ACCESSION NUMBER:00000

FILE ID:95060602.POL

DATE:06/06/95

TITLE:STATE DEPARTMENT REPORT, TUESDAY, JUNE 6



TEXT:

(Cuba, Harbury, Iraq/Americans, Mideast) (760)



NEWS BRIEFING -- Acting spokesman Christine Shelly discussed the

following topics:



CUBA MUST MOVE TO DEMOCRACY FOR NEW STAGE IN RELATIONS



The United States "listened with great interest" to remarks made by

Cesar Gaviria Trujillo, secretary general of the Organization of

American States, as the 25th OAS General Assembly session opened June

5 in Haiti, the acting spokesman told a questioner. Gaviria was

critical of U.S. policy toward Cuba.



"We fully agree with the secretary general that there must be in Cuba

greater economic freedom, an establishment of a pluralistic democratic

system with political freedoms and respect for human rights," Shelly

said. "But it is our view that only then would it be possible to

initiate a new stage in the hemisphere's relations with Cuba," she

said.



DEPARTMENT WENT TO GREAT LENGTHS TO INFORM HARBURY



The acting spokesman said State Department officers have gone to great

lengths to try to keep Jennifer Harbury informed of conclusions drawn

by the U.S. intelligence community concerning the fate of her husband,

Guatemalan guerrilla leader Efrain Bamaca.



Harbury has charged that Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) documents

she obtained through freedom of information requests showed that the

administration knew as long ago as September 1993 that Bamaca had died

in captivity. She says the State Department told her of that

conclusion only in November 1994.



"Legal restrictions, as you know, exist that prevent sensitive

information from being passed directly to private citizens," Shelly

pointed out. "Despite those regulations, State Department officers, in

their meetings with Ms. Harbury on numerous occasions, have gone to

great lengths to try to provide her with the conclusions that the

intelligence community drew from the information available at any

given point in time."



Noting that the matter is the subject of a Presidential Intelligence

Oversight Board review, Shelly said it would be "inappropriate to

comment further," except to point out that Secretary of State

Christopher has repeatedly said the Department of State supports "the

fullest possible disclosure to the American people of the facts

surrounding the deaths of Michael DeVine and certain other Americans

as well as that of Efrain Bamaca." DeVine, an American who operated an

inn in Guatemala, was killed in 1990.



IRAQIS STILL DENYING ACCESS TO IMPRISONED AMERICANS



The acting spokesman said Iraqi authorities are still denying consular

access to two Americans imprisoned for illegally entering Iraq.



Ryszard Krystosik, the Polish diplomat who heads the U.S. Interests

Section in Baghdad "has still not been permitted to resume his regular

visits" with William Barloon and David Daliberti, Shelly said. The

last time Krystosik was allowed to see them was on April 11, eight

weeks ago.



"He continues to press on a daily basis for access to the two men,"

the acting spokesman said. "We are deeply concerned about their

health. We call on the Iraqis to allow a visit so we can continue to

monitor their condition, and we fully expect the Iraqis to meet their

obligations under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations which

would permit Mr. Krystosik to resume his regular visits with the

Americans." The wives of the two men went to Iraq in late April and

were allowed daily visits with their husbands, but the Polish diplomat

was not permitted to accompany them into the prison.



U.S. ENVOY MEETS WITH SYRIAN PRESIDENT IN DAMASCUS



Dennis Ross, the U.S. coordinator for the Middle East peace process,

met June 6 with Syrian President Hafiz al-Asad in Damascus in

preparation for a trip to the region later this week by Secretary of

State Christopher.



Shelly said Ross was in Israel June 5, in Syria June 6 and will move

on to Egypt on June 7. Christopher leaves Washington June 7 on a

five-day trip to the region. His first stop will be Israel where he

will meet with Israeli officials in Jerusalem, the acting spokesman

said.



"I have really no other details related to the substance of what is

being discussed," she said of the Ross-Asad talks. "We simply feel

that we can play our role most appropriately by not getting into a

detailed discussion of the exchanges that we're having."



In addition to visiting Israel, Christopher will visit Syria, Jordan

and Egypt, and he plans to meet with leaders of the Palestinian

Authority during his stop in Israel. The secretary is expected to

focus on continuing efforts to make progress on the Syrian-Israeli

track of the peace negotiations.

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