FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Friday, November 7, 2014
Department of Justice Seeks Recovery of Approximately $100,000 in Bribes Paid to Former Chad Ambassador
The Department of Justice has filed a civil forfeiture complaint made public late yesterday seeking the forfeiture of $106,488.31 in allegedly laundered funds traceable to a $2 million bribe payment made by a Canadian energy company to Chad’s former Ambassador to the United States and Canada and his wife.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Assistant Director Joseph S. Campbell of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division made the announcement.
From 2004 to 2012, Mahamoud Adam Bechir, 49, served as Chad’s Ambassador to the United States and Canada. According to the forfeiture complaint, Bechir agreed to use his position to influence the award of oil development rights in Chad in exchange for $2 million and other valuable interests from Griffiths Energy International Inc., a Canadian company. In order to conceal the bribe, Bechir and his wife, Nouracham Niam, 44, allegedly entered into a series of agreements with Griffiths Energy that provided for the payment of a $2 million “consulting fee” if the company secured the oil rights in Chad. After securing these oil rights in February 2011, Griffiths Energy allegedly transferred $2 million to an account located in Washington, D.C. held by a shell company created by Niam. In 2013, Griffiths Energy pleaded guilty in Canadian court to bribing Bechir.
The complaint further alleges that, after commingling the bribe payment with other funds and laundering these funds through U.S. bank accounts and real property, Bechir transferred $1,474,517 of the criminal proceeds traceable to the bribe payment to his account in South Africa, where he is now serving Chad’s Ambassador to South Africa. The current action seeks forfeiture of $106,488.31, which is the current balance of Bechir’s accounts in South Africa. Those funds have been seized pursuant to the complaint unsealed today. The Department of Justice is also seeking additional assets from Bechir and Niam.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI. The case is being handled by Trial Attorney Nalina Sombuntham of the Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section.
This case was brought under the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative by a team of dedicated prosecutors in the Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, working in partnership with federal law enforcement agencies to forfeit the proceeds of foreign official corruption and, where appropriate, return those proceeds to benefit the people harmed by these acts of corruption and abuse of office.
Showing posts with label CHAD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CHAD. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Saturday, September 20, 2014
U.S. CONDEMNS ATTACKS ON UN MISSION IN MALI
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Attack on MINUSMA
Press Statement
Jen Psaki
Department Spokesperson
Washington, DC
September 19, 2014
The United States strongly condemns yet another deadly attack against the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission (MINUSMA) yesterday in Mali which killed five Chadian peacekeepers and wounded three others. This is the third such attack this month alone. These continued attacks on UN peacekeepers must stop.
We express our condolences to the families of the peacekeepers killed and to the Government of Chad, and wish those wounded a full recovery. We call on all parties to cease hostilities and fully engage in the national peace and reconciliation process.
We reiterate our full support of MINUSMA and our commitment to Mali’s national reconciliation efforts including achieving a durable and comprehensive peace agreement through ongoing talks in Algiers.
Friday, April 4, 2014
SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS IN RABAT, MOROCCO
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks at Embassy Rabat Meet and Greet
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Secretary of State
Rabat, Morocco
April 3, 2014
AMBASSADOR BUSH: Good evening, everyone, and thank you for coming here to join me in welcoming Secretary Kerry to Morocco. I am honored and delighted to have this opportunity to greet the Secretary in Rabat after arriving just five days ago myself. In fact, we were both hoping to come to Morocco in the fall, and events outside of our control certainly kept us away at that time.
The U.S.-Morocco relationship is one of strategic and historical significance, dating back to the 1786 Moroccan-American Treaty of Friendship, which still is in force and effect today. The Secretary’s visit and his participation in the U.S.-Morocco Strategic Dialogue is further proof of the importance of this relationship, and it serves as another indication of the strength of ties between our countries.
Our mission in Morocco is a large one, with hundreds of Americans and local staff spread throughout the country, from the Tangier Legation located in Tangiers that still stands as a symbol of the historic ties between our two countries, to the Consulate General office in Casablanca where our colleagues fulfill our mission to aid and protect American citizens in Morocco. It expands to our robust USAID and Peace Corps programs that are aimed at promoting Moroccan economic engine development, and finally to the Embassy in Rabat, where we engage with our counterparts in the Moroccan Government on a wide array of issues of mutual interest. I am proud to be a part of the U.S. mission to Morocco and to serve and represent our country in the noble cause of strengthening the U.S.-Moroccan diplomatic partnership.
I know the Secretary is eager to meet you, to speak with you, and he’s well aware of how long you’ve stood around waiting for us. And so without any further ado, please allow me to introduce the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. (Applause.)
SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you, Dwight. Thank you, Mr. Ambassador. (Applause.) Thank you very much. Thank you. How long have you been standing around? (Laughter.) What’s the truth here now? Was it a long time? I’m really sorry. Are you kids – are you guys all right? Did you find something to do while I wasn’t here? (Laughter.) Are you all mad at me already? (Laughter.) Okay, good. Thank you very much. I appreciate that.
Well, I think I should be welcoming the ambassador here. I mean, I don’t know. (Laughter.) Five days seniority over my visit? I’m really happy that he’s here. He’s got a distinguished career in the private sector, a lot of banking initiatives, other efforts, worked for Sallie Mae and so forth, and opened his own company which gives financial advice. So if any of you need help on the side, here’s the man. (Laughter.)
AMBASSADOR BUSH: I’m out of that business.
SECRETARY KERRY: You’re out of that business now. Anyway, and I’m delighted to welcome his family here. We’ve got – Antoinette is here, and thank you very much. Antoinette Cook Bush, I think. Is that correct? And Dwight Junior and the beautiful Jacqueline who’s over here. Thank you. And they’re all on spring break, guys. They’re just here, quick and easy. I guess, no. You’re here on a sort of visiting thing for high school, right? That’s kind of cool.
So I’m happy to see them. And while I’ve been gone, the Red Sox went to the White House, and I’m really angry that I wasn’t there. (Laughter.) It’s, like, painful for me. And I read the Boston Globe story of all these politician friends of mine who were all over there at the White House having a good time. And it was really funny because Republicans and Democrats alike were fawning over every Red Sox player. So Senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire and Senator Shaheen were there. It was the most bipartisan moment in Washington in recent memory.
And it’s my understanding you guys have a raging softball season? Is that true? And we have – let me see now, we’ve got Swat. Any Swat people here? (Cheers.) And we’ve got Barbarians? Is that true? Are there Barbarians here? I mean of a different kind. (Laughter.) And then there’s the Nomads, right? Which I particularly find appealing. And why is there only one or two people from each of these teams here? (Laughter.) I don’t know. Anyway – well, good luck to you all. May you not destroy each other on the field.
It’s really a pleasure for me to be in this very historic mission. The ambassador, in his comments, talked about the long, long history we’ve had here. And obviously, our history goes way back here for security reasons, ironically. That’s what brought us to this part of the world. Just today, earlier, I was in Algeria, where they showed me and gave me, actually, a copy of the treaty of 1795, which was our Treaty of Amity and Friendship with Algeria, which is part of the same sort of process that brought us here.
And we have a very close relationship with the Kingdom of Morocco. I met with His Majesty the King when he came to Washington recently. We had a very good discussion, interesting discussion. The foreign minister has become a good acquaintance, friend, through the international organizations and meeting that we’d wind up attending together. And all in all, we are really hoping that we can take an already strong relationship and make it even stronger.
It’s very important for us to build our security relationship here, and that’s because of what’s happening in the region. In Mali, in Chad, you run around the region – obviously Libya, Tunisia, all the way over to the other side of North Africa – Egypt, et cetera. We really need the countries that have the capacity to be stable to expand the rights that people are enjoying, to put in place the political and economic and civil society kinds of reforms that strengthen them for the long run, and also to provide economic opportunity. We’re living in a global marketplace, a global world. And so our jobs are their jobs, their jobs are our jobs, our companies, their companies; it’s all melded now. And we need to understand that there are some people fighting fiercely against modernity, against globalization, who don’t really have a philosophy that they want people to hang their hat on, but who have an ideology which is pretty extreme that suggests you’ve got to do what they say, live the way they want to live, and that’s all there is to it. And if they don’t, they may take your life, as you know. It’s violent. It’s disruptive. It has no rule of law. And it is contrary to all the values of individual choice, freedom, and of the values of collective rule of law which has really governed the world since the post-World War II period, which we have now seen suddenly disrupted with events with Russia and Ukraine.
So a lot is at stake. And what you all are doing here is connected to everything that we’re doing in every other part of the world. It’s very important work. And I want to thank you for it on behalf of President Obama and myself. We are very proud of the work that you do. I think there about 143 families out here. There some 400-plus people who are working here, a bunch of local folks. Local employees, would you mind raising your hands, those of you who are local? Look at you all. Thank you. We can’t do this without you, and everybody is very grateful for what you do. Thank you. (Applause.) I know sometimes you wind up getting the burden of our mistakes, or if people don’t like something we’ve said or done you hear about it, so we’re really grateful to you.
And for everybody else, Foreign Service officers and Civil Service, political appointees, temporary duty, agencies who are sharing the roof of the Embassy and working together, I just want to wish you all well as you go forward in these duties. I want to thank you on behalf of your country, the President. I was with him in Italy the other day. He talked to the Embassy folks there and told them how proud he is not just of them but of everybody in the diplomatic service who carries the values and the interests of our country every single day in everything that you do.
So I ask you to go forward remembering that I will have your back in everything you do. I promise you that. We have an amazingly hardworking crew back in Washington, from Pat Kennedy and the Deputy Secretary Bill Burns and everybody who are watching out for security issues on a daily basis, and all of your interests.
And by the way, I have really good news. I’m here to tell you that the pay freeze that was in place has been lifted and you’re all going to get a little bit of a pay raise, and I hope you’re happy about that. (Cheers and applause.) The only negative part of that is I said a little bit of a pay raise. (Laughter.) I wish it was gigantic, but that’s not the world we’re living in now.
So I want to know – this is really important – how long have you been here, and how do you like it? Can you come here? Come here and tell me something. Come on. Do you mind if I put you on the microphone? You can share a thought with everybody, because I’m always interested in this. How old are you?
PARTICIPANT: I’m nine.
SECRETARY KERRY: Nine years old. And how long have you been here?
PARTICIPANT: About half.
SECRETARY KERRY: Half a year. Are you learning some language?
PARTICIPANT: Yeah.
SECRETARY KERRY: What are you learning?
PARTICIPANT: French.
SECRETARY KERRY: And how’s your French? Pretty good?
PARTICIPANT: No.
SECRETARY KERRY: No. Okay. (Laughter.) All right. You get the honesty award. (Laughter.) Anybody else got something to tell me about what they’re doing which is fun?
Come on up here. Come on up. What’s your name?
PARTICIPANT: Max.
SECRETARY KERRY: Mac?
PARTICIPANT: Max.
SECRETARY KERRY: Okay. And how old are you?
PARTICIPANT: Seven.
SECRETARY KERRY: Seven years old. Okay. And are you learning some language?
PARTICIPANT: French.
SECRETARY KERRY: Okay. That’s cool. Can you say something in French?
PARTICIPANT: Bonjour
.
SECRETARY KERRY: Okay. (Laughter and applause.) Great job. That’s so good.
Okay, you’ve something to tell me? Come on up here. All right. What’s your name?
PARTICIPANT: Jack.
SECRETARY KERRY: And Jack, how old are you?
PARTICIPANT: Seven.
SECRETARY KERRY: That’s cool. You’re both seven. That’s wild. Are you at school here?
PARTICIPANT: Yes.
SECRETARY KERRY: What school do you go to?
PARTICIPANT: RES
.
SECRETARY KERRY: Okay. Is that –
PARTICIPANT: It’s an American --
SECRETARY KERRY: Oh, okay. That’s the American school.
PARTICIPANT: (Off-mike.)
SECRETARY KERRY: Are you? Okay. And what – are you learning a language?
PARTICIPANT: Yes.
SECRETARY KERRY: What are you learning?
PARTICIPANT: French.
SECRETARY KERRY: Also French. What are you going to do with that? Speak it, right?
PARTICIPANT: Yeah. (Laughter.)
SECRETARY KERRY: Say something to everybody.
PARTICIPANT: In French?
SECRETARY KERRY: Yeah.
PARTICIPANT: Ca va?
SECRETARY KERRY: Ah, right. Yeah. (Laughter and applause.)
All right. Wow, you guys are great. Anybody studying a language other than French? Come on up here, Lauren. Come on, don’t be bashful. Come on. I won’t embarrass you, I promise you. But I’m going to – how old are you?
PARTICIPANT: Eleven.
SECRETARY KERRY: I was eleven when I went abroad with my dad in the Foreign Service, and I was 11 years old, and I learned a little bit of German, Italian. They sent me to school to learn – what did they send me to school to learn? They sent me to school to learn German, and they wound up having so many Italians there, if I wanted to eat or do anything I had to learn Italian. And then I promptly forgot it pretty soon afterwards. But I knew enough to swear at people and do other things. (Laughter.) So how are you doing?
PARTICIPANT: Good.
SECRETARY KERRY: Is it fun?
PARTICIPANT: Yeah.
SECRETARY KERRY: What language are you learning?
PARTICIPANT: French.
SECRETARY KERRY: I thought you were learning another language. (Laughter.) I thought you were learning a different language. You’re learning another one, too? Any other languages? Is that it?
PARTICIPANT: Yeah.
SECRETARY KERRY: What? What’s the other?
PARTICIPANT: The other is Bulgarian.
SECRETARY KERRY: No kidding. That’s fantastic. Can you say something in Bulgarian for everybody that we won’t understand? (Laughter.)
PARTICIPANT: Zdrasti.
SECRETARY KERRY: What’s that?
PARTICIPANT: Zdrasti.
SECRETARY KERRY: Zdrasti. Is that “hello”?
PARTICIPANT: Yeah.
SECRETARY KERRY: Yeah, I thought so. (Laughter.) Ah, you did understand it. Okay. Thank you. You guys are heroes. Thank you all very, very much. (Applause.)
So I want to have a chance just to say hi to everybody, and again, a profound thank you to all of you for your service. It’s great. Appreciate it.
The U.S.-Morocco relationship is one of strategic and historical significance, dating back to the 1786 Moroccan-American Treaty of Friendship, which still is in force and effect today. The Secretary’s visit and his participation in the U.S.-Morocco Strategic Dialogue is further proof of the importance of this relationship, and it serves as another indication of the strength of ties between our countries.
Our mission in Morocco is a large one, with hundreds of Americans and local staff spread throughout the country, from the Tangier Legation located in Tangiers that still stands as a symbol of the historic ties between our two countries, to the Consulate General office in Casablanca where our colleagues fulfill our mission to aid and protect American citizens in Morocco. It expands to our robust USAID and Peace Corps programs that are aimed at promoting Moroccan economic engine development, and finally to the Embassy in Rabat, where we engage with our counterparts in the Moroccan Government on a wide array of issues of mutual interest. I am proud to be a part of the U.S. mission to Morocco and to serve and represent our country in the noble cause of strengthening the U.S.-Moroccan diplomatic partnership.
I know the Secretary is eager to meet you, to speak with you, and he’s well aware of how long you’ve stood around waiting for us. And so without any further ado, please allow me to introduce the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. (Applause.)
SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you, Dwight. Thank you, Mr. Ambassador. (Applause.) Thank you very much. Thank you. How long have you been standing around? (Laughter.) What’s the truth here now? Was it a long time? I’m really sorry. Are you kids – are you guys all right? Did you find something to do while I wasn’t here? (Laughter.) Are you all mad at me already? (Laughter.) Okay, good. Thank you very much. I appreciate that.
Well, I think I should be welcoming the ambassador here. I mean, I don’t know. (Laughter.) Five days seniority over my visit? I’m really happy that he’s here. He’s got a distinguished career in the private sector, a lot of banking initiatives, other efforts, worked for Sallie Mae and so forth, and opened his own company which gives financial advice. So if any of you need help on the side, here’s the man. (Laughter.)
AMBASSADOR BUSH: I’m out of that business.
SECRETARY KERRY: You’re out of that business now. Anyway, and I’m delighted to welcome his family here. We’ve got – Antoinette is here, and thank you very much. Antoinette Cook Bush, I think. Is that correct? And Dwight Junior and the beautiful Jacqueline who’s over here. Thank you. And they’re all on spring break, guys. They’re just here, quick and easy. I guess, no. You’re here on a sort of visiting thing for high school, right? That’s kind of cool.
So I’m happy to see them. And while I’ve been gone, the Red Sox went to the White House, and I’m really angry that I wasn’t there. (Laughter.) It’s, like, painful for me. And I read the Boston Globe story of all these politician friends of mine who were all over there at the White House having a good time. And it was really funny because Republicans and Democrats alike were fawning over every Red Sox player. So Senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire and Senator Shaheen were there. It was the most bipartisan moment in Washington in recent memory.
And it’s my understanding you guys have a raging softball season? Is that true? And we have – let me see now, we’ve got Swat. Any Swat people here? (Cheers.) And we’ve got Barbarians? Is that true? Are there Barbarians here? I mean of a different kind. (Laughter.) And then there’s the Nomads, right? Which I particularly find appealing. And why is there only one or two people from each of these teams here? (Laughter.) I don’t know. Anyway – well, good luck to you all. May you not destroy each other on the field.
It’s really a pleasure for me to be in this very historic mission. The ambassador, in his comments, talked about the long, long history we’ve had here. And obviously, our history goes way back here for security reasons, ironically. That’s what brought us to this part of the world. Just today, earlier, I was in Algeria, where they showed me and gave me, actually, a copy of the treaty of 1795, which was our Treaty of Amity and Friendship with Algeria, which is part of the same sort of process that brought us here.
And we have a very close relationship with the Kingdom of Morocco. I met with His Majesty the King when he came to Washington recently. We had a very good discussion, interesting discussion. The foreign minister has become a good acquaintance, friend, through the international organizations and meeting that we’d wind up attending together. And all in all, we are really hoping that we can take an already strong relationship and make it even stronger.
It’s very important for us to build our security relationship here, and that’s because of what’s happening in the region. In Mali, in Chad, you run around the region – obviously Libya, Tunisia, all the way over to the other side of North Africa – Egypt, et cetera. We really need the countries that have the capacity to be stable to expand the rights that people are enjoying, to put in place the political and economic and civil society kinds of reforms that strengthen them for the long run, and also to provide economic opportunity. We’re living in a global marketplace, a global world. And so our jobs are their jobs, their jobs are our jobs, our companies, their companies; it’s all melded now. And we need to understand that there are some people fighting fiercely against modernity, against globalization, who don’t really have a philosophy that they want people to hang their hat on, but who have an ideology which is pretty extreme that suggests you’ve got to do what they say, live the way they want to live, and that’s all there is to it. And if they don’t, they may take your life, as you know. It’s violent. It’s disruptive. It has no rule of law. And it is contrary to all the values of individual choice, freedom, and of the values of collective rule of law which has really governed the world since the post-World War II period, which we have now seen suddenly disrupted with events with Russia and Ukraine.
So a lot is at stake. And what you all are doing here is connected to everything that we’re doing in every other part of the world. It’s very important work. And I want to thank you for it on behalf of President Obama and myself. We are very proud of the work that you do. I think there about 143 families out here. There some 400-plus people who are working here, a bunch of local folks. Local employees, would you mind raising your hands, those of you who are local? Look at you all. Thank you. We can’t do this without you, and everybody is very grateful for what you do. Thank you. (Applause.) I know sometimes you wind up getting the burden of our mistakes, or if people don’t like something we’ve said or done you hear about it, so we’re really grateful to you.
And for everybody else, Foreign Service officers and Civil Service, political appointees, temporary duty, agencies who are sharing the roof of the Embassy and working together, I just want to wish you all well as you go forward in these duties. I want to thank you on behalf of your country, the President. I was with him in Italy the other day. He talked to the Embassy folks there and told them how proud he is not just of them but of everybody in the diplomatic service who carries the values and the interests of our country every single day in everything that you do.
So I ask you to go forward remembering that I will have your back in everything you do. I promise you that. We have an amazingly hardworking crew back in Washington, from Pat Kennedy and the Deputy Secretary Bill Burns and everybody who are watching out for security issues on a daily basis, and all of your interests.
And by the way, I have really good news. I’m here to tell you that the pay freeze that was in place has been lifted and you’re all going to get a little bit of a pay raise, and I hope you’re happy about that. (Cheers and applause.) The only negative part of that is I said a little bit of a pay raise. (Laughter.) I wish it was gigantic, but that’s not the world we’re living in now.
So I want to know – this is really important – how long have you been here, and how do you like it? Can you come here? Come here and tell me something. Come on. Do you mind if I put you on the microphone? You can share a thought with everybody, because I’m always interested in this. How old are you?
PARTICIPANT: I’m nine.
SECRETARY KERRY: Nine years old. And how long have you been here?
PARTICIPANT: About half.
SECRETARY KERRY: Half a year. Are you learning some language?
PARTICIPANT: Yeah.
SECRETARY KERRY: What are you learning?
PARTICIPANT: French.
SECRETARY KERRY: And how’s your French? Pretty good?
PARTICIPANT: No.
SECRETARY KERRY: No. Okay. (Laughter.) All right. You get the honesty award. (Laughter.) Anybody else got something to tell me about what they’re doing which is fun?
Come on up here. Come on up. What’s your name?
PARTICIPANT: Max.
SECRETARY KERRY: Mac?
PARTICIPANT: Max.
SECRETARY KERRY: Okay. And how old are you?
PARTICIPANT: Seven.
SECRETARY KERRY: Seven years old. Okay. And are you learning some language?
PARTICIPANT: French.
SECRETARY KERRY: Okay. That’s cool. Can you say something in French?
PARTICIPANT: Bonjour
.
SECRETARY KERRY: Okay. (Laughter and applause.) Great job. That’s so good.
Okay, you’ve something to tell me? Come on up here. All right. What’s your name?
PARTICIPANT: Jack.
SECRETARY KERRY: And Jack, how old are you?
PARTICIPANT: Seven.
SECRETARY KERRY: That’s cool. You’re both seven. That’s wild. Are you at school here?
PARTICIPANT: Yes.
SECRETARY KERRY: What school do you go to?
PARTICIPANT: RES
.
SECRETARY KERRY: Okay. Is that –
PARTICIPANT: It’s an American --
SECRETARY KERRY: Oh, okay. That’s the American school.
PARTICIPANT: (Off-mike.)
SECRETARY KERRY: Are you? Okay. And what – are you learning a language?
PARTICIPANT: Yes.
SECRETARY KERRY: What are you learning?
PARTICIPANT: French.
SECRETARY KERRY: Also French. What are you going to do with that? Speak it, right?
PARTICIPANT: Yeah. (Laughter.)
SECRETARY KERRY: Say something to everybody.
PARTICIPANT: In French?
SECRETARY KERRY: Yeah.
PARTICIPANT: Ca va?
SECRETARY KERRY: Ah, right. Yeah. (Laughter and applause.)
All right. Wow, you guys are great. Anybody studying a language other than French? Come on up here, Lauren. Come on, don’t be bashful. Come on. I won’t embarrass you, I promise you. But I’m going to – how old are you?
PARTICIPANT: Eleven.
SECRETARY KERRY: I was eleven when I went abroad with my dad in the Foreign Service, and I was 11 years old, and I learned a little bit of German, Italian. They sent me to school to learn – what did they send me to school to learn? They sent me to school to learn German, and they wound up having so many Italians there, if I wanted to eat or do anything I had to learn Italian. And then I promptly forgot it pretty soon afterwards. But I knew enough to swear at people and do other things. (Laughter.) So how are you doing?
PARTICIPANT: Good.
SECRETARY KERRY: Is it fun?
PARTICIPANT: Yeah.
SECRETARY KERRY: What language are you learning?
PARTICIPANT: French.
SECRETARY KERRY: I thought you were learning another language. (Laughter.) I thought you were learning a different language. You’re learning another one, too? Any other languages? Is that it?
PARTICIPANT: Yeah.
SECRETARY KERRY: What? What’s the other?
PARTICIPANT: The other is Bulgarian.
SECRETARY KERRY: No kidding. That’s fantastic. Can you say something in Bulgarian for everybody that we won’t understand? (Laughter.)
PARTICIPANT: Zdrasti.
SECRETARY KERRY: What’s that?
PARTICIPANT: Zdrasti.
SECRETARY KERRY: Zdrasti. Is that “hello”?
PARTICIPANT: Yeah.
SECRETARY KERRY: Yeah, I thought so. (Laughter.) Ah, you did understand it. Okay. Thank you. You guys are heroes. Thank you all very, very much. (Applause.)
So I want to have a chance just to say hi to everybody, and again, a profound thank you to all of you for your service. It’s great. Appreciate it.
Thursday, April 3, 2014
SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS AT EMBASSY IN ALGIERS, ALGERIA
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks at Embassy Algiers Meet and Greet
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Secretary of State
Algiers, Algeria
April 3, 2014
AMBASSADOR ENSHER: Ladies and gentlemen – (applause) – thank you. I’ll just introduce the Secretary of State and let him say as he wishes, so – sir, you’ve been introduced. You may – do you want to speak from here there?
SECRETARY KERRY: Oh, thank you very much. Look what I got. I love it. (Laughter.) What’s her name, what’s her name? Who?
PARTICIPANT: Anna-Lisa (ph).
SECRETARY KERRY: Anna-Lisa (ph), thank you. Anna-Lisa (ph). Thank you very much.
PARTICIPANT: You’re welcome.
SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you. Can I give you that to hold?
Well, Wishrakum. I’m happy to be here with all of you. (In French.) I am really sorry that we got delayed. I had a phone call, and it was one of those calls where you can’t get the other person to realize the call’s over. Anyway, I am really happy to see you all. Thank you very, very much for this. I’m very grateful to our ambassador, Henry Ensher, and what a terrific job he does. Twenty-seven years in the service, and he’s still going at it and he brings enormous expertise to this challenge. Mr. Ambassador, we’re very grateful to you. Thank you for all that you do.
AMBASSADOR ENSHER: Team projects, sir.
SECRETARY KERRY: Team what?
AMBASSADOR ENSHER: Team projects, sir.
SECRETARY KERRY: Team projects. All right, well we believe in that.
Listen, let me just – I’m very late and I do apologize for that to all of you, and thank you for waiting patiently so I could have a chance to not just say hello, but most importantly have a chance to be able to say thank you to every single one of you.
We are deeply grateful. How many of you are local employees? Raise your hands. Well, look at that. Wow. I think we have – thank you – (applause). We – there is no way for us to be able to do our job unless you are here to help us, every single one of you. (In French). How many of you are speaking French still? No? Nobody? A couple? (Laughter.) I know it’s going out of vogue.
But I really thank you because you take on a very difficult task of helping another country to represent itself in your country, so sometimes the things that people think about us fall on you. And we appreciate very much your willingness to be part of our efforts.
Also, I obviously want to thank all of the Foreign Service officers, Civil Service, various agencies who are working here in a team effort within the Department, within the Embassy. And I thank the TDY-ers and political appointees and everybody who make up this incredible team that helps us to represent our interests in another country, but also importantly helps us connect to the interests of that country so we’re doing also what is important to the nation that we’re in.
In Algeria, you all are representing really one of the most fascinating and important countries in all of Africa – not just North Africa, but a country that has resources, a civil society, intelligent, experienced people, people who fought for their freedom, people who understand what independence means, people who are deeply committed to counterterrorism and to stability. This is a very important place.
And we are trying in this visit to help build a number of different things. First, try to build our security relationship so that we can do more with Algeria in the field of stability, counterterrorism. We have Mali, Niger, Chad, the issues, obviously, out west in Sahara, the challenge of al-Qaida. There’s an enormous amount on the table, and of course Libya, Tunisia, all of this is critical to us – the Sahel, the Maghreb, moving on into the Levant – there’s just an enormous amount of turmoil and change, transition. And we want that to turn out in a way that provides for the stability of the region and for the ability of people here to live the lives the way they’d like to live them.
Part of doing that is the second part of what we’re talking about here, and that’s the economic and development side. We got to create jobs for unbelievable numbers of young people. And those young people need to find a future in education, in jobs, in opportunity, or it’s hard to build stability.
And the final piece of it is the people-to-people programs that are part of all of that. You have the Let’s Chat program here, and you’re trying to help people be able to learn how – you’re in the Let’s Chat program. There she is, all right. But the point is, as people gain language skills, they gain employability, they gain an ability to enlarge their income and their lives.
And speaking of income, I am proud to come here and tell you today that the pay freeze has ended. You’re going to get your pay raise as of now. That’s starting, all right? (Applause.) There you go. Most important news I could have delivered. (Laughter.) Anyway, I’m really happy to be able to share that with you.
Bottom line is this – you’ve all been standing around a long time, I don’t want to give a long speech – there are about, I think, 100 and some of you here who – or 95 or so or who’ve come – 65, I guess, it is – who’ve come from other – from America and they’re over here. And then a large Embassy, 400 and some people when you add everybody who’s working locally. But you’re all a team. Every single one of you is an ambassador. Everything you do, whether it’s a telephone call or an interview in the consular division or outreach when we got to an event, you’re the face of America. And you’re helping us to reach people and to try to make sure we address the very values that brought you to this kind of service in the first place.
So I really thank you. President Obama is proud of our diplomatic corps. He mentioned it in his last State of the Union. All the people who don’t wear uniforms but are on the front lines, a lot of you make sacrifices to be here, and I just want you to know that as long as I’m Secretary of State I will have your back, and I know I can count on you to cover our back, too.
Thank you all, and God bless. Thank you. (Applause.)
SECRETARY KERRY: Oh, thank you very much. Look what I got. I love it. (Laughter.) What’s her name, what’s her name? Who?
PARTICIPANT: Anna-Lisa (ph).
SECRETARY KERRY: Anna-Lisa (ph), thank you. Anna-Lisa (ph). Thank you very much.
PARTICIPANT: You’re welcome.
SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you. Can I give you that to hold?
Well, Wishrakum. I’m happy to be here with all of you. (In French.) I am really sorry that we got delayed. I had a phone call, and it was one of those calls where you can’t get the other person to realize the call’s over. Anyway, I am really happy to see you all. Thank you very, very much for this. I’m very grateful to our ambassador, Henry Ensher, and what a terrific job he does. Twenty-seven years in the service, and he’s still going at it and he brings enormous expertise to this challenge. Mr. Ambassador, we’re very grateful to you. Thank you for all that you do.
AMBASSADOR ENSHER: Team projects, sir.
SECRETARY KERRY: Team what?
AMBASSADOR ENSHER: Team projects, sir.
SECRETARY KERRY: Team projects. All right, well we believe in that.
Listen, let me just – I’m very late and I do apologize for that to all of you, and thank you for waiting patiently so I could have a chance to not just say hello, but most importantly have a chance to be able to say thank you to every single one of you.
We are deeply grateful. How many of you are local employees? Raise your hands. Well, look at that. Wow. I think we have – thank you – (applause). We – there is no way for us to be able to do our job unless you are here to help us, every single one of you. (In French). How many of you are speaking French still? No? Nobody? A couple? (Laughter.) I know it’s going out of vogue.
But I really thank you because you take on a very difficult task of helping another country to represent itself in your country, so sometimes the things that people think about us fall on you. And we appreciate very much your willingness to be part of our efforts.
Also, I obviously want to thank all of the Foreign Service officers, Civil Service, various agencies who are working here in a team effort within the Department, within the Embassy. And I thank the TDY-ers and political appointees and everybody who make up this incredible team that helps us to represent our interests in another country, but also importantly helps us connect to the interests of that country so we’re doing also what is important to the nation that we’re in.
In Algeria, you all are representing really one of the most fascinating and important countries in all of Africa – not just North Africa, but a country that has resources, a civil society, intelligent, experienced people, people who fought for their freedom, people who understand what independence means, people who are deeply committed to counterterrorism and to stability. This is a very important place.
And we are trying in this visit to help build a number of different things. First, try to build our security relationship so that we can do more with Algeria in the field of stability, counterterrorism. We have Mali, Niger, Chad, the issues, obviously, out west in Sahara, the challenge of al-Qaida. There’s an enormous amount on the table, and of course Libya, Tunisia, all of this is critical to us – the Sahel, the Maghreb, moving on into the Levant – there’s just an enormous amount of turmoil and change, transition. And we want that to turn out in a way that provides for the stability of the region and for the ability of people here to live the lives the way they’d like to live them.
Part of doing that is the second part of what we’re talking about here, and that’s the economic and development side. We got to create jobs for unbelievable numbers of young people. And those young people need to find a future in education, in jobs, in opportunity, or it’s hard to build stability.
And the final piece of it is the people-to-people programs that are part of all of that. You have the Let’s Chat program here, and you’re trying to help people be able to learn how – you’re in the Let’s Chat program. There she is, all right. But the point is, as people gain language skills, they gain employability, they gain an ability to enlarge their income and their lives.
And speaking of income, I am proud to come here and tell you today that the pay freeze has ended. You’re going to get your pay raise as of now. That’s starting, all right? (Applause.) There you go. Most important news I could have delivered. (Laughter.) Anyway, I’m really happy to be able to share that with you.
Bottom line is this – you’ve all been standing around a long time, I don’t want to give a long speech – there are about, I think, 100 and some of you here who – or 95 or so or who’ve come – 65, I guess, it is – who’ve come from other – from America and they’re over here. And then a large Embassy, 400 and some people when you add everybody who’s working locally. But you’re all a team. Every single one of you is an ambassador. Everything you do, whether it’s a telephone call or an interview in the consular division or outreach when we got to an event, you’re the face of America. And you’re helping us to reach people and to try to make sure we address the very values that brought you to this kind of service in the first place.
So I really thank you. President Obama is proud of our diplomatic corps. He mentioned it in his last State of the Union. All the people who don’t wear uniforms but are on the front lines, a lot of you make sacrifices to be here, and I just want you to know that as long as I’m Secretary of State I will have your back, and I know I can count on you to cover our back, too.
Thank you all, and God bless. Thank you. (Applause.)
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL'S COMMENTS ON TEN YEARS OF WAR IN DARFUR
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Ten Years of War in Darfur
Press Statement
Patrick Ventrell
Acting Deputy Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
February 26, 2013
The United States is deeply concerned that, ten years after the outbreak of war in Darfur, the Darfuri people continue to suffer from increased insecurity, human rights abuses, and sexual violence. Brutal conflict among Sudanese Government forces, rebels, and militias, and continued aerial bombardments and indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas by the Sudanese Armed Forces, in violation of UN Security Council Resolutions, have led to the deaths of nearly 300,000 people, the vast majority unarmed civilians. Over two million Darfuris remain internally displaced and as refugees in neighboring countries. Reversing the cycle of violence and impunity requires accountability for the perpetrators.
The United States strongly supports international efforts to bring peace, security, and humanitarian relief to the people of Darfur. We unequivocally support UNAMID, the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur, and demand immediate, unimpeded access for peacekeepers and humanitarians throughout Darfur. Over the past decade the United States has provided over $7.5 billion in funding for humanitarian, transition, and peacekeeping assistance for vulnerable populations in Darfur and eastern Chad.
An effective and inclusive political process is urgently needed to avoid another decade of war and to address the crisis of governance that fuels Sudan’s civil wars. We call on the Sudanese Government and all rebel groups to engage without preconditions in such a process, using the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur as a basis to achieve a peaceful resolution to the conflict. The United States remains a committed partner to the people of Darfur, and to all those working for the more peaceful, stable, and prosperous future they deserve.
Ten Years of War in Darfur
Press Statement
Patrick Ventrell
Acting Deputy Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
February 26, 2013
The United States is deeply concerned that, ten years after the outbreak of war in Darfur, the Darfuri people continue to suffer from increased insecurity, human rights abuses, and sexual violence. Brutal conflict among Sudanese Government forces, rebels, and militias, and continued aerial bombardments and indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas by the Sudanese Armed Forces, in violation of UN Security Council Resolutions, have led to the deaths of nearly 300,000 people, the vast majority unarmed civilians. Over two million Darfuris remain internally displaced and as refugees in neighboring countries. Reversing the cycle of violence and impunity requires accountability for the perpetrators.
The United States strongly supports international efforts to bring peace, security, and humanitarian relief to the people of Darfur. We unequivocally support UNAMID, the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur, and demand immediate, unimpeded access for peacekeepers and humanitarians throughout Darfur. Over the past decade the United States has provided over $7.5 billion in funding for humanitarian, transition, and peacekeeping assistance for vulnerable populations in Darfur and eastern Chad.
An effective and inclusive political process is urgently needed to avoid another decade of war and to address the crisis of governance that fuels Sudan’s civil wars. We call on the Sudanese Government and all rebel groups to engage without preconditions in such a process, using the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur as a basis to achieve a peaceful resolution to the conflict. The United States remains a committed partner to the people of Darfur, and to all those working for the more peaceful, stable, and prosperous future they deserve.
Friday, March 30, 2012
U.S. TO SEND $200 MILLION IN HUMANITARIAN AID TO SAHEL REGION OF AFRICA
The following excerpt is from a U.S. State Department e-mail:
Humanitarian Assistance to Sahel Region
Press Statement Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State Washington, DC
March 29, 2012
The United States is deeply concerned about the humanitarian emergency in the Sahel region of Africa. Around 10 million people are in need of emergency assistance due to erratic rainfall, failed harvests, high food prices and conflict across the region that includes Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger. In response to current needs, including protection and assistance for refugees, and to prevent a potentially much more serious situation, I am pleased to announce that the United States is providing an additional $120 million in emergency assistance. With these funds, the U.S. Government is providing nearly $200 million this fiscal year in humanitarian assistance to the Sahel region.
We are currently providing targeted humanitarian assistance that addresses acute malnutrition and hunger and builds resilience, and we are also focused on long-term approaches to establish lasting food security. We are making highly nutritious therapeutic food available for malnourished children. In addition to providing life-saving food, we are working to help vulnerable families and communities buy locally-available food and services, while developing small-scale projects and infrastructure that can help build the resilience necessary to withstand future drought.
In partnership with other donors, we have taken early action in response to early warnings. We are targeting specific pockets of great need while working toward sustainable, longer term development. Together, we are saving lives, mitigating impact, and building resilience.
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