UN-GA Chief calls for adopting Resolution 181, the partition of Palestine

Saturday September 20, 2008 03:01 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

President of the 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, Father Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann, urged on Thursday that the United Nations act in order to implement UN Resolution 181 established in 1947 that calls for the partitioning of Palestine into two states; one Jewish and one Arab.

Father Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann

Brockmann's statements were delivered at a speech in the General Assembly auditorium in honor of his election as the head of the 63rd session of the UN General Assembly. He said that the UN should act immediately to fulfill its obligations to create an independent Palestinian state.

He added that the biggest case of failure in United Nations history was the failure to create a Palestinian state. He added that Article 22 of the covenant of the League of Nations pledged the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in Palestinian territories formerly part of the Ottoman Empire.

 Father Brockman, 75, is a Nicaraguan priest who served as the Foreign Minister of Nicaragua in the 1980’s.

 He stated that more people continue to die due to the incapacity of the UN to implement the resolution adopted more than 61 years ago, and that the situation in Palestine is now at the most critical point in its tragic history.

Brockman also slammed the five permanent members of the United Nations, saying that their veto power has gone to their heads. The five members are China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States. He also called for the democratization of the United Nations itself.

Meanwhile, Israel rejected Brockman's statements. The Israeli ambassador, Daniel Carmon, said in an interview with Haaretz that these statements express personal history and personal political opinion, adding that this issue should not be accepted by the United Nations.

Haaretz quoted the Jewish daily Forward reporting that Brockman is expected to participate next week in a dinner sponsored by five Christian organizations in honor of the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Father Brockmann was ordained as a member of the Maryknoll Missionary Congregation in 1961.

Meanwhile, the Trend News agency reported that Brockman returned to Nicaragua to join the Sandinista National Liberation Front in its struggle against the US-backed government in Managua, and was appointed foreign minister in 1979 when it overthrew the US-backed Samoza government.

The agency also reported that Brockman attacked Western dominance in the world and said that he believes that this dominance is the source of many of the world’s evils.  He said that many problems can be resolved by the “spirit of global sisterhood and brotherhood”.

 Father Brockman added that the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are basically controlled by the United States and Europe, and are “used as instruments of domination." He said that the two institutions were created after World War II in order to assist poor countries.

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