Press Conference by the Press Secretary February 6, 1998

Press conference announcements
1. New flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina
  Foreign Ministry Spokesman Sadaaki Numata: The new flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina will make its first appearance at the opening ceremony of the Nagano Olympics tomorrow. I think it is worth going into a brief background regarding this event. In 1984, the Sarajevo Olympics took place. Eight years after that, the tragic civil war broke out in Bosnia among the three ethnic groups. In December of 1995, the peace agreement came into place, and Bosnia and Herzegovina embarked on the path toward national reconciliation and nation-building. In that process, in fact, going back to the Dayton Agreement in December 1995, it was decided to establish a new flag for this new state, symbolizing the unity of the new state. The design of the new flag was under discussion for quite some time among the three parties, but it was not easy to come to an agreement. In December 1997, the recommendation text of the Peace Implementation Conference on Bosnia, which took place in Bonn, said that the countries concerned would expect a unified team from this new nation to participate in the Nagano Olympics and would compete under a new flag. This recommendation was, in a way, setting the deadline for the establishment of a new flag. Japan was among the countries which tried to galvanize the process by setting this deadline of the Nagano Olympics for the new flag. To make a long story short, the establishment of the new flag was entrusted to High Representative Carlos Westendorp of the Peace Implementation Conference on Bosnia. He signed the bill which established this flag on 4 February 1998 -- the day before yesterday -- and the new Bosnian flag was decided. The new Bosnian flag which was produced in Sarajevo has been making a very quick flight from Sarajevo to Nagano. I believe that it arrived this morning. The yellow triangle in the design of the flag indicates the shape of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The blue background with the white stars bears some resemblance to the flag of the European Union. So, in that sense, this symbolizes Bosnia and Herzegovina as a European nation and indicates the hope that that nation will be able to participate in the European Union some time in the future. The flag is devoid of ethnic symbols, because the situation of ethnic rivalries was one factors which made it difficult for this flag to come into existence. So, that is the background. We are very happy that this has come to pass, because we feel that this is an important step forward along the path toward national reconciliation and unity of the nation. And, what better opportunity is there to display that than the Nagano Olympics? We do feel that this is an excellent opportunity for this appeal to be made to the international community at large.
2. Dispatch of a Japanese expert to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Mission to Croatia
  Spokesman Numata: Japan will send an expert to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Mission to Croatia. I would like to briefly talk about the background of this. East Slavonia, which consists ethnically of Serbs and Croats -- about 80 percent Serbs -- is sandwiched between the Republic of Croatia and what is now the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. With this sort of ethnic composition, it has been a microcosm of the tension between the Serbs and the Croats. But, East Slavonia was peacefully reintegrated into Croatia as a part of the settlement of the Yugoslavian conflict. The administration of the region was entrusted to the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia. The United Nations Transitional Administration has been in charge of the administration, and one of the important tasks of administering the area has been that of monitoring the human rights situation of the ethnic minorities, as well as the return of refugees and displaced persons. The mandate of the United Nations Transitional Administration came to an end on 15 January. The task of monitoring the human rights situation and the return of refugees and displaced persons is to be carried out by the Croatian Mission of the OSCE, with the support of the United Nations Civilian Police. Against this background, the Government of Japan has decided to dispatch Mr. Takeshi Koizumi to this OSCE Mission to Croatia. Mr. Koizumi will take up his duties in Croatia next week. He will serve as Human Rights Monitor in the Mission for about one year, until February 1999. We feel that this is an important aspect of Japan's contribution toward further stability in an area that is not very close to Japan -- that is, in Europe and in former Yugoslavia. Mr. Koizumi is well-qualified to do this job, because he has previously worked in Eastern Slavonia as an officer of the United Nations Transitional Administration. I discovered also that Mr. Koizumi has been educated at the Peace Studies Institute of the University Ulster. Not many people have heard of the University of Ulster unless you come from Britain. I happened to be in Britain until about one month ago, so I happen to know about this university; it is in Northern Ireland. I might also mention that there have been other kinds of cooperation extended by Japan to OSCE missions. In 1997, or last year, there were municipal elections taking place in former Yugoslavia from September. Japan dispatched 29 supervisors and observers for this election and contributed US$1.5 million worth of equipment and materials such as ballot boxes and ballot papers. We did make a similar contribution in 1996 when the national- and canton-level elections took place, when we dispatched some 30 supervisors and observers. With another national- and canton-level election anticipated this autumn, we expect to make another contribution.
3. Israeli settlement in East Jerusalem
  Spokesman Numata: We have heard with a sense of perplexity that the Israeli Ministry of the Interior decided to construct a settlement in Ras al-Amud in East Jerusalem. As we have expressed a number of times in the past that we believe that the construction of settlements in East Jerusalem is undesirable, since it negatively affects the peace process. We will continue to watch closely how the Government of Israel intends to deal with this matter.
Situation in the Republic of Iraq
Q: Will Japan make requests to the United States to not use force against Iraq?

Spokesman Numata: We are in the midst of being engaged in intense diplomatic efforts to try to resolve this situation. As you are aware, there are a flurry of activities taking place by a number of countries -- including the United States, there is the United Kingdom, Japan, the Russian Federation and others. We are keeping in very close contact with the United States, the United Kingdom and other main actors. We have also been making dJmarches to the Iraqi Government, as well as dJmarches to the Ambassadors of Middle Eastern countries; Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Minoru Tamba made a dJmarche the day before yesterday. This is on the basis of the recognition that the tension is rising and very serious diplomatic efforts are called for. As a part of that process, we can expect to be in further close contact with the United States. This contact is carried out in Washington, DC, New York and so forth. We expect to be in further close contact with the United States. I might also mention in this context that Minister for Foreign Affairs Keizo Obuchi had a telephone exchange with Foreign Secretary Robin Cook of the United Kingdom. As you know Foreign Secretary Cook has been traveling around the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the State of Kuwait. I believe that he had just returned to London. This telephone exchange took place between 11:30 and 11:47. It was on our initiative that the telephone exchange took place; Foreign Minister Obuchi called Mr. Cook. In that telephone exchange, Foreign Minister Obuchi expressed his appreciation of the active diplomatic efforts by the United Kingdom, by Prime Minister Tony Blair, as well as Foreign Secretary Cook. Foreign Minister Obuchi also referred to the diplomatic efforts that Japan is engaged in, and expressed the desire to continue to work closely together with other like-minded countries, particularly including the United Kingdom. This sentiment was echoed by Foreign Secretary Cook. Foreign Minister Obuchi also mentioned the fact that the Nagano Olympics would be beginning tomorrow in Japan and expressed the wish that the United Kingdom on its part would fully recognize the importance of the Olympic Truce Resolution, which was passed in the United Nations and also in the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Foreign Secretary Cook said that he understood Japan's thought on that particular point. In essence, Foreign Minister Obuchi and Foreign Secretary Cook shared the desire to work together for the resolution of this pressing problem. I would say that this is another example of the kind of diplomatic efforts and cooperation that Japan and the United Kingdom have been engaged in on various fronts. We will continue to engage in those serious efforts.

Q: Would you say that Japan is committed to a diplomatic solution that does not involve using force?

Spokesman Numata: For the moment, we are engaged in very serious diplomatic efforts to avert the development of this tense situation into an even more explosive one.

Q: In the case that the United States takes the position of use of force against Iraq, what is the position of Japan in response?

Spokesman Numata: The reason we are engaged in very serious diplomatic efforts is that, in the first place, the position taken by the Iraqi Government with respect to the question of inspection teams sent by the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) is in contravention of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 687. You may recall that that particular resolution, which set out the terms for the cessation of hostilities after the Gulf conflict, asked for the destruction of weapons of mass destruction by the Iraqi Government. It also set out that the Iraqi Government would accept the inspection of these destruction processes without condition. So, the Iraqi actions, so far, are in violation of the Security Council resolution, which is very serious for the international community. That is why we are engaged in these very serious efforts to try to persuade the Iraqi Government to fully accept the terms of the resolution and to accept the inspection by the UNSCOM without condition. Given that we are engaged in these efforts, it is not wise for me to speculate as to what might happen if these efforts fail.
Contacts between the Government of Japan and other countries regarding the situation in Iraq
Q: Has the Japanese Government contacted the U.S. Government and requested that they not engage in hostilities while the Olympics are underway?

Spokesman Numata: We are in contact with the United States Government in various ways. I have explained to you what we have communicated to the U.K. Government. We expect to be in further contact with the United States on the whole question of Iraq, which may include the question of the Olympic Truce Resolution. But, we are giving more thought as to what way, form, manner or medium in which to do that.

Q: At this point, have there been any specific high-level requests resembling the one you mentioned between Foreign Minister Obuchi and Foreign Secretary Cook?

Spokesman Numata: I am not sure whether to characterize it as a request, because we expressed a desire that the United Kingdom would fully recognize the existence or importance of the Olympic Truce Resolution. The fact is that the Olympics are taking place in Japan, that the Olympic Truce Resolution exists, but that the resolution is not nearly binding from a legal point of view. We believe people should be mindful of these facts. So, it is in that spirit that some sort of communication may take place between Japan and the United States.

Q: Has this taken place yet?

Spokesman Numata: This question depends on what you mean by high-level.

Q: You mentioned a moment ago that Foreign Minister Obuchi had contacted Foreign Minister Cook. Did a similar communication take place with the United States?

Spokesman Numata: It may take place. Again, it depends on what you mean by similar. We are in contact with the U.S. Government through various channels. It also can mean, on either side, trying to get hold of people who are running around, which may not be logistically very easy.

Q: Just to clarify, did you say that you will contact the United States?

Spokesman Numata: It is highly possible that we will be in contact with the U.S. Government at the sort of level that you have been talking about. But, to my knowledge, that has not taken place yet.

Q: This contact would be to express a desire to --

Spokesman Numata: -- to talk about the whole picture, because what is important is for the international community to engage in a concerted effort to persuade Iraq to abide by the Security Council resolution to accept inspections. That is the surest way of alleviating the sufferings of the Iraqi people, because it is through their acceptance of the obligations of the Security Council resolution that they can look forward to an eventual lifting of the sanctions, the alleviation of the suffering on the part of the people, and the possibility of Iraq actually returning to the international community. So, I think that this large context is a very important one.
Japanese assistance to the Republic of Indonesia
Q: Could you comment on assistance to Indonesia, including the possibility of sending Japanese rice stocks?

Spokesman Numata: Firstly, we have been very concerned about the situation in Indonesia and we would like to help Indonesia extricate itself out of its present difficulties. You may recall that Japan was a very active participant in the exercise to extend monetary assistance as a sort of second line contribution. Our contribution was US$5 billion, which was much greater than, for example, the U.S. contribution of US$3 billion, and equal to Singapore's contribution of US$5 billion. Also, you may recall that we dispatched a special envoy of the Prime Minister -- that was State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura -- to Jakarta on 22 January 1998. On that occasion, he expressed our intention to extend to Indonesia a quick dispersing sector program loan -- in fact, two sets of loans. One of these was a loan that we had pledged some time ago, amounting to 20 billion yen. This new loan, which was mentioned by State Secretary Koumura when he met President Suharto, amounted to 50 billion yen. Therefore, a total of 70 billion yen of quick dispersing yen loans which are designed to help the poor and the socially disadvantaged, as well as to promote human resources development in Indonesia, are in the pipeline. We continue to watch the situation with very keen interest and we continue to think about how we can best help Indonesia. Having said that, with respect to this specific possible rice aid to Indonesia, we are aware that the Indonesian food situation can become serious. And, the question of possible lack of rice may have to be addressed. But at this point in time, there has not been a request by the Indonesian Government for rice aid.

Q: What is the response of the Japanese Government to this request?

Spokesman Numata: It is difficult to talk about a response when the request has not yet been made. As I said, the food situation in Indonesia does seem to require attention, so I think we are collecting information on this situation with a view possibly to forming a judgement when that becomes necessary.

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