QUESTION: Who were the intended recipients of the sales from these firms?

MR. BOUCHER: That's, again, the same kind of information that we're just not going to be able to disclose because of the way we get it. Entities inside Iran were the intended recipients, but that's as far as we can go.

QUESTION: Just for background purposes, are you able to say, without going into huge technical detail, what the government's responsibility is in establishing the fact of these transfers? Or is it that you get information and that reaches a point where you're then obliged by law to tell Congress? I mean, if you don't have --

MR. BOUCHER: It's sort of what's the standard in the law is really what we'd have to look at. You know, what is the standard of, you know -- I'm sure it's not beyond a reasonable doubt, but some comparable standard in the law. I don't know. I'd have to check on the law and see what we establish before we report.

QUESTION: One more question. So you did say, I think, that China -- the Chinese Government cooperated with you fully on this now?

MR. BOUCHER: I said we appreciate the efforts Moldova and Armenia in particular have made, and that the penalties that are specific to the named entities do not extend to the Armenian, Chinese or Moldavian governments.

QUESTION: But can you say the last part again? I didn't hear.

MR. BOUCHER: The penalties are specific to the named entities and do not extend to the Armenian, Chinese or Moldavian governments.

QUESTION: They weren't (inaudible)?

MR. BOUCHER: I said and particularly Moldavians and the Armenians have been very helpful.

QUESTION: Just one last thing. I don't know if this was raised by others. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has said this is unreasonable sanctions. Do you have any comment on that?

MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't.

QUESTION: Middle East?

MR. BOUCHER: Please.

QUESTION: Thank you. General Tony Zinni has the reputation of being a highly capable, well-respected mediator. What can George Tenet accomplish that Zinni could not?

MR. BOUCHER: Well, I think Director Tenet has a reputation for being a knowledgeable expert and highly respected negotiator as well. In the past when they have gone out, either General Zinni or Director Tenet, they have actually done somewhat different things. Director Tenet's task in going out, as the President and the Secretary said, will be to try to rebuild security cooperation, try to assess how to rebuild a Palestinian security service that could actually take effective control and exercise authority to stop terrorist actions. So that kind of a design process, you might say, is something that Director Tenet has helped with in the past. And I'm sure that General Zinni will have his role at the appropriate time.

QUESTION: I don't know whether this is the right building, but there are reports that the US military tried to assassinate Hekmatyar, the Afghan Islamic leader. And how does it square with the Presidential Directive barring assassinations of foreign leaders?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't think this is the right building for that. You'd have to check at the Pentagon for that.

QUESTION: The legislation that came out of Congress yesterday about passports containing the requirement of biometric identifiers. I realize it isn't law yet, but apparently it will be. Does the State Department, one, have any plans for consulting with other governments on this?

MR. BOUCHER: I haven't seen the particular legislation. I think as it was going through we did have comments in various pieces of testimony and such that we've had people testifying about it. But once it -- as it approaches becoming law, let me try to get something on it.

This is an area we have done some work in in terms of US passports. There are various things that we're looking at, or perhaps even have tried, so it's not a brand new area. It's something that we're interested in as well.

QUESTION: I see that you had another visitor from North Korea in the Chinese Shenyang US Consulate. That's my first question. And second is what is the status of the two individuals who entered the consulate Tuesday?

MR. BOUCHER: The status is there is a third individual who entered the compound on May 9th -- that's Wednesday -- but the status of the issue is still where it was, that we are working with our Consulate General and our Embassy in Beijing. They are in contact with the Chinese Government to resolve this situation.

QUESTION: There was a huge bomb in Tripoli, right next to two American fast-food restaurants. And speculation there anyway that it was aimed at the US, and our Ambassador there said --

MR. BOUCHER: Sorry.

QUESTION: Said yes --

MR. BOUCHER: Tripoli, Lebanon, as opposed to Tripoli, Libya.

QUESTION: Yes, I'm sorry. Yes, sorry, Tripoli, Lebanon. I should have said that -- Kentucky Fried Chicken and Hardee's.

MR. BOUCHER: Yes. Let me tell you what we know. There was an explosion earlier today at the Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise in Tripoli, Lebanon. It injured one person. There was also minimal damage to the facility, and the restaurant opened up later the same afternoon.

Lebanese authorities are investigating the incident. We're in close contact with the Lebanese officials through our embassy. At this juncture, the nature and cause of the explosion is still unclear. We won't be able to make details known until they develop.

QUESTION: So obviously no warning, no claim of responsibility at this point?

MR. BOUCHER: None that we're aware of. As I said, Lebanese authorities are investigating this. We do have a Travel Warning for Lebanon dated April 29th that, among other things, recommends that Americans exercise caution when traveling there.

QUESTION: Richard, by "nature and cause unclear" you mean it's -- you don't know if it's a bomb or something else?

MR. BOUCHER: Again, you'll have to go to Lebanese authorities for information on their investigation. We just don't have that kind of information at this point.

QUESTION: One I think that does belong in this building, we have the arrest warrants issued in Belgrade for 17 persons, including some wanted by the War Crimes Tribunal; any comment?

MR. BOUCHER: No. I hadn't heard about it. Let me check on it.

QUESTION: It's on the wire.

MR. BOUCHER: Maybe I don't read it as fast as others. QUESTION: I want to move to Nepal --

MR. BOUCHER: Which wire is that I should read, George? (Laughter.) Elaine, Nepal.

QUESTION: The Secretary's meeting yesterday, there has been a cease-fire offer, which we understand the Nepalese Prime Minister has rejected. Do you have any comment on that?

MR. BOUCHER: Yes. Let me go through what's going on out there. We have seen these media reports that the Maoists have declared a unilateral cease-fire for a month and called for peace talks. We can't verify those reports, nor can we vouch for the sincerity of the Maoists.

Our Embassy in Khatmandu reports that there's heavy fighting that continues between Nepalese security forces and Maoist insurgents. Maoists have attacked soldiers and police in Gam, in the Rolpa district, about 30 kilometers north of the area of heavy fighting over the weekend. They've also attacked Armed Police Force base in northeastern Nepal. We understand the casualties may be heavy.

So the fighting continues, and we really can't say whether the offer is a sincere one or not.

QUESTION: You got more on that?

QUESTION: Not on Nepal.

QUESTION: Well, I have something on Burma.

QUESTION: South Asia.

QUESTION: Can we finish on Nepal for just a moment? The Nepalese Prime Minister, I believe, said that he was offered a $20 million grant to fight these terrorists, and he said that that is not enough money, and that he would come back again next year for it, for more.

Given the severity of the fighting, do you intend to request any more money --

MR. BOUCHER: I don't know what he said. We talked in the last few days several times about the $38 million in the regular budget for economic assistance to Nepal. This was one of the things that we discussed yesterday with him when he met with the Secretary about the need to use that money for job creation and development projects.

Second of all, we talked with him about the $20 million that's in our supplemental request to Congress for foreign military financing, and we talked about the ways that that might be used to improve the capabilities of the Nepalese forces in dealing with this situation.

QUESTION: I just wanted to know -- this will be very brief, I'm sure -- the Norwegian Prime Minister -- I mean, Foreign Minister said that he had talked at least briefly with the Secretary about peace efforts in Sri Lanka. What did the Secretary have to say about that?

MR. BOUCHER: The Secretary commended the efforts that the Norwegians have been making. And as the Norwegian Foreign Minister said, it was fairly brief on that topic. But the Secretary did thank them for the efforts that they have been making there.

QUESTION: Can I ask about Burma? I understand that the State Department is now saying that this visa that was issued to the colonel was outside the visa ban because he was too junior to be affected by it. But I'm kind of curious to know when the last time somebody of his rank was invited to the United States.

MR. BOUCHER: Colonel Kyaw Thein is not covered by our visa ban, which remains in place and which, in the case of military officials, applies to general officer rank and above. This is a Burmese counter-narcotics official. He visits Washington from May 13 to 17. The purpose of the visit is to emphasize the steps that the Burmese need to take to stop narcotics trafficking and production. The visit had been scheduled for some time. It is not related to Aung San Suu Kyi's release.

We have pushed counter-narcotics cooperation with Burma even as we have been steadfast in our support for democracy in that country. As you know, Burma is currently decertified.

As far as when is the last time we had a meeting like this with somebody at this level, I'm afraid that's something I have to check on. I don't have that information with me.

QUESTION: Well, could I maybe try another way, then? I mean, do you typically have members of Burma's military regime being given visas to come to this country? I mean, it seems a little strange -- the timing, I suppose.

MR. BOUCHER: As I said, the timing of this particular visit was decided well before there was any release of Aung San Suu Kyi. And second of all, this is a particular issue that we have tried to pursue with the Burmese authorities because counter-narcotics cooperation remains important to the United States.

Burma is still the world's largest producer of heroin in the world. There's a significant amount of Southeast Asian heroin produced in Burma that reaches the United States. That's why we've been pursuing this counter-narcotics cooperation in particular.

QUESTION: (Inaudible) heroin in Afghanistan?

MR. BOUCHER: That's what I'm told.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MR. BOUCHER: At least last year, let's put it that way. Last year it was the largest producer. Okay, we have more questions.

QUESTION: Is this the first indication of Burmese willingness to be cooperative?

MR. BOUCHER: As I think I mentioned, we have had counter-narcotics cooperation and efforts with the Burmese ongoing despite our views of the state of their democracy, or lack thereof.

QUESTION: The Cubans have called the US charge that they have offensive biological weapons programs vile. Do you have anything to say to that?

MR. BOUCHER: Does that mean true?

(Laughter.)

MR. BOUCHER: Because they are true. What John Bolton said in his speech was carefully researched and carefully worked out. It is true.

QUESTION: The Nepal money, that's 38 plus 20 million?

MR. BOUCHER: Yes, 38 for economic assistance and 20 -- 38 is already in the budget. The 20 for -- now, the 20 --

QUESTION: (Inaudible.)

MR. BOUCHER: Thirty-eight for this year, I think. I'll double-check. I went through this on Monday. I gave the fiscal year on Monday. The 20 is in the supplemental, so we don't have the money yet. Congress has to pass it.

QUESTION: Do you (inaudible) of the Maoist fight?

MR. BOUCHER: The 20 is, yes.

QUESTION: Okay. One last thing --

MR. BOUCHER: It's in the supplemental.

QUESTION: One last thing on the visa thing. The House passed a bill, one of the provisions is to require all passports with this electronic fingerprint or something --

MR. BOUCHER: He asked about it, and I said I'd check.

QUESTION: Richard, do you know anything about a suspension of US aid to Colombia over some misappropriation of funds by Colombians, a reported suspension of some Colombian --

MR. BOUCHER: That sounds kind of weird to me. No, I don't know anything about that.

QUESTION: I have a question on Taiwan. Some congressional members are planning to invite the Taiwanese President come in to the US. Are you aware of such an invitation, and do you think that will be in violation of One China policy which Secretary Powell, you know, reassured when he met Vice President Hu?

MR. BOUCHER: I'm not aware of this particular invitation. We consider requests for transits for the safety and convenience of the traveler. That has been our only visa policy with regard to those kinds of things.

We have one more.

QUESTION: The Secretary apparently got a letter this week from some Indonesian activists complaining about the US effort to boost ties with the Indonesian military, saying it's a bad move at this time when there's nobody yet been convicted, any officers been convicted in the military as far as what went on East Timor in '99.

Is there any response you would have to that?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't know if we have responded to the letter. I would have to check.

QUESTION: Well, is there any way the US can guarantee that something will happen to these officers while it's doing this?

MR. BOUCHER: I have to check on the situation. I'm not sure that characterization is actually accurate.

QUESTION: Thank you.

(The briefing was concluded at 1:25 p.m.)

(end State Department transcript)

(end transcript)

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