Joe Higgins challenges Kofi Annan at Forum meeting

international | miscellaneous | news report

Wednesday October 20, 2004 21:34

by SP Member

On 14 October the Forum on Europe heard an address by the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan who had come to speak about planned reforms to the United Nations. All Party leaders were allowed to address comments to Kofi Annan. The following speech was made by Joe Higgins. Annan, reflecting the arrogance of all diplomats and members of the political elite these days, did not answer any of Joe’s questions or refer to any points made in his speech in the summation given to the Forum.

Joe Higgins TD:

“Secretary General, as a parliamentarian for the Socialist Party and member of the Committee for a Workers’ International, I represent a very different viewpoint to the political establishment, who you will mainly meet on your trip I presume. I represent in parliament, working class people and many people in relative poverty. Can I ask you, why should those people and the billions of working people and poor in our world, to whom you referred, place any hope for a better future in a reorganised United Nations, when two of its five permanent Security Council members can launch, and continue, an illegal imperialist conquest in Iraq, slaughtering in the process thousands of innocent people? And while all five permanent Security Council members, and many others, commit on a daily basis, thousands of scientists and tens of thousands of industrial workers to the design and creation of technologies whose sole purpose it is to incinerate ever greater numbers of people over greater distances and from greater distances. Wasting billions of resources, which, if redirected, could provide for example, clean waster, disease relief, clothes and shelter for the billions to whom you referred.”

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Comments (6 of 6)

the penultimate sentance

by oh ha bloody ha.

Wed Oct 20, 2004 23:27

has a typo, which is a typical typographical error of a certain type of humour.
unless it is a verbatim report of deputy Joe Higgin's speech though like normally we'd hear some SP rumour that Joe was going to talk to Kofi.
So what can we say?
Do we find "incineration of billions of people" funny?

see you in court.

by stenographer

Wed Oct 20, 2004 23:28

:-)

No typo in the report.

by Typo

Thu Oct 21, 2004 16:05

Are you claiming that weapons companies don't spend billions in more 'efficient' ways to incinerate and kill people?

That's what bombs do! They kill people!

Higgins is onto something but has gone in the wrong direction.

by righteous pragmatist

Thu Oct 21, 2004 17:38

He should be asking why Libya, a rogue state under the iron fist of Gaddafi, should have recently been the chair of the UN human rights commission?
It's about as absurd as the Devil himself giving God his cough medecine.

Nice 1 Joe

by Alan - SWP

Thu Oct 21, 2004 21:32

Good 1 Joe for putting up 2 the lackey

big deal

by BIg mouth

Fri Oct 22, 2004 14:31

What, don't tell him annan paid his bin charges!

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Joe Higgins challenges Kofi Annan at Forum meeting

Comments (6 of 6)