NEW UN CHAIR CALLS GEORGIA AGGRESSOR

Kommersant
Sept 17 2008
Russia

Georgia committed an act of aggression and violated the UN Charter when
it invaded South Ossetia, Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann stated on September
16 at his first press conference as chairman of the UN General
Assembly, reports Inner City Press. The 63rd General Assembly of the
United Nations began today at it New York headquarters. Brockmann spoke
about the need to reform the UN Security Council at a closed session,
saying that some of the members of the Security Council are a threat
to world peace because of their inability to overcome their passion
for war.

Brockmann criticized the United States in a conversation with
a representative of another permanent member of the Security
Council. He said the veto in the council had "gone to the head"
of the U.S. and given it the idea that it can do anything it wants
without consequences. There are ten regularly changing members of the
council and five permanent members with vetoes. The permanent members
are China, the U.S., Great Britain, France and Russia. The structure
of the council has not changed since 1945. At a closed session of
the 62nd General Assembly, it was decided to begin negotiations on
expanding the Security Council no later than in February 2008.

Brockmann is a former foreign minister of Nicaragua, a Catholic priest
and a winner of the Lenin Prize. He was elected chairman of the General
Assembly for one year as a representative of Latin America and the
Caribbean Basin, whose turn it is to chair this assembly. Nicaragua
is the only country besides Russia to recognize the independence of
South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Other countries, such as Armenia, Belarus
and Venezuela, have expressed support for Russia’s recognition of
the republics, but not recognized them themselves.