MEDIA REACTION CALL FOR U. N. REFORM; HARARE

UNCLAS HARARE 001979 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/PDPA FOR DALTON, MITCHELL AND SIMS AF FOR RAYNOR IRAQ PD FOR SMITH, PINESS AND ROOKARD NSC FOR JENDAYI FRAZER LONDON FOR GURNEY PARIS FOR NEARY NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL KPAO KMDR ZI SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION CALL FOR U. N. REFORM; HARARE ¶1. Under headline "The U. N. must reform or die" the government-controlled weekly "The Sunday News" (circulation 50,000 - 60,000) dedicated its September 28 editorial to call for the restructuring of the United Nations. The editorial comes hard on the heels of Robert Mugabe's broadside against Western powers at the 58th United Nations General Assembly in New York. Excerpts follow: ¶2. ". . .The best way to guarantee peace and security in the world today is to strengthen the United nations. The credibility and legitimacy of the U. N. is undermined when powerful countries disregard Security Council resolutions. If countries of the world do not want future generations to view history as a mere chronicle of the foolishness of mankind, they must empower the U. N. with the clout to censure and discipline warmongering leaders exemplified by Mr. Bush and his cronies. . .After realizing that Iraq is no picnic, the self-righteous U. S. leader, oblivious in his own hypocrisy, has been forced to eat humble pie and is now exhorting the rest of the world to help him assemble a multilateral force in (an) Arab nation . But he must not get away with murder. He must answer why he invaded a sovereign country without U. N. approval, killing thousands of Iraqis and needlessly endangering the lives of young American soldiers. Mr. Bush must also answer why he is compromising global peace and security by bullying Iran, Cuba and North Korea using flimsy allegations that the governments of these countries are violating human rights. . .A humanistic, democratic and pluralistic world has better chances of success than a Manichean one that promotes imperialistic globalization and Western political hegemony. The continued existence of mankind will, to a great extent, be determined by consensus through diplomacy and dialogue rather than military might. . .There is no alternative; the U. N. must either reform or it will go the way of the dinosaurs." SULLIVAN