August 10, 1999

STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY

                              THE WHITE HOUSE

                       Office of the Press Secretary


For Immediate Release                    August 10, 1999


                     STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY

                   Designation of Ariana Afghan Airlines
                        Under the Taliban Sanctions

Today the United States designated Ariana Afghan Airlines under the Taliban
sanctions.  This means that all of Ariana?s assets within U.S. jurisdiction
are now blocked and that no U.S. entity or individual can now engage in
business transactions with that airline anywhere in the world.

This action by the U.S. Treasury Department?s Office of Foreign Assets
Control was taken under the authority of last month?s executive order
imposing sanctions on the Taliban, and after we made the determination that
Ariana is an entity controlled by the Taliban.  These sanctions are in
response to the Taliban?s continuing provision of safe haven to Usama bin
Ladin, thereby allowing his Al-Qaida organization to operate a network of
terrorist training camps from Taliban-controlled territory and to use
Afghanistan as a base from which to sponsor terrorist operations.

Ariana is the only international carrier with regular flights in and out of
Afghanistan.  As such, we are concerned about the role it may play in
ferrying material, personnel and finances to the Taliban.  By designating
the Taliban-controlled Ariana, it will be denied the benefits from dealings
with U.S. businesses and financial markets.

As part of our strategy to isolate Bin Ladin and his supporters, we will
continue to apply sanctions against him and those like the Taliban who
support and assist him in carrying out his acts of violence.  Treasury?s
Office of Foreign Assets Control is reviewing reports that some foreign
banks, businesses, and individuals, including persons in the Middle East,
are acting for or on behalf of, or are providing material or financial
support for the violent acts of Usama bin Ladin.  Should these reports
prove true, and if these entities and individuals do not cease their
support to Usama bin Ladin, they could potentially be named as Specially
Designated Terrorists and face the same sanctions prohibitions applied to
Usama bin Ladin.  This would mean that a foreign firm (or individual)
designated for funding the violent acts of Usama bin Ladin, or his front
organizations, would be denied access to the U.S. banks and financial
entities.  It would thus be shut out of U.S. markets and any of its
property or assets within U.S. jurisdiction would be blocked.


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