MEDIA REACTION IRAQ; HARARE

UNCLAS HARARE 002096 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/PDPA FOR DALTON, MITCHELL AND SIMS IRAQ PD FOR SMITH, PINESS AND ROOKARD AF FOR RAYNOR 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 IRAQ; HARARE ¶1. Under headline "U. S. efforts on Iraq reflect crisis in diplomatic ethics" the October 18 edition of the government- controlled daily newspaper "Chronicle" (circulation 45 - 60,000) carried the following op-ed by Dr. Godfrey Chikowore, Head, International Relations and Social Development Studies, Institute of Development Studies, University of Zimbabwe, in which he encourages the United States to take the lead in consolidating "harmony and a global culture of peaceful co-existence among sovereign states." Excerpts: ". . .Having then unilaterally and literally ignored the United Nations ruling not to invade Iraq, in the contemporary, it would look like the Bush administration seeks to come to terms with the universally acknowledged diplomatic ethics to yet again seek a special ruling by the ¶U. N. to map up a draft Iraq constitution and subsequently hold elections. Apparently the position adopted by the Bush administration appears to be grossly inconsistent with the stipulations of the U. N. Charter and its host of Conventions on Human Rights and Democracy, Peace and Security. Clearly, the U. S. position seeking a draft on Iraq literally conflicts with the basic international laws of respect for the national sovereignty of the Iraqis, freedom of choice, that is self-expression and the freedom of the Iraqis to equality with any other nationals worldwide. The U. S.-generated situation currently building up over the Iraq draft constitutes in both moral and diplomatic terms a delicate multinational concern. . .While the U. S. could by a great margin consolidate harmony and a global culture of peaceful co-existence among sovereign states, the diplomatically discordant standing that it has adopted not only on Iraq, Afghanistan, the Palestinian-Israeli crisis, the Great Lakes region of Africa, and on Zimbabwe in particular, makes this world even a much more unsafe place to live in. At least more than ever before, there is need to aspire to `global statesmanship' on the part of the current Bush administration and its companion, the Blair administration for the common good of mankind in the new millennium." SULLIVAN