Here are a few events and an update on tomorrow.
Remarks With Honduran Foreign Minister Mario Canahuati Before Their Meeting
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Treaty Room
Washington, DC
April 28, 2010
SECRETARY CLINTON: I want to welcome the foreign minister of Honduras here today. He’s been in Washington holding a series of meetings with a number of officials both from our government and others as well. And I’m looking forward to my conversation with him.
As I have said on numerous occasions, I think that the steps that President Lobo and his government have taken deserve our support, and we want to work with the government and the people of Honduras to get them back fully on the path of democracy, the rule of law, good governance. I had a long conversation a few weeks ago with President Lobo about his plans to try to improve the standard of living and the quality of life of the Honduran people, to deal with the drug trafficking and the crime that stalks all of Central America.
So, Minister, I appreciate your coming so that we can have an in-depth conversation about these and other issues.
FOREIGN MINISTER CANAHUATI: Thank you.
SECRETARY CLINTON: If you would like to say anything, you’re welcome to.
FOREIGN MINISTER CANAHUATI: Well, it’s a great honor to be here with you. Our relationship with the U.S. have been (inaudible) on values and respond to the needs of the people. I think this is not just an approach where we want to review our relationship as governments, but really evaluate what we’re doing for our people.
Democracy has to do with opportunities, with strong institutions, with respect of human rights. And in this moment, our president has shown his commitment on the political side to move forward with initiatives like the Truth Commission, appointing a minister of human rights, which will be his advisor in terms of making sure that this issue, which is a state issue, is being managed the right way.
And the main, important thing for him is how to respond to the needs of the people. He believes that we have to change our economy in terms of making it more inclusive. We cannot have strong democracies when people are not being – that don’t have the increase of – the spaces to have increase of opportunity and increase of income.
So those are the challenges that we have as a country, and no doubt, we’re here to combine or to share these principles with Madam Secretary and see how we can work together. We cannot improvise anymore. This is not a matter of what’s happening with the government, with the people who are governing the countries, but with the people that are suffering because of the lack of decisions and because of the lack of consciousness, that there is people suffering because we’re more in control or we’re more aware about the decision we have to make in the political level, but in terms of the decision we have to make to respond to the needs of the people.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you, sir.
FOREIGN MINISTER CANAHUATI: Thank you, Madam.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you. Thank you all very much.
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Remarks to Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs Staff Involved in Iran
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
April 28, 2010
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, first, this is really just a way of saying thank you. Thank you for the work you’re doing. It is such important work. We are incredibly grateful to you. And I am very convinced that it is vital to our national security and our foreign policy.
When we don’t have an embassy, we don’t have an ambassador, where normal diplomatic channels don’t exist for us, we do really rely on Washington and field staff to inform our policies, to try to dispel myths, but also to confirm concerns and information that can be of importance to us as we go forward.
As you well know, the Obama Administration and our country remain committed to broader engagement in the region. We made very specific offers to the Iranians, including outreach by the President himself directly to the Iranians. And unfortunately, we didn’t get much of a positive response, and that was a disappointment and it was discouraging because we wanted to try to give the leaders in Tehran a clear choice to uphold their international obligations, enjoy the benefits, therefore, of normal relations with the United States, or face increasing isolation and the consequences.
But at every turn, unfortunately, the Iranians have rejected our overtures and remain to this day in a rejectionist mindset. But the fact that we have reached out, often based on information and insights that you have brought our way, has given us much more credibility in our dealings internationally, and therefore, the ability to build an international consensus on the need to apply pressure to Iran’s leaders to change course.
As you know, we’re working very hard in the United Nations right now with the members of the Security Council and particularly the P-5+1 to develop a resolution that would help really put that international pressure into action. We’re not targeting the people of Iran, but we are trying to focus on changing the calculation on the part of the leaders as to what is in their interests.
Now, our concern with Iran extends beyond our focus on their nuclear program. As you know, it also encompasses their grave human rights violations. And over the last year, as you have reported to us, so many Iranians have been subjected to arbitrary punishments, detention, brutalization by their own government. And we will continue speaking out about those abuses. When I leave here, I will be going to meet with the mothers of the three hikers who remain in prison. They’ve been given no notice of charges against them. They are, by every shred of evidence we have, three young people who were hiking in the Kurdish north of Iraq on a break from their studies and their work, and allegedly, crossed the border and were arrested.
So we are going to do all we can to try to get them released on humanitarian grounds. I know that when the international media turns to other stories, you remain focused on getting us the information we need to try to chart the best course forward with respect to Iran.
And we really need your continuing advice and your guidance. All of us understand the challenges of your jobs, and we really, really appreciate it.
Finally, (well not really, there will be more) there is this update about tomorrow.
Secretary Clinton to Deliver Remarks to the American Jewish Committee on April 29
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
April 28, 2010
Secretary Clinton will deliver remarks on the need to reach a comprehensive regional peace in the Middle East at the American Jewish Committee’s annual gala on April 29 at 7:20 p.m. at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, D.C.
The Secretary’s speech will be her third in a series reaffirming the commitment of the United States to Israel’s security and making the case for peace. At AIPAC’s national conference on March 22, she spoke about the challenge that continuing conflict poses to Israel’s future, and how dynamics of ideology, technology and demography make the status quo unsustainable and the pursuit of peace a necessity. At the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace on April 15, she highlighted the urgency of the struggle between those in the region, especially in the Palestinian territories, who seek peace and progress and those who seek to perpetuate conflict.
Secretary Clinton will be introduced by American Jewish Committee Executive Director David Harris. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos and Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Verhagen will also participate in the event.
