Remarks During Press Conference in The Hague

Mr. Zoellick: Morning. Sorry to be a little bit late. I came in to the Netherlands last night on a trip that began yesterday in London and I head on this evening to Tunis and then I head on to Egypt for the World Economic Forum meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh.

So I wanted to use this opportunity to stop and come to The Hague to consult with some of my colleagues on some of the issues that we’ve been working on. When I first moved back to the State Department early last year, I took a trip through Europe and stopped at a number of capitols including The Hague, so this gives me an opportunity to catch up with some of my colleagues here and talk about a range of subjects.

So I had a very nice dinner with Minister Bot last night and a number of his colleagues and then this morning I had a chance to meet Minister Van Ardenne again. We worked very, very closely on issues related to Africa and particularly to Sudan and Darfur .

Just a word on Sudan because, as some of you may know, I was in Abuja about ten days ago for the course of a week as we pushed forward this Darfur Peace Accord. And so one of the reasons that I wanted to have a chance to come to The Hague is to consult on some of the next steps that we’ll be taking.

This has been a useful week in terms of trying to maintain some of the momentum from that peace accord. We started the week with the decision of the African Union Peace and Security Council to take a number of supportive actions and then there was a meeting of the UN Security Council that passed a resolution moving forward the peacekeeping force. There is an issue that we have been particularly concerned about which is the food supplies. The World Food Program of the UN had announced it was going to have to try to cut rations because of the lack of supplies getting to the camps in advance of the rainy season and at the time that we announced the Abuja Agreement, President Bush committed additional U.S. food resources. The Canadians did the same. Rations had been cut about to 50% and this week the U.S. contributions, the Canadian contributions and, I’m pleased to note, about 20,000 metric tons from the government in Khartoum should have levels back up to about 85%. And one of the items that I talked about with my colleagues here and in London was the hope we can get some additional European Union contributions.

Another useful sign was that I got the report last night that the government of Khartoum has announced it’s going to end the travel restrictions on NGOs in Darfur which is something we have all been pressing for for at least a three-month period, perhaps longer, and the Government of Sudan notified all the Arab tribes in the region that any breach of peace from Arab militias would be met with a very strong response.

So, as I said in Africa and also the United States, this is a very critical time to have the follow-up actions build on the Abuja Peace Accord. We need to strengthen the African Union mission, we need to get a UN peacekeeping mission in place, we need to get food there, we need to try and get information out to the 2 million people struggling in camps about some of the prospects for peace, we need to support the rebel movements that have taken a step to support the peace accord, we need to try to encourage those that have not yet signed on to do so, that’s part of what the African Union was encouraging as well. And then we need to keep focus and attention on the government of Khartoum, particularly to rein in the Janjaweed.

The Government of the Netherlands has very kindly offered to host a conference for the reconstruction and development, probably to take place early this autumn, and when I spoke to Minister van Ardenne she was explaining to me she had gone to Abuja just after we had finished the negotiations to talk to the various parties and help set up the preparations for this and so this would be an important aspect of showing the prospects for opportunity and hope.

And I’ll just mention briefly over the course of the dinner and this morning’s meetings I had extensive discussions about energy security, NATO including deployment in Afghanistan where Minister Bot just returned from, Russia, Latin America, there was just the European -- Latin American summit, East Asia which is an area of particular expertise of Minister Bot, avian influenza, and some of the other conflicts across Africa. So we covered a wide range of topics and discussion and that reflects the fact that the Netherlands is a very valued partner of the United States and one that has been very helpful over the years in a number of different capacities, so it gave me an opportunity to listen to my colleagues and get some of the sense of their perspective on some of these issues.

So, I’m happy to take a question.

GPD: Did you talk about Dutch participation in the UN peacekeeping force?

Mr. Zoellick: We talked about the fact that the primary components of the UN peacekeeping force, the core would first be the African Union Force. There are about 7,000 personnel – a combination of soldiers and police. One aspect of the transition that we are trying to seek some additional funds from our Congress for, is to make sure that those African forces meet the UN peacekeeping standards.  Beyond that, I think the primary interest would be to look for other contributors in Africa and Asia and some in the Arab world. I reported to the ministers the efforts that we have begun with the Rwandan Government, which currently has some very good forces on the ground in Darfur but they have considered adding perhaps a thousand other troops. But to do so, we also need to strengthen the funding assistance for the African AMIS mission, which has primarily to be done by the United States and the European Union.

In terms of additional forces, the Egyptians have talked about some additional forces.  When President Bush traveled to South Asia a few months ago, he was trying to anticipate this need, and talked with the Pakistanis and Indians and others about contributions. So in the case of the Netherlands, one other aspect is that since we know that even if the UN peacekeeping operation moves expeditiously to try to put its force in place, it’s still going to take at least months and so, in the near term, you have questions about what you can do to strengthen the AMIS, the African Union force. And that’s one reason why we in the Netherlands and other NATO partners have discussed the possibility of having some NATO planning capacity to support the AMIS mission.

I’ve been to Darfur four times last year, and when I talk with the African Union commanders you can see that these soldiers are doing a difficult job, they are extremely trying circumstances, but since you have an area the size of France, they could benefit a great deal from having additional intelligence capabilities to know where to move forces. Tactical transport, to be able to get them places, communication systems that link them, the logistics of some of the fuel operations -- these are areas where with the help of Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer we talked about some support that you might have in various headquarters where there is battalion level or others and this is one reason why when you see the UN Resolutions or the African Union Resolutions, you’ll see references to regional organizations providing that role.

So I can’t speak for the Government of the Netherlands, but that’s an area where you could see some NATO support and the United States would be willing to help in that as well.

Yes.

NOS News: Have you talked with your colleagues about the case of Ayaan Hirsi Ali coming to the United States? What more can you tell us about what arrangements have been made with the State Department about her safety?

Mr. Zoellick: It is kind of hard to be in The Hague and miss it don’t you think? (laughter) Look, this is obviously an internal matter in the Netherlands and a subject of great debate, which is understandable. We recognize that she is a very courageous and impressive woman and she is welcome to come to the United States, and I know there are various ideas about how she may participate in various think tanks and others. But the sense that I have is that the Government of the Netherlands is still discussing her ultimate status and that is obviously something for the Netherlands to determine along the way. But she is obviously welcome to the United States and she seems like a very important personage -- who, whether in the U.S. or Europe , we can all learn from.

NOS News: What status will she have once she enters in the U.S.?  Depending on how the discussion here will end and on also what arrangements have been made about her safety? 

Mr. Zoellick: Well on the first part it’s, as you say and your question suggests, that obviously depends on the ultimate decisions of the Dutch Government.

NOS News: But she will get into the U.S. no matter how the discussion ends?

Mr. Zoellick: She is welcome to the United States as I said and the status obviously depends on ongoing actions going on in the Netherlands. And I am not going to comment on specific security matters but obviously she needs to be taken care of.

Mr. Zoellick: Well that’s a question for the people of the Netherlands and the Government of the Netherlands to determine about nationality. Countries have to make their own determinations under this under their laws we do on occasion -- we do this in the case of the United States. Obviously in the case of the Netherlands there is a debate, an understandable debate about this subject, so that is for the people of the Netherlands and their democracy to determine and not for me.

RTL News: Is it understandable…would the same thing happen in the United States?

Mr. Zoellick: I am not gonna draw comparisons. I think that it’s very clear that -- and this is one of the understandable trials of the period -- that her circumstances have engendered the debate in a democracy that is a healthy process. Like I said, my view of her as an individual is she is welcome to the United States but I am not going to second guess what happens in the Netherlands under your democracy.

AP: Do you have any information on what’s happening with Charles Taylor and the progress you’re making on finding a host prison for him?

Mr. Zoellick: I am a couple days out of date on that and I think my most recent information was that -- I don’t think they have yet found a location -- so I am afraid I don’t have anything more current on that.

ANP: ...Dutch hesitation to handover suspects to the Americans in the province of Uruzgan …

Mr. Zoellick: I don’t have a sense of particular Dutch reluctance. I know that we and the other NATO partners and the Government of Afghanistan are very pleased that the Government of the Netherlands is contributing forces. I know that was one reason why Minister Bot just went to Afghanistan. He gave me some background of some of his discussions with the tribal leaders and with Minister Karzai. I think that the contributions of those forces are important not only in security terms, but as you know, they have been linked to these provincial reconstruction teams. And so the perspective that I bring is that if you consider where Afghanistan was two or three years ago, there has been extraordinary progress. But it is still a state that is not self-sustaining on its own. And so this is a good example of how the NATO countries can work together to try to support a country that has now created opportunities for democracy, it has improved a lot of women, expanding education but there is still a long way to go in the process.

I know that some of the discussions that your government has had, just as others have, is a question of when they do capture people how are they going to treat them with part of the it is in the Afghan military. And I know that the government of the Netherlands has been particularly sensitive on how they treat them. But I believe those are primarily discussions your government has had with President Karzai and his team.

NRC: In view of reports on increased violence in the province of Uruzgan -- do you still think that the area is ready for this type of NATO operation – peace operations, reconstruction, government…?

Mr. Zoellick: Well I think it is important and the Canadians have encountered this as well -- to recognize that the NATO forces there have to be able to act in a robust capacity. I know that there are some Australian forces that I believe are also going to be matched with the Dutch forces -- and the reason I say this is, is that there are still very dangerous people there and undoubtedly they are going to be tempted to challenge new forces that move in. We have full confidence and I know that the government of Afghanistan does that the NATO forces are well-prepared they are good soldiers and they need to be able to act in that capacity they need to support the tribal leaders and one of the things that was also encouraging to me is -- I was pleased that Minister Bot made the effort to go to Afghanistan was to try to secure and get a better understanding of the people of the region about the role that the Dutch forces and the PRT would play. And at least from the discussions that he relayed to me there was a welcome appreciation by the people in the region because these people want to get on with their lives. They have gone through a terrible period over 10 or 20 years -- and so there is finally a chance to have some prospects for hope and development. But they need a strong security presence and I think, whether the forces are Dutch or Canadian British or Australian, that’s one of the reasons they are there and we have full confidence in their capability.

Question: Some of the Darfur watchers are saying that if the … that everything will fall apart, the whole thing could unravel. Do you think that’s a likely scenario?

Mr. Zoellick: I don’t think it’s likely but what I’ve said throughout this process is it’s a very fragile situation and the peace accord is an opening. It’s an opportunity, but we have to complement it with active support on the security side, the economic side, the political side, and that’s one reason why I’ve stopped in both London and here was to consult with the international partners on this. The international cooperation on this effort has really been extraordinary. I’ve dealt with a lot of multilateral issues over the years but in the four of five days that I was in Abuja the EU-U.S. cooperation team was, the Canadians played an active role, we worked very closely with the African Union, the Arab League was also helpful, some of the other subjects I’ll be discussing when I’m in North Africa and Egypt. But I don’t want to underestimate the scope of the challenge and so even when the agreement was signed, as you may know, some of the leaders including the chief negotiator from Abdul Waheed’s faction, wanted to be associated with the agreement, and there are various tribal leaders that have associated themselves separately with the process. But anybody who has spent any time there knows, it remains a very dangerous place, it remains a volatile location where you’ve got, where there were some, I’m sure all of you saw the reports last week about the tragic killing of the interpreter at the Kalma camp. Well, I’ve been to six or eight of the camps and Kalma camps are very big, huge location. I can see how this could sort of run away from the people there.

So, it’s all the more reason why, as I said, we have to follow up on multiple fronts, get the food in, try to support the things. We have some people working with Minni Mennawi, he’s the rebel leader who took the chance for peace, to help show his commanders that there’s international support for this. Trying to, as I said, strengthen the AMIS mission as soon as possible, get a UN corps in, show the prospect of reconstruction and development, get the government in Khartoum to take the type of steps that at least I’ve reported today -- but in the case of the government of Khartoum, you always have to watch and follow-up and make sure that these actions are taken.

But again, if you step back, if you look at the fact that in January of 2005 you signed a Confidence of Peace Accord – the North-South Accord – ending a 21-year old civil war and now you have the Darfur Peace Accord, you really are on the edge of being able to create a totally different political system in Sudan .

There are still challenges in the east with the Beja, but if you look at the history of Sudan’s problems, much of that has emanated from the role of Khartoum with the peripheries and these two agreements – the CPA and the DPA – offer a chance to restructure that, including the key role of elections over the course of the next four or five years. So if you look at the concept, it’s looking towards a different constitutional structure for all of Sudan , one that is fair and much more equitable and certainly democratic. But what both these accords do is they arrange a political power-sharing arrangement, wealth and economic-sharing arrangement and create a security climate for this to take place.

So the stakes are very high, many people don’t recognize that Sudan is the largest country in Africa, has nine neighbors, as you see with the issues related to Chad these problems can spill over borders, different tribal groups, and so I’m very pleased that the cooperation of international partners has been so strong in support of the African Union League, but I don’t underestimate the scope of the challenge. So it remains to be an area where, as I said, it remains very fragile and dangerous and that’s one reason that I was just back in the United States for a week working on China and some other issues, but I wanted to come here and visit some of the Arab countries to try to keep the pace and momentum going forward.

Thank you.