05 November 2001
Bin Laden Remarks Insult People in Third World, UN Head Says
(Annan responds to bin Laden's criticism of UN values) (400)
By Judy Aita
Washington File United Nations Correspondent
United Nations -- UN Secretary General Kofi Annan November 5 asked
Muslims and other people around the world not to be misled by Usama
bin Laden's criticism of the United Nations and its goals.
"The Secretary General read the statement. Naturally he disagrees with
it and he hopes that Muslims and other people around the world will
not be misled by it," UN deputy spokesman Manoel de Almeida e Silva
said during a daily press briefing November 5.
Annan was responding to a statement by Usama bin Laden denouncing
Muslim leaders who cooperate with the United Nations. In a speech
broadcast November 3, bin Laden accused the United Nations of
undermining Islamic interests.
The Secretary General hopes that Muslims and other people around the
world "will understand that the United Nations is the expression of
the will of all its members. The membership of the organization is
universal as are the principles enshrined in its Charter," de Almeida
e Silva said.
"The United Nations does not represent any particular culture or the
views of any single member state," he said. "The decisions and actions
of the United Nations are those of the member states working together
to pursue common goals based on shared values of equality, tolerance,
mutual respect, and human dignity."
The deputy spokesman also referred to the comments Annan made in an
interview with Le Figaro published November 5.
In that interview the Secretary General said that "it is an insult to
peoples of the Third World to suggest that democracy and human rights
are purely Western products. On the contrary people in developing
countries understand more and more that these rights -- which are
economic, social, and cultural as well as civil and political -- are
truly universal and must be realized for all people as an essential
part of the development process," the deputy spokesman said.
"This is one of the primary purposes of the United Nations and the
Secretary General hopes that all peoples will cooperate in bringing it
about," de Almeida e Silva said.
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