REMARKS BY AMBASSADOR KARL W. EIKENBERRY AT THE COMMEMORATION OF THE SECOND ANNIVERSARY OF THE GOVERNMENT MEDIA AND INFORMATION CENTER - U.S. Embassy Kabul, Afghanistan

REMARKS BY AMBASSADOR KARL W. EIKENBERRY AT THE COMMEMORATION OF THE SECOND ANNIVERSARY OF THE GOVERNMENT MEDIA AND INFORMATION CENTER - U.S. Embassy Kabul, Afghanistan

REMARKS BY AMBASSADOR KARL W. EIKENBERRY AT THE COMMEMORATION OF THE SECOND ANNIVERSARY OF THE

GOVERNMENT MEDIA AND INFORMATION CENTER

January 18, 2011

Greetings to Afghanistan’s media leaders and journalists and honored guests. What a pleasure it is to be here today to celebrate this important Afghan success story. Other speakers have already commented on the role played by the Government Media and Information Center in improving communications between the government and people of Afghanistan.

The video we have just seen also dramatically conveys how vibrant and important the GMIC has become in service to the Afghan government and people. Every time I visit the GMIC, and this beautiful facility, I am struck by the dynamism, confidence, and dedication of the Afghan staff of professionals working here.

Also, one only has to look at all of the television cameras in the back of this room today to see just how important GMIC’s role is, both for Afghanistan and for your international partners. A responsible and free media is a cornerstone of successful democracy.

When I first came to Afghanistan to serve in 2002, your country had only the beginnings of an independent media. That is clearly no longer the case.

As the independent media grew in size and confidence, it is not surprising that it took some time for a new Afghan government, emerging from decades of national turmoil, to come to grips with the legitimate role of the media in a democratic society.

I can say to you today that it is a great tribute to the Administration of President Hamid Karzai, and to the Afghan people, that your independent media is today one of the most dynamic and free medias in this entire region.

Today, clearly, the Afghan government and the media are engaged in a partnership, with the shared goal of ensuring that all Afghans have a more secure and hopeful future.

Make no mistake – government and media have separate roles to play, but gone are the days when the Afghan government viewed the media with suspicion and as part of the problem.

Gone too are the days when government officials resisted appearing on private TV and radio programs. Today, there is no part of the country closed to your media, and there are no issues your journalists are afraid to discuss. Gone are the days when the media were afraid to ask tough questions. Every week now your ministers, governors, and other top officials are conducting regular press conferences, taking in those tough questions, and trying to provide real answers. That is remarkable progress.

By any measure, this is a major success for Afghanistan, and the GMIC team has been at the heart of this success story.

Today we celebrate the second anniversary of the GMIC. We would not be here today had not representatives of the Afghan government and a collective of donors, including the governments of the United States, UK, Canada, and the Netherlands collaborated so well together to set up this important institution.

GMIC is a great model of effective coordination between the Afghan government and the international community. Through these joint efforts, the GMIC has emerged as a driving force to improve not only the flow of information to the Afghan people, but to strengthen the government’s appreciation of and respect for the legitimate role of the media in Afghan society.

As your partners, we rely on Afghanistan’s new media dynamic every day. We count on the media to provide accurate information to the Afghan people about the U.S. commitment to your country.

We rely on the media to reassure Afghans that support for your country will be an enduring one, lasting long after the end of 2014, the time when all expect that the Afghan national security forces will assume primary responsibility for the safety and security of the Afghan people.

Portions of these celebrations today will be broadcast to almost every part of Afghanistan and tomorrow by multiple TV networks and many radio stations represented here. The Afghan people are today better informed about their country and about the larger world than in any time in their history. Again, the staff here at the GMIC have played an important role to make this possible.

In closing, let me just add that the work is by no means complete. Our joint efforts, along with your government, to improve Afghan security, governance and development must be supported by effective communications at all levels.

We know from our own national experience that democracy is an evolving process. Building strong national institutions is an ongoing challenge and our joint work to improve government communications must continue. My government is proud to be one of the strong supporters of the GMIC. In the months and years ahead we hope these efforts will be expanded to further strengthen communications departments across the government and throughout the provinces as is already begun.

Based on what we have seen and heard here already today, that process is off to a great start!

Congratulations to the staff of the GMIC for the good work you have done, and for what I know you will continue to do in the months and years ahead.

Remarks by Ambassador Susan E. Rice, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, on Sudan and Haiti, at the Security Council Stakeout

Remarks by Ambassador Susan E. Rice, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, on Sudan and Haiti, at the Security Council Stakeout

U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
U.S. Mission to the United Nations

New York, NY

January 18, 2011

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ambassador Rice: Good afternoon everyone. We just completed an important session in the open chamber on Sudan. And in that session I had the opportunity to underscore the congratulations that President Obama expressed to the people of Sudan for this historic referendum that has just occurred peacefully and, by all accounts, credibly.

It was a real milestone in the history of Sudan and for the people of Sudan and we obviously, like the people of Sudan, await the process of determining the results. And we urge all to remain calm and peaceful, as they have been throughout this process, as the results are awaited. We have expressed our real concern about the violence in Abyei and the border region that unfortunately occurred during the process of the referendum. We have urged all to work, as they pledged to do, to resolve the differences that remain on Abyei and other outstanding CPA issues peacefully.

I underscored our praise not only for the people of Sudan and the Government of Southern Sudan and the Government of Sudan for what they all did to make this referendum possible, but I also underscored our personal appreciation for UNMIS and for the leadership of SRSG Menkerios, who were really instrumental in ensuring that this process occurred peacefully, credibly, and on time.

I also took the opportunity to underscore our continued concern about the increased violence in Darfur, as did many other delegations, and to stress that we look forward to a lasting and durable peace with justice for the people of Sudan—North, South, Darfur, and all together. So those were among the very important messages that came out of the Council meeting.

You’ll hear from the president of the Council subsequently a statement on behalf of the entire Council. One of the gratifying things about today’s session, as well as our previous work on Sudan, is that the Council has remained unified in its support for full and timely implementation of the CPA. We all underscored that there are outstanding issues that remain to be resolved but affirmed our commitment to work together to support their resolution.

So with that let me take a couple questions.

Reporter: I have a Haiti question. There are initial reports that “Baby Doc” Duvalier has been detained, and I was wondering if you had anything further on that. And just in general, what do you think his role, if any, should be in coming back and how the UN should deal with that.

Ambassador Rice: Neil, I have been in the Council all morning and I haven’t seen any such report, so I can’t comment on them with any specificity.

Reporter: What about his presence there?

Ambassador Rice: I think that it is clearly a tense and fragile time in Haiti, given the unresolved issues around the election, given the cholera epidemic, and it’s certainly in the interests of the people of Haiti for there to be peaceful and cooperative efforts to resolve the outstanding issues related to the elections.

Reporter: Did you see that Sudan is moving in the right direction (inaudible)

Ambassador Rice: One of the critical issues for the United States, and indeed for the entire international community, has been successful implementation of the CPA. And the successful completion of the referendum for the South is obviously a critical and historic milestone along the path to full implementation of the CPA. We welcome that, we have congratulated the CPA parties for making that possible, and above all the people of Sudan. We continue to want to ensure that the results of the referendum are fully respected, that the outstanding issues of Abyei and the many other issues related to wealth sharing, to borders, to citizenship—that you know well—among others, are also resolved urgently and through constructive negotiations among the parties. And obviously, also, as I said in the Council, and as many other countries have underscored, we remain very much concerned about the situation in Darfur. But clearly the events of the past week were very positive and an encouraging step, and we congratulate all concerned.

Reporter: Ambassador, we have now entered an election year for Secretary General. What is the US view of the Secretary General’s performance in the first term? Does it support him and is there concern on the part of the US Mission about the chairman of the House and Foreign Affairs Committee tying US dues to performance of the UN as the Republican majority takes over the House?

Ambassador Rice: On the second question, let me say that I very much look forward to working with leaders of both Houses on the important issue of our budget request, and President Obama has made clear that we’re fully committed to paying our dues in full and on time. And that remains the strong view of the Administration and we’ll be looking forward to working with Congress to ensure that that’s possible.
With respect to the Secretary General’s - the Secretary General election, which is upcoming, Bill, this will not be the forum in which I announce a US position but clearly the United States has worked very constructively and productively with this Secretary General. We have been grateful for his leadership on a number of important issues, and we continue to talk about the ways we can work together to strengthen this institution, to make it more efficient, more cost effective, and to improve its performance. Thank you.

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