29 April 2003
U.S. to Release "Road Map" to Mideast Peace Shortly
(White House Report, April 29: UNHRC/Cuba, North Korea, Asylum for
Iraqi) (1540)
The United States will soon release to the parties the "road map" for
peace between Israel and the Palestinians now that the Palestinian
parliament has approved a new cabinet led by Prime Minister Mahmoud
Abbas, White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer told reporters April
29, shortly after the cabinet was approved.
"The president looks forward to working with the Palestinian Authority
and the Palestinian people, as well as the Israeli government and the
Israeli people, to advance the cause of peace in the Middle East,"
Fleischer said.
"The United States will shortly release the 'road map' formally to the
various parties. Our hope is that they will work diligently and hard
to advance the cause of peace, and we will welcome their contributions
to the road map," Fleischer said.
The road map is an initiative of the so-called "Quartet" -- the United
States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations as assembled
to deal with the Israeli/Palestinian issue.
"This is something we will continue to work directly with the Israelis
on, and work with the Palestinians on," Fleischer said. "We want to
hear what they have to say. And I think this will begin a process, a
process which the United States will play a role, and an important
role and a helpful role. Fundamentally, it still is a matter for the
Israelis and the Palestinians to work together on, to resolve matters
for themselves. There are many important players, but there are no
more important players than the Israelis and the Palestinians. We will
be at their sides to help them."
"This is a priority for the president, and he is committed to it,"
Fleischer said and "he's going to put a lot of time into it, a lot of
attention into it, put whatever it takes into it so that we can help
the parties to get it done, while always understanding it still
fundamentally is a matter that the Israelis and the Palestinians have
to want to do themselves.
"If there is a lack of desire from either one of those parties, there
is nobody on the outside, including the United States, who can do it
for them. They must have that will to get it done themselves. But if
you take a look at some of the more recent events in the Middle East,
this is an optimistic moment for events in the Middle East. The fact
of the matter is that the Palestinian Authority now has a prime
minister who is dedicated to moving the Palestinian people in a
different direction, a direction away from violence."
President Bush's Rose Garden speech of June 24, 2002 spelled out what
the United States supports, Fleischer said.
"And those parameters can basically be described as creating now
through the road map a process whereby the security situation is
enhanced as the political process is advanced, as well, all toward the
point of a state of Palestine by 2005 that can live side-by-side in
peace and security with Israel. And we will be there to make certain
of the security."
"The dates that the president outlined are the dates that he seeks and
believes in and will work toward. Those dates are not to change,"
Fleischer said.
Asked to comment on statements by Palestinian Prime Minister Abbas
that he would rein in militants, Fleischer said President Bush
welcomes the possibility that new Palestinian leadership may look in a
different direction for resolution of the differences between the
Israelis and the Palestinians.
"Violence is not, and cannot be, the answer. And the president
welcomes all those who hear the call for a peaceful settlement of
disputes," Fleischer said.
CUBA'S RE-ELECTION TO U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS PANEL CONDEMNED
The White House condemned the April 29 decision by the United Nations
Economic and Social Council to re-elect Cuba as a member of the U.N.
Human Rights Commission.
"Having Cuba serve again on the Human Rights Commission is like
putting Al Capone in charge of bank security," Fleischer told
reporters. "It was an inappropriate action that does not serve the
cause of human rights in Cuba or at the United Nations."
"This is a setback for the cause of human rights. Cuba does not
deserve a seat on the Human Rights Commission. Cuba deserves to be
investigated by the Human Rights Commission," Fleischer said, noting
that the Cuban government recently sentenced 78 independent
journalists, librarians and opposition leaders to 28-year prison
terms.
"Cuba remains a very repressive regime, as proven by its actions in
the arrest of these leaders, who simply want to speak out, journalists
who want to write the truth," he said.
"The Human Rights Commission wanted to send investigators into Cuba,
and Cuba said no," he added.
The decision to re-elect Cuba undermines the credibility of the Human
Rights Commission, and hurts both the people of Cuba and the cause of
human rights, Fleischer said. "It raises troubling issues, and that's
why the United States is speaking out about it. We hope others will
speak out."
Asked why the United States remains a member of a human rights
commission that has Libya as a chair and re-elects Cuba despite what
it's doing to its citizens, Fleischer said:
"It is troublesome. But we believe by being a part of the Human Rights
Commission we can work from the inside, as well as from the outside,
to effect positive change. But it certainly does raise eyebrows and
raise questions about the United Nations Human Rights Commission's
commitment to human rights. It does raise those questions. You cannot
get around it. The United Nations Human Rights Commission cannot
expect to have Libya be its chair, to re-elect Cuba, and not have
people wonder if they really do stand for human rights or not."
BUSH DISCUSSES NORTH KOREA WITH LEADERS OF SOUTH KOREA, JAPAN
In an April 29 phone conversation, President Bush and President Roh
Moo Hyun of South Korea exchanged views on the April 23-25
U.S.-China-North Korea talks in Beijing and "agreed to continue
pressing for the irreversible and verifiable elimination of North
Korea's nuclear weapons program," Fleischer told reporters.
President Bush reiterated his intention to resolve peacefully the
issue of North Korean possession of nuclear weapons and also to
include South Korea and Japan fully in the diplomatic efforts,
Fleischer said.
The two leaders agreed to continue their discussions on the North
Korean situation and other topics when they meet in Washington on May
14th, as previously announced," Fleischer said.
Following that phone call, the president discussed the same topics in
a phone conversation with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan,
Fleischer said.
They "exchanged views on last week's talks in Beijing and agreed to
continue pressing for the irreversible and verifiable elimination" of
North Korea's weapons program, Fleischer said. Bush "reiterated his
intention to resolve this issue peacefully. And the two leaders agreed
that they will continue their discussions and consultations" as the
United States works very closely with its "good friends and allies in
the region on this matter," he said.
Fleischer said "one of the most notable, positive elements" of the
talks in Beijing is the fact that the multilateral diplomatic approach
-- that Bush has always believed was the right approach -- "has indeed
been enhanced because, as he discussed with Japan and South Korea
today, we see it the same way, and China sees it very much the same
way, as well".
The president's hope is "as a result of the multilateral path that we
are pursuing, that North Korea will reassess whether or not it wants
to engage with the world, whether or not it wants to economically
advance," Fleischer said. "And then North Korea will come to a
reasoned conclusion about the best way to economically advance and
help its people, and that begins with their verifiable dismantlement
of its nuclear weapons program."
The diplomatic process "is a lengthy one," that "will take time. But
what will not happen is North Korea will not be rewarded for
developing nuclear weapons," Fleischer said.
"[W]hat we seek is North Korea's irrevocable and verifiable
dismantlement of its nuclear weapons program, and we will not provide
them inducements for doing what they always said they were going to do
anyway."
WHITE HOUSE WELCOMES ASYLUM FOR IRAQI WHO HELPED FREE POW
An Iraqi lawyer has been granted asylum in the United States because
of telling U.S. forces where wounded Army Private Jessica Lynch was
being held, enabling her to be rescued.
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge announced April 29 at a news
conference in Washington that Mohammed Odeh al Rehaief, his wife and
their daughter had been granted asylum by the U.S. government.
Asked what role President Bush played in this decision, Fleischer said
he did not know, but he did know "that it's a welcome announcement.
"This was somebody who acted heroically and it's a welcome
announcement," Fleischer said.
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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