ACCESSION NUMBER:308804

FILE ID:POL505

DATE:10/22/93

TITLE:WHITE HOUSE REPORT, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22 (10/22/93)

TEXT:*93102205.POL

WHITE HOUSE REPORT, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22



(Aristide, NAFTA, Angola envoy, Ferraro appointment)  (660)

NEWS BRIEFING -- Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers discussed the following

topics:



ARISTIDE DEFENDED

Questioned about a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) briefing for members of

the Senate on the fitness of Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide,

Myers strongly defended his qualifications to serve; she said she could not

make any comment, however, on a classified assessment given by the CIA.

Asked if the briefing was an embarrassment, she answered, "When a United

States senator requests a CIA briefing, we comply.  It's as simple as

that."



According to news accounts, the briefing -- requested by Senator Jesse Helms

-- suggested Aristide has had mental problems, and accused him of condoning

murder to suppress opposition.  The accounts said the information was first

circulated by the CIA two years ago.



Myers said Clinton was aware of the two-year-old report, adding, "In our

dealings with President Aristide he's been rational and responsible.  He's

had the best interests of his people at heart.  He's lived up to the

commitments that he's made.  And I would remind you that he is the

duly-elected leader of that country, the democratically-elected leader.

1nd so it is our judgment, based on our experience with him, that he is

fully qualified to serve as the president of Haiti."



Myers added that when Aristide was functioning as president, "human rights

abuses were down, transition to democracy was moving in the right

direction...I think all of the reliable studies show that there was a

marked improvement in the way people were treated."



NAFTA PROSPECTS IMPROVE

She told a questioner Clinton "seems to feel a little better" about passage

of enabling legislation for the North American Free Trade Agreement.  She

called expressions of support for the pact from Republican leaders Bob

Michel and Newt Gingrich, following their meeting with Clinton,

"excellent."



Asked about the possibility that Canada might elect a prime minister anxious

to re-negotiate the agreement, Myers said, "It's always been our position

that we would press ahead with NAFTA because we believe it's in the best

interests of this country.  We will await the results on Monday's election

and...go from there."



Myers predicted Clinton will be "more aggressive" in pressing the agreement

in the three weeks before the matter comes to a vote, sometime in November.



ENVOY SELECTED

Asserting that "a lasting peace in Angola will require the sustained

commitment of all Angolans and the support of the entire international

community," the White House has named Paul J. Hare as Clinton's

representative to the Angolan peace process.



Myers said in a written statement that Hare brings to his new task "a wealth

of experience gained in more than 30 years as an American diplomat... We

believe," she added, "that there is a new opportunity to end the suffering

of the Angolan people."  She noted that although a total cease-fire is not

yet in place, the level of the violence has diminished somewhat, and

flights with relief supplies have reached some towns in the interior for

the first time in eight months.



OTHER DEVELOPMENTS

FERRARO NOMINATED TO UNHRC

President Clinton announced his intention October 22 to appoint former

Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro to be the U.S. Representative to the United

Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC), with the rank of ambassador.



"As alternate head of the U.S. delegation to this year's session of the

UNHRC, she spoke eloquently on behalf of women in the former Yugoslavia,

and brought all of the parties involved to a consensus position," Clinton

said.



Ferraro was first elected to Congress from New York's 9th Congressional

District in 1978, and served three terms in the House before leaving after

her 1984 vice presidential campaign, in which she was the first woman ever

to be nominated for national office by a major party.



Ferraro is currently managing partner in the new York office of Keck, Mahin

and Cate, a national law firm.



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