62nd Assembly of UN General Assembly

Workers' Daily Internet Edition: Article Index :

Cuba Strongly Rejects Bush Speech

Iran Launches Scathing Attack on US

Bush to World: Up Is Down

Ban Ki-Moon Advocates "Stronger UN for a Better World"

Cuba Strongly Rejects Bush Speech

The Cuban delegation to the 62nd UN General Assembly session period withdrew from the plenary's hall during the speech by US President George W Bush.

This action was a sign of strong rejection to the arrogant and mediocre speech by the US president, stated a press release that circulated at the UN headquarters.

The Cuban statement makes Bush responsible for "the assassination of more than 600,000 civilians in Iraq" and authorising the torture of prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay US naval base.

It also accuses him of giving the ok to the kidnapping of people, secret flights and prisons.

"He is a criminal and does not have moral authority or credibility to judge any other country," the Cuban document says.

"Cuba condemns and rejects every letter of his infamous tirade," the press release issued by the Cuban representative to the United Nations concluded.

The Cuban delegation, headed by Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, abandoned the General Assembly when the US president attacked Cuba, Iran, Zimbabwe and Myanmar, due to what Bush called "situations of human rights in those countries".

(Source: Prensa Latina)

Al Jazeera, September 26, 2007

Iran's president has launched a blistering attack on the US and the UN Security Council, but says his country is ready for constructive talks with anyone. In his speech to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also said the issue of Iran's nuclear programme was "closed" and a matter to be handled by the UN nuclear watchdog.

Ahmadinejad accused Washington of arrogance and human rights abuses, speaking at the same spot where his American counterpart, George Bush had earlier spoken of the primacy of human rights and freedom.

Without specifically naming them by name, Ahmadinejad said Washington and its allies had been bullying Iran – who they accuse of trying to develop nuclear weapons – and pressing the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

"Fortunately, the IAEA has recently tried to regain its legal role as supporter of the rights of its members while supervising nuclear activities," Ahmadinejad said. "Today, because of the resistance of the Iranian nation, the issue is back to the agency, and I officially announce that in our opinion, the nuclear issue of Iran is now closed and has turned into an ordinary agency matter," he said.

"Of course Iran has always been and will be prepared to have constructive talks with all parties," he added. In a 40-minute speech, the Iranian leader went on to accuse Washington of human rights abuses in its "war on terror" with allusions to CIA imprisonment and interrogation programmes in foreign countries, and detention in camps such as Guantanamo Bay.

"Unfortunately human rights are being extensively violated by certain powers, especially by those who pretend to be their exclusive advocates," Ahmadinejad said. "Setting up secret prisons, abducting persons, trials and secret punishments without any regard to due process, extensive tapping of telephone conversations intercepting private mail have become commonplace and prevalent," he added. He also criticised the US-led invasion of Iraq, which he said was "occupied under the pretext of overthrowing the dictator and the existence of weapons of mass destruction".

"Unfortunately, we are witnessing the bitter truth that some powers do not value some nations or human beings and the only things that matter to them are themselves, their political parties and their groups. "In their view, human rights are tantamount to profits for their companies and their friends. The rights and dignity of the American people are also being sacrificed for the selfish desires of those holding power," he added.

US Silent

But the US delegation was not in the chamber to hear the criticism. And Bush gave no more than a passing mention to Iran in his speech earlier, even though his administration is calling for stronger sanctions against Tehran.

In fact, Bush's address was notable for what he did not say – barely a mention of Iraq either, where the US is seeking greater UN input. Like the US, the Israeli delegation did not stay to hear Ahmadinejad's speech as the Iranian president also blasted Israel as an "illegal Zionist regime".

"For more than 60 years, Palestine, as compensation for the loss they [Jews] incurred during the war in Europe, has been under occupation of the illegal Zionist regime. "The Palestinian people have been displaced or are under heavy military pressure, economic siege or are incarcerated under abhorrent conditions. "The occupiers are protected and praised, while the innocent Palestinians are subjected to political, military and propaganda onslaughts. "The people of Palestine are deprived of water, electricity and medicine for the sin of asking for freedom, and the government that was freely elected by the people is targeted," he said.

The Iranian leader also criticised the UN Security Council for being an exclusive club answerable to no one. He said members of the club were the aggressors in war – Iraq – or failed to stop aggression in war, referring to Lebanon. Warning that those in power were in the "sunset of their times", he urged them to "leave the path of arrogance and Satan, to that of God".

"This means moving to purity, honesty, justice, and respecting human dignity."

Robert Parry, Consortium News, September 25, 2007

George W. Bush – who asserts his unlimited personal authority to kill, kidnap, torture and spy on anyone of his choosing anywhere in the world – opened his annual speech to the United Nations by hailing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The US President pushed the envelope of the world's credulity even further by citing the UN's Universal Declaration of 1948 as justification for his "war on terror" and his draconian policies for eliminating "terrorists" or other threats to world order with little or no due process.

"Achieving the promise of the Declaration requires confronting long-term threats; it also requires answering the immediate needs of today", including destruction of terrorist networks and "bringing to justice their operatives", Bush said in his Sept. 25 address to the United Nations.

However, Bush's vision of his near-divine right to smite whomever he judges to be a dangerous enemy flies in the face of the actual Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Indeed, Bush must assume that no one in the American press will bother to even check what those rights entail.

If US journalists did pull up a copy of the Declaration, they would find that among its 30 proclaimed rights are these:

– "Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person."

– "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."

– "Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law."

– "No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile."

– "Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him."

– "Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence."

– "No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks."

– "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."

– "Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein."

Violated Rights

Though Bush and his "war on terror" arguably have violated many if not all these rights, he still cites the Declaration as the foundation for his international policies – and remains confident that the US press corps won't challenge him.

Bush has never backed away from his assertion that he can designate anyone he wants an "enemy combatant" and have that person either executed on sight or locked up without charges indefinitely. Nor has he recanted on his claimed authority to subject detainees to harsh interrogation that much of the world regards as torture.

The evidence is now overwhelming that some detainees in CIA custody were subjected to simulated drowning known as "waterboarding" while others were stripped naked, beaten, soaked with cold water in frigid rooms, kept blindfolded for long periods, put into painful "stress positions" or subjected to sleep deprivation.

Under Bush's orders, the CIA also has kidnapped suspected Islamists who were shipped via "extraordinary renditions" to countries that practice torture, including confining detainees in coffin-like boxes.

Contradicting the classic definition of inalienable rights – that is, the inherent right of everyone to possess certain fundamental protections under the law – Bush has flipped the concept, asserting his unilateral right to do whatever he wants to people he judges to be threats to "innocent" Americans or US allies.

"When innocent people are trapped in a life of murder and fear, the Declaration is not being upheld," Bush said.

Bush thus presents himself as the great protector of the innocents, meting out rough justice to evildoers even if that means forgetting about due process and killing a lot of innocent bystanders along the way.

For instance, the President appears oblivious to the fact that his unprovoked invasion of Iraq in 2003 touched off violence that has claimed the lives of almost 4,000 American soldiers and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, with some estimates exceeding one million.

In Bush's view, he is always in the right and his adversaries are either evil or woefully blind to the reality he sees. Bush looks at the world through his own powerful prism that turns everything upside down.

He is Bush the Beneficent, the all-wise defender of "universal rights", a man of peace and justice. He expects others to see things just as he does.

UN News Centre, September 25, 2007

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened his first annual debate of the General Assembly this morning with a call to global leaders to back his efforts to bolster the United Nations in the interests of the world.

"Our changing world needs a stronger UN," Mr. Ban declared in a wide-ranging speech. "My vision is an administration focused on results – efficient, directed, pragmatic and accountable, an administration representing excellence, integrity and pride in serving the global good."

He acknowledged the need for a fresh approach, and, borrowing from the theme of a high-level event he convened yesterday to address the problems caused by greenhouse gas emissions, said: "We need an internal climate change at the UN."

The Secretary-General, who since taking office in January has emphasized results over rhetoric, called for more attention "to getting things done". He pointed to early successes in re-organizing peacekeeping operations and pledged to "continue the effort by strengthening the Department of Political Affairs".

The stakes, he pointed out, are high. "Well-planned and executed preventive diplomacy can save many lives and forestall many tragedies."

Addressing global hotspots, the Secretary-General pledged to "leave no stone unturned to end the tragedy in Darfur," calling on the Government of Sudan to honour its pledge to join comprehensive peace talks and implement a ceasefire.

"The crisis in Darfur grew from many causes. Any enduring solution must address all of them – security, politics, resources, water, humanitarian and development issues. There, as elsewhere, we must deal with root causes of conflict, however complex and entangled."

On the Middle East, he called for an end to violence, an end to occupation, the creation of a Palestinian State at peace with itself and Israel, and a comprehensive regional peace between Israel and the Arab world. "With renewed leadership from the Arab world and the United States, coupled with the efforts of Quartet Representative Tony Blair, the elements for a renewed push for peace are being brought together," he said. The Quartet comprises the UN, European Union, Russian Federation and US.

"We also sincerely hope that the Lebanese people through national reconciliation will be able to restore political and social stability by electing their new president in accordance with their constitutional process," said Mr. Ban.

He said the UN has an important role in promoting political negotiation and national reconciliation in Iraq, as well as in providing humanitarian assistance to the country's people.

The Secretary-General also called for stepped-up efforts to deal with drug trafficking and the financing of terrorism in Afghanistan.

He repeated his call on the authorities in Myanmar "to exercise utmost restraint, to engage without delay in dialogue with all the relevant parties to the national reconciliation process on the issues of concern to the people of Myanmar".

Pointing to recent progress on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Mr. Ban, a former foreign minister of the Republic of Korea, voiced hope that the forthcoming inter-Korean Summit "will create a historic momentum, to bring peace, security, and eventually a peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula".

He voiced confidence in reaching a negotiated solution with Iran over its nuclear capabilities. "Our ultimate goal remains the complete elimination of weapons of mass destruction."

The Secretary-General also called for global action to address climate change, noting that yesterday's high-level event generated agreement on the need to move forward. "Now is the time for action," he declared.

Evaluating progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – a series of anti-poverty targets set at the UN in 2000 – he painted a mixed picture and called for efforts to help those most in need. "Our Millennium Goals remain achievable – so long as we help the poorest nations break free of the traps that ensnare them."

The Secretary-General also said the UN Human Rights Council must "live up to its responsibilities as the torchbearer for human rights consistently and equitably around the world".

Mr. Ban, who since last week has been conducting intensive diplomatic activities on key global issues and crises, offered a ringing endorsement of multilateralism. "An increasingly interdependent world recognizes that the challenges of tomorrow are best dealt with through the UN. Indeed, they can only be dealt with through the UN," he said.

Some 193 speakers are expected to participate in this year's general debate, including more than 70 heads of State and nearly 30 heads of government. The debate is scheduled to continue until 3 October.

Today's opening of the Assembly's general debate follows high-level meetings in recent days on climate change, the Darfur conflict, Iraq, Afghanistan and the situation in the Middle East, and further meetings on critical issues, such as the permanent future status of Kosovo, are scheduled to be held this week.

The Secretary-General is also expected to conduct bilateral meetings with over 100 heads of State or government or ministers during the next two weeks.