THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary _____________________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release September 30, 1994 PRESS BRIEFING BY DEE DEE MYERS The Briefing Room 1:51 P.M. EDT MS. MYERS: A couple of just brief comments before we get started here. As you know, the President met this morning with his foreign policy advisers where he was updated and briefed on the situation in Haiti. Clearly, people here are following it closely, and the President is being informed as the situation develops. I think generally the President's view is that the progress there has been very good. He's very proud of the work that the U.S. military has done there in stabilizing that environment and beginning the very difficult transition to democracy. I think the President and everybody within the administration has known throughout this process that there was no guarantee that there wouldn't be some violence, that this was always something that was not going to be easy. But I think by and large, the progress has been good and the President is pleased with that. In the past week we've seen the parliament meeting for the first time in several years. We've seen Evans Paul, the Mayor of Port-au-Prince reinstated for the first time in three years. And we've seen people begin to express their political views on the streets of Port-au-Prince and other cities and towns throughout the country. So we have a long way to go, but I think the President feels at this point certainly very proud of the U.S. military and the role that they have had there and the progress that they've made. Q Has the administration asked Father Aristide to say something later today? Is he doing this at your request? MS. MYERS: Well, I think we've certainly been talking to him on a daily basis. I think he's very interested in maintaining a peaceful atmosphere. And as you know, he's done things -- taped a message to the people asking for calm, particularly today on the third anniversary of the coup. As you know, U.S. military forces now control the radio and television stations, so they are no longer broadcasting very inflammatory messages; rather they're broadcasting messages of reconciliation and peace, including one from Father Aristide. Q Did we ask him to do this? MS. MYERS: I don't know if specifically -- I mean, we talk with him regularly, but this is something that he's very committed to. I don't think he needs us to ask him. Q With us now in charge of the radio and the television and also ensuring the peace, aren't we responsible now for this situation, which is violent today and has the potential for continuing to be violent? MS. MYERS: Well, the farph is still very much involved in keeping -- in policing the situation in Port-au-Prince. Certainly there are U.S. military officials on the ground as well, U.S. military personnel backing them up and helping to ensure order. We said all along that one of the missions of the U.S. military there would be to maintain civil order and to keep things from disrupting into a very chaotic situation. Clearly, that's an important role, and one that we'll continue to pursue. Q Hasn't Mission Creep already happened? We're now in charge and responsible for whatever happens -- MS. MYERS: That's not true, Andrea. That's not true. I mean, to a very limited degree we're there on the ground on a day- to-day basis, but the farph is still there, the Haitian police force is still there working with the military, helping to ensure civic order, helping to police the streets. That is still the primary function of the farph in Port-au-Prince today. As you also know, we're in the process of bringing in police monitors and in training and in separating the police and military. That is a process that is ongoing, a former police commissioner from New York, Raymond Kelly, is now in charge of that overall process of monitoring and retraining the police force. That's going to continue forward. This is something that the international community has undertaken, and we've made some progress. But this is something the Haitians will ultimately have to work out for themselves. It is not our responsibility. Q That's long-term -- MS. MYERS: That is long-term, but -- Q The view in Congress is quite the opposite today. MS. MYERS: I'm not sure that that's true. Q They're very upset up there. MS. MYERS: Well, I think everybody is watching the situation today very carefully. That's why -- I think there was a briefing there -- Ambassador Swing yesterday talked about the steps that we were going to take, both the U.S. military and the international community, to try to prevent violence on the streets today. Father Aristide, again is broadcasting a message of reconciliation and urging people to express their views, but to do so peacefully. And we've taken an number of steps to try and prevent it. But at the same time, I think we've warned throughout this process that there -- it is potential for violence; we can't guarantee against it; we'll take what steps we can, though, to guard against it. Q Dee, Dee, before the lights go out I need to ask you for your reaction to the comatose state of campaign finance reform on Capitol Hill. MS. MYERS: Well, obviously the President is very disappointed. He's committed to political reform; it's something he's been fighting for throughout the last 20 months. This is a bill the President introduced over a year ago. And unfortunately it was defeated today by a partisan filibuster. I think the President is committed to this, and he'll be back next year to fight for campaign finance reform. He's committed to getting special interest out of government, and passing a campaign finance bill is one way to do that. Also, lobbying reform is in its final phases -- it passed the House yesterday by an overwhelming margin. The President urges the Senate to pass it and send it to him. Q Is he disappointed in congressional leaders for taking so long to reach a compromise and keeping this bill bottled up until the very end of the session when it could be affected by a filibuster? MS. MYERS: Well, I think, he, again, he's disappointed that it didn't pass. This is something that he considers very important -- political reform, generally, he considers very important. And it's something that he'll fight for again next year. He believes it should have passed; he believes without the filibuster that it would have. The majority of the Senate supported it, and it's unfortunate that it was blocked again by a partisan filibuster. But we'll be back next year and fight for it again. Q Well, it could have passed earlier. MS. MYERS: Maybe. I mean, who's to say. I certainly can't say for sure whether it would have passed earlier. But I think the President is disappointed that it didn't pass. And again, he'll be back next year to fight for it. Q Getting back to Haiti, can you confirm what others are telling us -- that Francois' family has already gone to the Dominican Republic and -- Q Can we leave the lights on? MS. MYERS: Hit them back, we'll go a couple more minutes. Q Thanks. Q Thank you very much. Q Thank you. MS. MYERS: Sure. (Laughter.) I don't have any independent confirmation -- Q Turn them back off. (Laughter.) MS. MYERS: That's right, turn them off. (Laughter.) As long as Wolf's not live, we're okay. Q He's still breathing. MS. MYERS: I do not have any independent confirmation of the whereabouts of Francois' family. Q What about Francois? MS. MYERS: As far as I know, he's still in the country. I've seen news accounts that he's planning to leave. Q He ain't in that warehouse, though, is he? MS. MYERS: It's not his warehouse. It's somebody else's last name. What we're told -- somebody else whose last name is Francois, but not related. Q What, the one that was looted today? MS. MYERS: The one that was -- Q looted yesterday. MS. MYERS: It was looted after the -- Q What about the cash-n-carry store -- MS. MYERS: I don't know who -- I do not know who owns the cash-n-carry store. Q Do we know -- have we cut a deal with Francois? Are we involved in helping him relocate? MS. MYERS: We haven't cut a deal with him. I mean, he is covered under the agreement -- Q No, a separate deal. MS. MYERS: -- that's reached. We don't have any deal with him. I mean, certainly we're willing to help facilitate the departure of the military leaders. But we don't have any independent deal with him. Q Are we in the process of relocating him to the Dominican Republic? MS. MYERS: I don't know that he needs our help. I can take that question and see if there's anything. But I don't think he needs our help in doing that. Q You say you're in daily contact with Aristide. Has the President spoken to him since the night of the agreement? MS. MYERS: I think the President spoke to him once last week. I don't remember which day it was. But he talks to Bill Gray and Jon Plebani from the State Department, as well as he's met with Tony Lake and talked with other people, including General Sheehan, and others at the Pentagon over the course of the last few weeks. Q The President was briefed at the meeting this morning by the military on the situation. How many troops do you now expect will be deployed, when all is said and done, to Haiti? MS. MYERS: Well, I think that's a question best referred to the Pentagon on specific deployment details. I will say this, that the military commanders on the ground are making decisions based on their best judgement. It was always anticipated that there would be somewhat of a spike in troop numbers as the 10th Mountain Division and the military police went in, and the Marines were still on the ground. The U.S. troops are also doing other things that are sort of Army Corps of Engineer-related type projects -- rebuilding the airport and the port to allow for the delivery of humanitarian supplies and construction materials. It is still expected that as soon as it's possible and feasible, the troops will be drawn down. There's a plan in place to do that. I think that could begin as early as next week. Q How high will the spike go? MS. MYERS: I think there have been some reports that have exaggerated it. But again, I would refer you to the Pentagon. I think there are a little over 20,000 today, and I don't think they expect it to go much higher. But you should check in with the Pentagon. Q Was the President specifically consulted before the level of the troops was raised as high as it has gone? MS. MYERS: He is kept informed about the situation on the ground and what the military commanders believe they need. He is not trying to micromanage those decisions from Washington, but he is kept informed of them. Q You said the U.S. was still working with the farph -- they're still responsible for police and security in the area. And yet, that appears to be -- their headquarters appears to be a flashpoint of violence. Today we've got reports that supporters of Cedras gathered there, and then when the marchers walked by there was violence, shooting, a man pulled out of his car and shot point-blank. Is there going to be increased pressure on these folks to stop that? Why were they allowed to have supporters of the old regime gather there to begin with? MS. MYERS: Well, I don't think we're going to try to manage every single -- or expect that we can manage every single situation on the ground throughout this. We're monitoring it today, keeping track to the best of our ability on what's happening. And we're always a little reluctant to make judgments based on preliminary reports because so often they turn out to be wrong or incomplete or only part of the picture. So I think to a very large degree the U.S. forces there have had a stabilizing effect. It doesn't mean they can prevent every incident of violence. The farph continues to work and work with the U.S. military. The U.S. military is there to back them up; soon we'll have the police monitors there to provide further guarantees that there are no excessive uses of force or abuses of human rights. And we'll continue to work with that to the best of our ability. Q The situation is getting a little more dangerous with grenades flying -- with opposition in Congress, if the U.S. army takes casualties -- I mean, somebody gets killed -- have you given special instructions to the military to protect the loss of lives -- MS. MYERS: Well, certainly, that's their primary responsibility. And their overriding concern is to protect against the loss of U.S. life and to make sure that they carry out their operations with a real commitment to the security of U.S. troops. You can never guarantee that something won't happen. And I think their mission there is certainly first and foremost to make sure that they conduct their operations in a way that protects life -- U.S. life and that of civilians as well. But you can't ever guarantee against it. Q But let's say it happens, you will get a backlash from Congress -- MS. MYERS: Who knows. I mean, we'll have to wait and see. And we're all hopeful that things will go as peacefully as possible and that violence will be limited. But we can't guarantee that there won't be some incident. Q Is part of the American military mission to protect American journalists who are in Haiti? And is there any concern about the safety of American journalists? Q Oh, no -- (laughter) -- MS. MYERS: I try not to -- no, I mean, of course there is concern about the safety of civilians, including American journalists. I think that the military will do what it can to prevent violence against -- as you know, against Haitians as well as Americans as long as they're in a position to do so. In other words, as long as they have adequate force, adequate numbers there to take on whatever situation is at hand without endangering U.S. troops. And I think that applies to journalists as well. Q Has the administration contacted any news organizations recently to discuss this -- MS. MYERS: Not -- I don't know. The State Department may have, but not that I know of. I think every -- I think news organizations -- as you know, we have worked very closely with the news organizations, with the network bureaus and others in the initial stages of this. But I think all the news organizations understand the risks of going into an environment like this. Now, I think the military and the embassy down there are working closely with -- providing whatever backup they can, whatever help they can to citizens and journalists, but I think the journalists probably better than anybody understand the risks, particularly when you're in the heart of whatever's happening. Q What's the purpose of today's Cabinet meeting? MS. MYERS: It was an informal lunch without -- the President didn't have any agenda. He just asked the Cabinet to come together to discuss whatever is on their minds. We did this once before, just an informal lunch at the Blair House. Q Does the President support lifting baseball's antitrust exemption -- MS. MYERS: The President hasn't taken a position on that. He said he was looking at it a couple of weeks ago, and I don't think he's really come to any conclusions about it. Q The Senate is debating it today. MS. MYERS: I understand that, but the President has not reached any conclusions and I don't know what his timetable is for doing so. Q Is there any indication that the U.S. Government will allow Russian small arms into this country as part of arrangement made with Mr. Yeltsin? MS. MYERS: No, it wasn't discussed at the -- at the summit with President Yeltsin. Let me just give you a little bit of background on that. A couple of things -- Russian arms -- currently you can't sell -- you cannot buy -- or Russian guns are not sold here. Just generally, most assault weapons have been banned from importation since '89. Assault pistols have been banned since August of '93, Saturday night specials have been banned since the late '60s. I think in the wake of the Cold War and the end of communism, et cetera, there has been expanded opportunity for weapons sales from countries around the world -- China, Russia, and other countries --to the U.S. Ultimately, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms makes decisions about that. The State Department, among other departments, makes recommendations to ATF. Q Is there a request pending and has the State Department made a recommendation? MS. MYERS: The State Department has not made a recommendation. They are in the process of putting that together now. And I think they'll have more to say about it once they have done that. And ultimately, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms will make the decision. Obviously, we're concerned from a domestic perspective. The State Department will look at it from an international perspective to determine whether there is any impact on national security. We're concerned about it from a domestic perspective of not allowing a big influx of weapons into this country. And so, those are determinations that will have to be made. Q Are you going to weigh in on this from here? Q Dee Dee, how does that work -- if somebody asks for a permit to import -- MS. MYERS: Yes. They -- correct. Q And you're saying that there is a request of that sort pending now that's being examined? MS. MYERS: I believe there is a request. The ATF is charged with making the final determination, and there is a review process underway. And at this point we don't have any more specifics on it. Q Who is the request from? MS. MYERS: I guess from -- I'll have to take that --but I think it's from the Russian government -- that they make a request. Q In other words, they want to export firearms into the U.S. MS. MYERS: Let me take that -- exactly what the source of the request is, though whether it's a private or a government. Q Does the White House have a view? Does the President have a view? Will you make it known in this -- process? MS. MYERS: Well, I think we'll wait and see what the recommendations of the State Department are and then the Bureau will take a look at it and make some determinations. At this point, we haven't expressed a view. I mean -- other than concern about the importation of weapons generally. Q Will American troops be protecting Aristide when he goes back? MS. MYERS: Yes. Yes. Q They will form a sort of a guard? MS. MYERS: I don't know exactly -- I mean, again, the Pentagon may have more specifics about how they'll do that, but that is clearly one of their functions is to protect President Aristide. Q Is the First Lady campaigning in Florida tomorrow for her brother? MS. MYERS: She is. Q The schedule doesn't say anything about that. It just says she's in Florida. Is there some reason that that was omitted? MS. MYERS: No. I don't know, actually, why -- you'll have to check with Lisa Caputo over in the First Lady's office to find out why that was done; but she is campaigning for her brother. It's something that she's been, that they've been trying to work out a mutually acceptable schedule to do for quite a while. Q Dee Dee, go back to the guns for a second. The things the President has said about semiautomatic weapons, why would he even consider for even a second -- why would it not be a closed question? MS. MYERS: I don't know what weapons they've requested to import. I don't know whether they're semiautomatic or not. And, again, I can take that and find out what the source of the request is and what kind of weapons they've requested to import. But I think that we're taking a look at it. This is something that will be reviewed, and we'll have more to say about it later. Q Would it be fair to infer from your answer that if they were semiautomatic the President would veto it? I realize it's not a formal veto -- MS. MYERS: Yes, I just don't know what the nature of the request or whether semiautomatic weapons are included in that. I'm just not prepared to go beyond that. Q Dee Dee, I'm interested in the semi-automatic specificity here. Since almost no one makes revolvers except two U.S. companies, or three, any European weapon is liable to be a semiautomatic weapon. I don't believe the European companies make any revolvers hardly any more. MS. MYERS: I'm just not familiar enough with European weapons manufacturers to have a comment on that -- Q I don't mean the question to be -- I mean it's not a question of great expertise. MS. MYERS: Well, there is a process for reviewing gun sales apparently. And it is something that is spearheaded by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. I don't know -- I know there is a review in process, and I don't know the source of the request of these guns or exactly what kind of guns they've requested. But you can check with the Bureau and see if they have more specifics on it, and we can post a little bit more information later. Q Back to Frank's question -- why would the White House consider any kind of new gun importation since this apparently also includes Saturday night special kinds of -- MS. MYERS: Well, no, I just said Saturday night specials have been banned for import since the late 1960s. Q I'm sorry, I don't mean -- I just mean small guns. Why would the White House even entertain the possibility of opening any new avenue for weapons -- MS. MYERS: I don't know that it's a new avenue. Our laws -- we have laws that exist, and we operate within the framework of those laws. And in our trade laws there is room for import of weapons. Q Are you saying the Russians have a right to then, to -- MS. MYERS: I am saying that we -- we operated within the context of our laws. And our laws allow for importation of some guns. Now there is a process for reviewing requests to import guns, and when those requests are deemed legitimate, then they're approved, and when we have problems with them, we don't approve them. Now, you can go to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for more specifics on this, but we do operate within the context of our laws. So we don't make judgments outside of the context of existing trade law. Q But doesn't it put the President in kind of an awkward position to be on the one hand signing a Crime Bill and on the next hand opening the door -- MS. MYERS: There is no question that we've banned 19 assault weapons; we've just a Crime Bill the President feels very strongly about that doesn't change existing laws in the areas of international trade. Now we're going to review the request, as I said, with an eye toward its implications for national security and its implications for domestic security. No final judgments about this have been made. Q On the Japanese talks, midnight tonight is the deadline? MS. MYERS: Midnight tonight is the deadline. So Ambassador Kantor starts -- he meets with Foreign Minister Kono beginning at 3:00 and then meeting Minister Hashimoto beginning at 8:00 p.m. He's scheduled a press conference tomorrow at noon. Q Where? MS. MYERS: That could be at USTR, it could be here, and we'll just have to wait and see what the outcome is. Q Is the President involved -- Q Victory is here -- Q bad news there -- (laughter) -- MS. MYERS: Not necessarily. Not necessarily. The President has been involved. He's certainly been involved in the Japanese trade -- international trade issues generally. Under U.S. trade law -- the President signed an executive order re-upping Super 301 last year. And under U.S. trade law, Mickey Kantor, as U.S. Trade Rep, has the authority to impose sanctions under Title VII or to take action under Super 301. It wouldn't request the President taking any additional action, although it's something he certainly talked about with Mickey. Q And that ball starts rolling after midnight, and imposed at any time? MS. MYERS: Yes, I think, right. The deadlines are coincidental, as you know. We listed Japan under government procurement and insurance July 30th, which set the deadline for us making the decision about whether to impose any sanctions for September 30th. And then Super 301 was set -- that deadline was set by executive order, so it's a coincidence that these happen at the same time. Nonetheless, we're in discussions on all of the sectors affected by both, which includes autos, auto parts, glass, government procurement and insurance. Q Housekeeping question, Dee Dee. When are we going to have this room finished and get some restroom facilities and machines back in here? MS. MYERS: Any predictions? Q There's no progress -- Q haven't even seen a -- Q They're still hauling dirt up out of that hole with a bucket. Q And the fumes have been impossible. People have gone home sick from the gaseous fumes back there. MS. MYERS: Okay, we're going to make this a crusade. We'll fix it. I don't know -- they told us what was originally, they said they'd have it done within a few weeks -- Q Over the weekend. Q Just be glad they're not working on your kitchen. MS. MYERS: Yes, right, it always takes longer than you expect. Thanks. THE PRESS: Thank you. END2:14 P.M. EDT