Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, October 23, 1995 TAG: 9510240019
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: UNITED NATIONS LENGTH: Long
But he was immediately challenged by Cuban President Fidel Castro and other speakers from poorer countries, who instead emphasized Third World demands for greater power in U.N. affairs.
Russian President Boris Yeltsin, who initially had tied his fortunes closely to friendship with the United States, objected strongly to U.S. policy initiatives on Bosnia and European security. Yeltsin said bluntly that his government does not like U.S. efforts to give NATO responsibility for policing a hoped-for peace agreement in Bosnia or to extend NATO membership to East European countries near Russia.
These discordant notes at an event described by U.N. officials as ``the largest gathering of presidents and prime ministers in one room in the history of the world'' were a clear sign that the end of the Cold War has not meant an end to the tensions between the developing and industrial worlds, or between the democracies and some former communist states.
As the speakers seated in the cavernous chamber of the General Assembly followed each other to the black marble rostrum, the insistent thread running through their rhetoric was concern about the financial crisis and sense of drift affecting the United Nations. Many of the 54 leaders who spoke at Sunday's opening round of the three-day session implied unmistakably that they believe much of the blame rests with the United States, the richest and most powerful U.N. member.
There were moments of levity, notably when they all gathered for a ``class portrait,'' with the photographer perched on a high scaffold barking orders to ``Take one step forward,'' ``Take your name tags off and put them in your pockets'' and ``Smile pretty like the ladies.''
There also were times when the clock seemed to turn backward to memorable moments in U.N. history. There was Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat - who 21 years ago brandished a gun in this chamber to dramatize the Palestinian struggle for a homeland - talking Sunday of how the PLO's peace accord with Israel had caused him to return ``with the olive branch hoisted over the peace of the brave.''
There was South Africa's President Nelson Mandela, reminiscing about his people's struggle against apartheid. And there was Castro, who came here 35 years ago to flamboyantly thumb his nose at U.S. efforts to undermine Cuban communism.
Despite continuing U.S. efforts to isolate Castro as a pariah, participants from Third World countries gave the Cuban leader the day's loudest and most sustained applause when he charged that the existing U.N. structure is designed to ``exalt a new colonialism'' by the major industrial powers. He called for breaking the big-power hold over the Security Council, the most powerful U.N. body, by giving permanent seats and thus veto power to representatives of the poor countries of Latin America, Africa and Asia.
Yeltsin, who will meet with Clinton today at Hyde Park, N.Y., criticized the U.S.-led peace talks in the Bosnian civil war for putting the Security Council ``on the side track of events ... in obvious violation of the foundations of the world organization.'' He said Russia would contribute troops to a multinational force following a Bosnian accord ``only under a strict mandate of the U.N. Security Council.'' Although he did not specify what such a mandate should include, his remarks hinted that Russia will resist the U.S. idea of having NATO replace the United Nations as the principal international organization operating in Bosnia.
In a further sign that the post-Cold War friendship between Washington and Moscow is undergoing serious strain, Yeltsin reiterated Russia's unyielding opposition to extending NATO membership to eastern European countries. Asserting that a European security structure should exclude no nation, he said: ``This is precisely the reason why we are against NATO's eastward expansion. It will put a barrier on the way to establishing a unified Europe.''
These remarks came after Clinton had kicked off the scheduled three days of speechmaking by referring obliquely to growing annoyance among U.N. members, including many of America's closest allies, at what they consider an irresponsible U.S. attitude toward the world body. Anti-U.N. sentiment among conservatives in Congress and the American public has contributed to the United States being about $1.3 billion in arrears on the dues and peacekeeping assessments it owes the United Nations.
``In the United States, some people ask, why should we bother with the U.N.? America is strong; we can go it alone,'' Clinton said. ``Well, we will act if we have to alone. But my fellow Americans should not forget that our values and our interests are also served by working with the U.N.
``I am determined that we must meet fully our obligations, and I am working with our Congress on a plan to do so,'' Clinton continued. But he insisted that the United Nations respond with far-reaching reform that ``requires breaking up bureaucratic fiefdoms, eliminating obsolete agencies and doing more with less.''
The speaker who stirred the most responsive chord among Third World participants was Castro, who received rolling applause when he said: ``The obsolete veto privilege and the ill-use of the Security Council by the powerful exalt a new colonialism within the United Nations.
``Latin America and Africa do not have one single permanent member. In Asia, India has a population of almost 1 billion but it does not enjoy the responsibility of membership.
``How long shall we wait for the democratization of the United Nations to become a reality?''
by CNB