08 October 1999
(Secretary, Foreign Minister Azad Remarks after meeting Oct. 8) (1650) Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said October 8 that the Government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh is announcing today [October 8] it has decided to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. "I want to congratulate Bangladesh for its vision and leadership upon becoming the first country in South Asia to decide to ratify this landmark agreement," Albright said after her meeting with Bangladesh Foreign Minister Azad. "Nuclear proliferation is the single greatest security threat we will face as we enter the new century and the Test Ban Treaty will not end that threat but it will reduce it by making it much harder for countries to modernize or develop nuclear weapons,..."Albright said. "This morning, the eyes of the world are on the United States Senate, where the debate on the CTBT has begun. The question is, whether senators will reject the Treaty, and thereby give a green light to those around the world who might want to conduct nuclear explosive tests and could one day do us harm." Foreign Minister Azad said "Our two countries can work together to make CTBT effective at the early date. We hope that the U.S. Government would soon ratify the treaty and others in the world and also in our area will do so for the sake of peace at this critical time. "We would be worried that there would be a negative impact in the world if the U.S. did not ratify the CTBT," he added. Following is the State Department text: (begin text) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE Office of the Spokesman For Immediate Release October 8, l999 99/881 REMARKS BY SECRETARY OF STATE MADELEINE K. ALBRIGHT AND BANGLADESH FOREIGN MINISTER AZAD AFTER THEIR MEETING SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: I am very pleased to be here with my friend, the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh, Foreign Minister Azad. A major topic of our discussion this morning was the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which the Government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is announcing today it has decided to ratify. I want to congratulate Bangladesh for its vision and leadership upon becoming the first country in South Asia to decide to ratify this landmark agreement. This action by Bangladesh reflects the depth of support for the Test Ban Treaty that exists around the world. More than 50 nations have now ratified, including more than half the countries needed for it to enter into force. Fifteen of our 18 NATO allies have joined, including the United Kingdom, France and Germany, whose heads of government are in the paper today urging America to follow suit. In my conversations today with Foreign Ministers from Europe, they are also urging that we follow suit and asking what is going on. From the treaty conference now underway in Vienna, we have heard a chorus of voices asking the United States to ratify this pact, which America has sought for 40 years. Nuclear proliferation is the single greatest security threat we will face as we enter the new century and the Test Ban Treaty will not end that threat but it will reduce it by making it much harder for countries to modernize or develop nuclear weapons. By so doing, the treaty would go far to lock in the technological advantage that the United States has and protects our security without threatening the others. This morning, the eyes of the world are on the United States Senate, where the debate on the CTBT has begun. The question is, whether senators will reject the Treaty, and thereby give a green light to those around the world who might want to conduct nuclear explosive tests and could one day do us harm. I think we have a unique opportunity now to get our arms around this terrible nuclear arms race and make sure that, once and for all, we will strangle that race. Or whether, we want to know, whether the senators will have the wisdom to put politics aside, heed the advice of our top military leaders and reaffirm America's leadership in the nonproliferation issues. I am very pleased that the Foreign Minister has come to Washington and by the good news that he has brought with him. And few nations understand better the perils created by the spread of nuclear weapons. And I welcome the Foreign Minister and greatly enjoyed our discussion, Mr. Minister. FOREIGN MINISTER AZAD: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, like her father, the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mijibur Rahman, firmly believes in peace and a world free from hunger, war, nuclear weapons and threats. She has, therefore, decided to ratify the CTBT. I am pleased to meet today Secretary Albright who, under the leadership of President Clinton, is doing her best to make the world safe for mankind to live in peace and prosperity. Our two countries can work together to make CTBT effective at the early date. We hope that the U.S. Government would soon ratify the treaty and others in the world and also in our area will do so for the sake of peace at this critical time. We would be worried that there would be a negative impact in the world if the U.S. did not ratify the CTBT. Under the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh is engaged today in building democratic institutions and its economy in peaceful environment. She is extending the facilities to foreign companies to invest in Bangladesh, especially the U.S. companies. Thank you. QUESTION: Madame Secretary, at the Senate, the Democrats evidently have decided on a strategy to try to return to regular business at the end of the debate, which I understand, although I am not expert at this, would possibly delay indefinitely consideration of the treaty. I wondered if that's an approach that the Administration -- that you favor? And, you know, I know we heard some words yesterday about postponement and I know how you feel about proliferation. But is that the best of the options that are available to the Democrats, to the Administration at this point? SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Let me say and echo what the Foreign Minister said, is the effect on the world if the CTBT were not to be ratified, the negative effect it would have and the negative effect that it would have on our leadership as far as the all-important nonproliferation issues are concerned. I said yesterday that I believed that there needed to be more considered study of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. It is a landmark treaty and needs to be considered in an appropriate fashion by the United States Senate, the world's greatest deliberative body, and does indeed need to be, I think, looked at in more detail and not be under the pressure of some kind of artificial deadline. On the other hand, I do also think that the United States cannot be out of the nonproliferation business for a long period of time. I think our leadership is much needed. I do not want to get into the details of the Senate discussions of its time frame, but there clearly is some balance between allowing careful consideration of a landmark treaty and delaying it to a point where the United States has given up its leadership position on nonproliferation issues. I leave it to the wisdom of the Senate leaders to work out a balance. QUESTION: Madame Secretary, in a few minutes, the Assistant Secretary for Counter-Terrorism is going to announce the countries or, excuse me, the organizations that you've designated to be foreign terrorist organizations. Would you care to say anything about the new addition to this list? SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: I think I just want to wait for Assistant Secretary or Ambassador Sheehan to make that announcement. This is a process that we take very seriously and we do consider that terrorism and fighting terrorism is a major priority of our Administration. QUESTION: Could you -- if I could just follow up? Could you please say something then about the importance that you put to this list and what message it should send to terrorist organizations? SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: The importance of it is to basically make clear that these are organizations that are outside the conduct of proper affairs in a civilized world, that they have no place in the international system and that we make very clear that we wish to, by designating them, making clear that they are outside the system. QUESTION: Madame Secretary, now that the British legal system has made up its mind on the Pinochet case, I wondered if you could tell us how the United States sees the possible extradition of Pinochet to Spain, whether you think this is a good thing to pursue such people to justice or whether the internal considerations of Chile still predominate in your calculations? SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Let me just say that the United States really has not taken a position -- this has been a discussion between Chile and the United Kingdom. But, in broad terms, I have stated a number of times that the United States is committed to the principles of accountability and justice and we have shown this by our strong support for the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda and the US Government has strongly condemned the abuses of the Pinochet regime when it was in power. We also believe that it is important and consistent with the principle of accountability to support countries like Chile that, over a sustained period of time, have made significant efforts to strengthen their democracy and to promote reconciliation and the rule of law. So this ruling is another step in an ongoing judicial process which may involve numerous appeals, so we have no comment on the specific steps in the process. (end text)