From: Rick Rozoff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Visit our website: HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------------------------- The Hindustan Times October 15, 2001 "After the end of the Cold War, when the UN might have been have been expected to come into its own, the US insured that only its dictates would prevail. Not only did Washington see to it that an 'inconvenient' secretary-general like Boutros Boutros-Ghali would be denied a second term, but only someone who is perceived to be more accomodating would gain this post." Uneasy peace over Nobel The Nobel Committee seems hell-bent on courting controversy. To compound its choice of V.S. Naipaul, a virulent critic of Islam, for the Nobel prize for literature at a time when the Muslim world is in a turmoil over the war in Afghanistan, the committee has given the peace prize to the United Nations and its Secretary-General Kofi Annan. There have been other controversial recipients like Henry Kissinger in 1973 and Yasser Arafat, along with Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin, in 1994. But in both these cases, the significance of their role in trying to resolve the Vietnam and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts could not be denied. It isn?t that the UN is entirely without any notable achievement. Among other places, it made a crucial contribution towards bringing peace to Kampuchea and was involved in peace-keeping operations in Haiti and Somalia. Many of its allied organisations have been making contributions to alleviate the misery of the underprivileged and displaced people. Unfortunately, however, achievements such as these have tended to be overshadowed by two unflattering perceptions about the UN. During the Cold War, it was perceived to be deadlocked since the veto powers of the two superpowers ? the US and the USSR ? ensured that it could not take a major initiative in any field. As a result, it wasn?t deemed to be any more effective than its predecessor, the League of Nations. After the end of the Cold War, when the UN might have been expected to come into its own, the US ensured that only its dictates would prevail. Not only did Washington see to it that an ?inconvenient? secretary-general like Boutros Boutros-Ghali would be denied a second term, but only someone who is perceived to be more accommodating would gain this post. In the process, the UN has lost so much of its lustre that few seem to be taking it seriously. It singularly failed in resolving the Balkan crisis. The US no longer bothers to consult it while carrying out air raids on Iraq and even Mr Annan recently voiced his displeasure when the US announced that it might extend the present war against terrorism. Arguably, situations like these reflect the world as it is, and not an ideal state in which the UN will be regarded as the conscience-keeper of the international community and have a dominant say in the conduct of world affairs. It was actually with such a hope in mind that the UN was set up, as was the League of Nations. But these expectations have been belied. The Nobel prize, therefore, is more in honour of the ideal of the UN than of the present reality. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
