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I THE CAROLINA HUES SAT., KQYEMEI Z1, 1881 United Nations v i . . . U.S. Racism and Russian Shenanigans Thwart African In U.N; Secretary General Bid An Analysis ? ' By Curtis T. Perkins . B1W SALIM UN Photo by M. Grant Small groups, these days cluster and talk in animated tones in the corridors, lounges and outside the meeting halls or the United Nations. vTimes are rough here in thiscitadel of world opi nion. The process of electing a Secretary General is taking its toll. Strategy is the course of the day. Salim Ahmed Salim, the Foreign Minister of Tanzania, is certainly an ' attractive and viable can didate lo succeed Kurt Waldhcim, age 62, of ' Austria. Minister Salim is 39 and is the shining hope of especially the Organisation of African Unity ad the Non Aligned,: Group 77, The Third World, The League of Arab States and the Islamic Con ference over 100 na tions of the 156 members of the U.N. seem com mitted to Mr. Salim. I have talked to scores of representatives : from mostly Africa and occa sionally elsewhere. I sense the. determination that they " want this African who is more qualified to lead the world than Waldheim of anyone else in my opi nion. " " . Minister Salim could the voice of the: rdeveloped v and bridge a gap bet: . them and the in dustrialized countries. The United States which has an anti-Third World bias doesn't even enter tain ms quan i icat ions andjjoven abilities. . clofcfiTof racism compels our' consistent vetoes every time the U.N. Security Council meets on the nomination of Mr. Salim versus Secretary General Waldhcim. The Soviet Union as usual plays all ends against the middle for its own selfish interests in. not really supporting Mr. Salim. Russia sees the big shadow of China where hundreds of thousands of its troops , are massed at the borders' of the People's Republic. Frankly, Russia feels more comfortable with Mr. Waldheim. , China is standing up valTantly for the Third World in vetoing Mr. Waldheim in behalf of the Tanzanian. Time is on Mr. Salim's side and if his supporters can hold on for a while, possibly, my country will see the folly of its ways and abstain. I feel some pertinent facts should be set forth on Minister Salim which should help clear the air for pur bigots in the White House, the State Department and in the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. . When this Tanzanian was leader of the General Assembly he was con sidered very fair and mostly conceived as be ing consistently impar tial. . At a press con ference near the comple-1 tion of his term, he put his ability to be objective in this view: . . .By and large indeed, in my ex perience, without excep tion member states have demonstrated a tremendous amount of confidence in me. They know perfectly well that I am an African, a representative of Tan zania, but also that I Jiave, as far as is human . . possible, always . fawn a difference bet ween Salim, the Tanza nian, and Salim, the President of the General Assembly. And I can assure you that on occa-1 sion, I have bent over backwards to make sure that Salim. the President ; of t he General Assembly was not con fused on issues with Salim, the representative ill' Tanzania." . President Hsalim hued conference iDSIjte ulJ Copenhagen 1980, Ambassador Salim .was remembered - for starting the sessions on time and urging in private for . ' briefer speeches 1 by his fellow diplomats. He ' was known f o-have persuade against ed the Fourth Committee - nuclear dealing ; - with ; the Zimbabwe-Rhodesia question to defer to negotiations on majority rule being conducted by Great Britain between all parties at - Lanchester House in London. England held elections with Robert Mugabe, co chairman of the Patriotic Front, who became Zim-. babwe's first black prime minister. . ' Other vital matters having to be dealt with by Mr. Salim as Presi dent of the General Assembly included: the fight between Cuba and Colombia for a &eai Wesolowski, however, remained in custody. held sessions on in-; dependence . ; ' . for Namibia; sanctions South Africa; proliferation, food, refugees; energy, Palestinian rights, com munications, resources of the sea, disarmament, etc. '. ABOUT IRAN One of the- most dramatic sessions presid- Jonah of Sierra Leone, Assistant Secretary for Personnel and : Issafou Saidou Djermakoye of Niger, Commissioner for privilege of talking with Mr. Salim and his men tor President Nyerere who spent much time in the United States espous ing ' independence - for thcif country. Therefore, Technical Cooperation; Foreign Minister Salim is Dr. Davidson Michol is well grounded in govern-- Director General , of UNIT AR and Augustus F.Caine of Liberia is Ex ecutive Director of the Commission' . for Namibia. There are " other Africans influenc ed by Mr. Waldheim in ed over by President, other important slots in Salim was the matter of the U.N. Secretariat. All on the u.N. Council stalemated after ISO ballots were cast. The seat finally went to Mex ico. the visit of Pope John II and who adresse,d a receptive and supportive General Assembly. the fight over the seat of Kampuchea (Cam bodia) in the Assembly. The .Pol Pot group, backed by the People's Republic of China, won over the Samarian Government supported by Vietnam and Russia. Mr. Salim also had the Assembly tackle the issue pf starvation in Cam bodia with many coun tries supplying medicine, food 'And funds. review of the U.N. Charter but Mr. Salim defended the present structure as being ade quate and capable of maintaining peace. No changes are being con templated. global negotiations wercs initiated between developing .' and developed nations. the "Decade for Women" pursued its target with a meaningful held at American hostages being held in Iran at thai time. This meeting was called at the insistence of the American Ambassador Donald -McHenry and soundly rebuked Iran for its action in the violation of the U.N. Charter. Sanctions were voted inst Iran and on this Secur ityV rare occasion, the United which Stafes got the sympathy oiyne woria. ine u.N. has been credited with paving the way for the release of the hostages, months later having involved the Algerian Ambassador to the U.N. Mohammed Bejjaoui. WALDHEIM RUNNING HARD Mr. Waldheim, a bland Austrian and a career diplomat, seems of these Africans also qualify for their jobs on their own merit. It was Mr. Waldheim who named Mrs. Mathruin Main a ment and international' relations and ' the ap proaches which can weld the family of nations in more meaningful pur suits. it is time that an African led the United Nations with new for mulas, with resultful in-; novations and workable solutions. ; , ; But realistically, the task of electing .Mr. Salim Secretary General over Mr. Waldheim is a 12 ' J 'IT, Ik seasoned diplomat from hazardous task. jdiiia;i, a rasisiam rirsi, ine urbanization to have an . excellent following at this time. He has been careful not to offend and has skillfully cultivated sup port in all the complex groupings at the U.N. Although these assump tions and visible popularity are untested, the Africans expect Mr. Salim to upset these ap pearances. The former President of the U.N. ; General Assembly and - Mr. Waldheim seem to have gotton - along : well together. Yet rumors were always current that Mr. Salim would be the opponent of Mr. Waldheim in 1982. . Secretary 'General Waldheim has ' or- tchesticajiielaiJon .Secretary for the "Decade For Women". Mrs. Mair is now special consultant to UNICEF. Judge Angie Brooks of Liberia and a former President of the U.N. General Assembly, is now a consultant to the U.N. Of course. Secretary General Waldheim has stood up for statehood for Namibia majority rule in South Africa, a homeland fpr 'the Palestinians, aid . to refugees and a litany m many positive ap proaches which not only appeal to Africans but the other non-developed nations of the world. There are some Africans who dispute Mr. Waldheim's posture of success pointing out his inability to get things done in a substan tive fashion. This criticism will perhaps become more profound as the contest for Secretary General heats up. TIME FOR AN AFRICAN Anyone familiar with the workings of , the United Nations knows that regional leadership is a tradition and incum bent in the U.N. , the presidencies ol of African Unity (OAU) needs to get geared up for such a project. It needs an articulate office in New York City where its image and coordina tion can be improved at the U.N. headquarters. The OAU must have its budget subscribed by its members so that an. ex pert staff can be main tained and its program implemented. The issues of gaining independence for Namibia and establishing majority rule in South Africa are in themselves coalescing ingredients for a great OAU. Electing Mr. Salim is a prospective rallying vehi cle. Mr. Salim and the OAU must be warned that the Conservative Reagan Administration here in the United States is no great friend of Africa and Third World states. Already the direc tor of the Office of Management and Budget, David Stockman, is eyeing the U.S. contributions to the U.N. and its agencies for cuts. My question is: Can an African . attract the funds necessary to ad- in behalf ' of Secretary . Kurt Waldheim or another favored by the West, . AFRICAN LOB&Y ' NEEDED But if the Africans are serious in their desire to elect Salim A'. Salim of Tanzaniathen they must enlist their natural allies, the forty million "Afro-Americans. There is a lot a talent m our - .WALDHEIM ; group. Our great corps UN Photo by D. Burnett of black leaders can be ' mobilized to Jell Presi- THE DARK HORSES, dent Ronald Reagan, I feel , China and Secretary Alexander Africa must stick to Mr. Haig, '.'."'Jr.,' of the Staje;Salim's candidacy and Department; r - Mrs. not allow the Americans Jeanne J. Kirkpatrick, to peruse this third Chief U.S. Delegate to choice business;. This is the U.N. and Chester Africa's time in history. Crocker, Assistant And even if Mr. Salim is pushed out of ihe pic ture, the world ;must elect an alternate African. Africa does have others with ex perience and dedication. In the future, Latin America must be given its chance as many capable diplomats can be brought to the fore from this region. The truth is Secretary Waldheim has served ten long years. He should have retired gracefully and made way for another specifically Foreign Minister Salim. Secretary of State; that we are proud of Minister Salim. We must tell these administrative officials face to face that we must be accorded the same . respect and concessions as American friends of Israel, Greece, Taiwan and scores of others. OAU KEY The Organization of African Unity (OAU) must stop being bashful. They simply cannot argue about electing Mr. , Salim Secretary General or getting freedom for Namibia or establishing black majority rule at the U.N. They must go after U.S. opinion. They must persuade America ag gressively to pay atten tion to their pertinent needs which are essential for world peace. My point here is the OAU must set up a lobby operation in Washington. The U.S., as a world power, is the key to African progress. Further; the U.S. leads and commands the West, in particular Europe, South America and other areas. It is good the Security Council has the scrutiny of three members from Africa. They are Am bassadors: Mr. Ide Oumarou of Niger; Mr. Taieb Slim of Tunisia in not taking, sides. His candidacy was enhanced by such adherence. He did earn the respect of the West, the non alipncd and the Com munist members of the U.N.' ' - ' . As President of the General Assembly in t fie Polish un by an President release of a catted in Ambassador precedent ed , Assembly urged the U.N. staff member, Ms. Alicja Wesolowski, who . was being held in prison - under unspecified charges in Poland. Ms. if thp minister fho manu. hoiinu -nrfiKfk f7ttu4 -utuxjj.. ?,&2SIU EVHFa"y. general , Assertory rana objectives of the United oiacK Atricans pyendor- security Council rotate." sing their appointments to high posts. These in clude K.K.S. Dadzie of Ghana, . a Director General for Develop ment and Economic Cooperation (considered the number two job at the U.N.); James C. r Premium. Imparted. r BLACK VELVET BLENDED CANADIAN WHISKY, 80 PROOF. IMPORTED BY 1980 HEUBLEIN, INC., HARTFORD, CONN. jods at tne u.N. are shared by all nations. Some of these leaders as Salim A. Salim make their mark in history in the- growth , and achievements in this world body. The first Secretary? General of the U.N; was Trygve Lie. of Norway from 1946 to 1953 His successor was Dag Ham marskjold of Sweden who was killed in an airplane crash in the Congo, now Zaire, in 1961. U. Thant of Bur ma followed Mr. Ham marskjold and left the U.N. in 1971. Many feel that Mr. U. Thant's suc cess as a great Secretary General had the genius and counsel of Dr. Ralph Bunche, his trusted Under Secretary General a black American. Mr. Lie had organiza tional pains but with a limited number of members had a fairly smooth (enure. It was Mr. Hammar skjold who faced violence during his term in the Middle East, the Congo, Cypress and other trouble-spots throughout the world. . He is known also to have relied on Dr. Bunche for his many achievements in cease fires and the -establishment of new states, etc. ' The OAtJ points ouj. that three Europeans and ' one Asian have held this highest and most power ful position at the United Nations. ; They emphasize that it's time for an African ,and Mr. Waldheim should retire gracefully. ' But many observers at the U.N. feel Mr. Waldheim will try for. another itint. Mr. Salim, a Moslem and much younger, presents what Africans consider the right chemistry to lead the . world in the era of history. They note he has the knowledge of what has to be done to build understanding between the poor, the West and the Communists. i THE HAZARDS I have had the Nations? There are prominent members of the U.S. Senate like Jesse Helms of North Carolina and Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New Yprk a former U.S. am bassador, to the United Nations who frequently express their disdain for Africa and the non aligned countries. There are also others. The U.S. also has many friends in the West who could be led to cut back their commitments. Then there is 1 the danger of the veto in the U.N. Security Council which could be exercised of -Uganda!?!" I bwor' BIG POWER LARGESSE NEEDED Russia should stop viewing Secretary General Kurt Waldheim as being "safer" as they discern a streak of in dependence in Foreign Minister Salim A. Salim. The U.S. should show good American fairness by allowing Mr. Salim to pass and not continue . on this path of obvious bigotry and prejudice. The People's Republic of China has a very popular and moral stance and should stand by Mr. Salim until he is elected. Time is on the African's side. And, if all these world powers put humanity out front, the world will bet terfor their rdefeds 'by 1W tmg tb is mart-kad them y NOTICE INVITATION TO BIO and submit proposals for subcon tract work for WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT, FARRINGTON ROAO SITE, DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA. Bid Date on December 3, 1981. TYPES OF WORK AVAILABLE: clearing and grubbing, site and structural excavation and grading, fence and gates, concrete work, placing of reinforcing, masonry, roofing, ceramic tile and terrazzo, acoustic ceilings, painting, glass and glazing, caulking, pipework, curb and gutters, paving, fertilizing and seeding. CONTACT SCE Incorporated, 801 North Fifth Avenue, Birmingham, Alabama 35203 (Telephone 205251-9309) for additional information as to plans and specifications. 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