THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary _____________________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release April 25, 1994 REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT IN QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION WITH THE POOL The Rose Garden 2:53 P.M. EDT Q think you'll grant MFN to China now that they've released the dissident Wang Juntao? THE PRESIDENT: Well, I'm very pleased about that. I'm very pleased about it. And it's a good step. Q Mr. President, are you satisfied with the chain of command now in Bosnia after the confusion over the weekend? And exactly what was that confusion, and did the White House contact Boutros-Ghali to try to get it straightened out? THE PRESIDENT: Let me answer the first question first. I believe that the chain of command, and more importantly the understandings, about what would or would not trigger air strikes are in proper order now. And I think what happened over the weekend, I believe, was reported essentially at the time the ultimatum took effect, there's no question that there was still some shelling going on in violation of the ultimatum. The U.N. forces on the ground there felt that there had been some command and control problems on the part of the Serbs, but they did intend to comply and they would in fact comply. And therefore they -- it was their judgment that there should be a delay even though the ultimatum was enforced to see if they were right. And that is why they delayed. There was not a big argument about what the rules were or the conditions were. All were agreed on the fact, all were agreed on the rules. They believed that the Serbs did intend to comply and had gotten strict instructions not just from their political but also from their military commander within Bosnia. And, of course, as it turned out at least to date, that seems to be the case. I think we're all together from here on in. Q So you don't this bolsters the argument of some that this is too cumbersome a chain of command, that it's too bureaucratic? THE PRESIDENT: Well, it's somewhat cumbersome -- it's a little less cumbersome than it was before -- that is, we hammered out some better procedures. But I think -- we'll continue to try to work to streamline and improve the procedures. But we're, after all, all of us trying to do something that has not before been done -- put NATO in the service of preserving the peace in Europe outside the NATO membership area for the first time ever, and to work with the United Nations, when the United Nations forces are on the ground but not combatants themselves. So this raises a whole series of delicate and not easy questions -- difficult questions. I think that things are in proper order at this time. I have no reason to believe they're not, and absolutely no reason to believe that the U.N. is anything but strongly supportive of the NATO air strike ultimatum there. I think that -- progress is being made. Q And the Serbs shouldn't take any comfort in -- THE PRESIDENT: Absolutely not. It is exactly what I said -- nothing more, nothing less. U.N. people on the ground said I believe they've had -- on their side. I believe they're going to stop. I believe they're going to withdraw. And, of course, in effect, that's what happened during the course of the day. And that's all there was. There was not a difference of policy at all. And I think we're completely together now. Q Mr. President, why won't you take a position, your administration, on the racial justice act in the House version of the crime bill? THE PRESIDENT: I think that we -- I was under the impression we had. We're going to have a position on everything in the House crime bill and some other things as well. I think we have some people -- working on a racial justice --. We think that you can absolutely have a racial justice provision that will do some good. I'm not -- I don't want to get into -- this is a complicated piece of legislation, with two competing bills. But we will have positions on all those issues, so -- I don't think it's accurate to say that we've not taken a position. Q Mr. President, why would the assault weapons ban work better separately than part of the overall crime bill? THE PRESIDENT: The administration liked it as part of the overall crime bill. We liked what the Senate did. Q Well, why -- now that it's no longer part of the crime bill? THE PRESIDENT: Because we'll make it part of -- process separately in the House, then the conferees will put into the crime bill. Q Realistically, politically, sir, what are the prospects? THE PRESIDENT: I don't know yet. We're working it. We couldn't -- because the House was unwilling to consider it together, we had to work the crime bill and get it through before we could work the assault weapons bill, because they had made a decision to vote them separately. So I can't answer your question now because we're just now getting pounced in trying to get our teeth into the effort. Q So you don't know yet whether the tide is turning on that. THE PRESIDENT: I think we're in a lot better shape than we were a week ago. But I don't know yet that'll it'll pass. I'm working on it. I think -- it certainly should pass, and in we're in better shape than we were a week ago. We'll just keep working. I feel pretty hopeful about it. If these people are heard from, it will pass. END3:02 P.M. EDT