ACCESSION
NUMBER:370350
FILE ID:EPF306
DATE:12/07/94
TITLE:U.S. HOSTS U.S.-RUSSIA JOINT COMMISSION ON POW-MIAS PLENARY (12/07/94)
TEXT:*94120707.EPF
*EPF306 12/07/94
U.S. HOSTS U.S.-RUSSIA JOINT COMMISSION ON POW-MIAS PLENARY
(Text: DoD 12/06/94 news release) (660)
Washington, Dec. 6 -- The United States will host the eleventh United
States-Russia Joint Commission (USRJC) on POW/MIAs plenary in Washington,
D.C. from December 7-9.
Part of the USRJC's work is to determine the fates of American servicemen
from the Korean and Vietnam wars who may still be missing on the territory
of the former Soviet Union or about whom the Russians may have information.
Following is the text of the news release provided by the Public Affairs
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense:
(begin text)
The United States will host the eleventh United States-Russia Joint
Committee on POW/MIAs (USRJC) plenary in Washington, DC from December 7-9,
1994. The Washington meeting is the second to be held in the United
States.
The USRJC was established in March 1992 by agreement between Presidents Bush
and Yeltsin to determine the fates of American servicemen from World War
Two, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Cold War, who may still be
missing on the territory of the former Soviet Union or about whom the
Russians may have information. The Commission also has an objective to
assist the Russians in learning about the fates of Russian servicemen in
Afghanistan. The U.S. side of the Commission is headed by Ambassador
Malcolm Toon. Other members include Senators Bob Smith and John Kerry;
Congressmen Sam Johnson and Pete Peterson -- both former POWs in Vietnam;
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for POW/MIA James Wold; President
Joint Military Intelligence College Denis Clift; Principal Deputy Assistant
Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Ambassador Pete
Tomsen; Department of State Director for Independent States and
Commonwealth Affairs John Herbst; and Acting National Archivist Dr. Trudy
1eterson. The Russian side, headed by General Volkogonov, includes
parliamentarians, the head of the major archives, and the officials of the
Ministries of Defense, Foreign Affairs, the Interior, and security
services.
To date the Joint Commission has met nine times in Moscow, commencing in
March 1992, and most recently in August/September 1994. The Commission has
also traveled to the Baltic States, the Ukraine, Armenia, Czech Republic,
Kazakhstan, Belarus, and to eastern Russian in an effort to expand
interview efforts and archival searches.
While here, the USRJC will visit the United States Naval Academy and the
Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland. The USRJC has been actively involved
in locating the remains of Captain John Dunham, USAF, who graduated from
the Naval Academy in 1950. The visit is designed to continue to stimulate
initiatives with our Russian counterparts that are expected to produce more
witnesses, documents, and leads to additional information regarding our
POW/MIAs.
The visit to the Aberdeen Proving Grounds is an attempt to show the Russian
delegation some of our equipment holdings and, in turn, to encourage them
to examine their holdings of U.S. material, which may enhance our chances
to resolve POW/MIA issues. It is hoped that such an activity will
challenge the Russians to look at serial numbers, markings, and other data
that can possibly provide clues to the origin of equipment and its users.
One other objective is to request of the Russian side of the USRJC that
American investigators be granted access to Russian museums, technical
institutes, and test facilities which may hold American equipment taken for
technical exploitation or as trophies from World War Two, the Korean War,
Cold War, or Vietnam.
This plenary is intended to promote the work already undertaken in previous
commission meetings held over the past two and one half years. Discussions
will involve working group sessions for World War Two, Korean, Vietnam, and
the Cold War, permit Russian delegates to examine our archival holdings,
meet with senior American military and civilian officials, and provide a
forum for family members to directly ask Russian Commission members
questions pertaining to individual cases.
(end text)
NNNN
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
