For all the complaining and criticizing of the United Nations through the years by various world leaders who have gone as far as to question its relevancy in the world stage, it sure seems like many of them thoroughly enjoy having the limelight on the U.N.’s central podium to promote their own self-interest and move along their political agenda.
We are used to hearing harsh words and strong accusations during the parade of speeches at the U.N., but this year some of the rhetoric was truly reminiscent of the Cold War era. The 62nd General Assembly made headlines both for what transpired as well as for what was left unsaid.
For example, President George W. Bush virtually ignored Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was literally steps away from him. Instead, in challenging world leaders “to free people from tyranny and violence, hunger and disease, illiteracy and ignorance, and poverty and despair,” Bush chose to take on the military dictatorship of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
The U.S. president also had strong words for his favorite enemy in the region, Cuba’s Fidel Castro. In Cuba, he said, “the long rule of a cruel dictator is nearing its end,” in reference to the ailments that have kept the Cuban leader out of sight and out of power for more than a year. Bush called upon the U.N. to support a democratic transition by pressuring the Cuban government to hold free elections.
Bush’s comments infuriated the Cuban delegation, which walked out of the forum during Bush’s speech, and brought on strong words by one of Cuba’s closest allies. “Bush has incurred a total lack of respect in talking about Cuba when he represents a system that has ordered the assassination of our brother Fidel Castro,” said Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega.
Ortega, who returns to the U.N. stage after 17 years out of power, sounded much like the young revolutionary who led the Sandinistas back then in a civil war against the U.S.-supported Contras. “The United States presents itself as the most exemplary democracy in the world when it is in fact a tyranny and the biggest and most impressive dictatorship that has existed in the history of mankind,” said the Nicaraguan leader.  
Not that Cuba needed any help in shooting back at the American president. A day after Bush’s presentation at the General Assembly, Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque had his turn at the podium and his chance to counterattack. He described President Bush’s performance as “scandalous and crude.”
“Bush is a curious kind of warrior who stays behind while sending off the young people of his country to kill and be killed, thousands of kilometers away from its coastlines,” he argued. “He has neither the moral authority nor the credibility to judge any other country.”
As if that was not enough, Perez Roque once again accused Bush of reaching power through fraudulent means in the 2000 presidential election. “We could have saved ourselves from his presence here and instead heard Albert Gore speak about climate changes and the risks to our species,” he said.
While the U.S., Cuba and Nicaragua dueled it out with their war of words, other heads of state in the region had their own agendas in mind.
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, a torture victim herself of Gen. Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship, pleaded for more effective mechanisms to protect and promote human rights in the world. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, whose hard-line approach has led to the virtual dismantling of paramilitary forces in his country, promised to support a humanitarian effort to free hostages held by left-wing guerrilla groups without “sacrificing democracy.”
Panama’s Martin Torrijos used his time on the podium to remind the world leaders that after so many years of questioning the relevance of the U.N., it’s time to make the necessary reforms that will help the organization resolve conflicts more efficiently. “There seems to be a consensus of the need to strengthen the U.N.,” he said “but we are spending too much time trying to figure out how to do it.” Until that happens, the General Assembly will continue being an excuse to come to New York and use the international forum to move along personal agendas and lead a war of words with political adversaries.

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(Maria Elena Salinas is the author of “I AM MY FATHER’S DAUGHTER: LIVING A LIFE WITHOUT SECRETS.” Reach her at www.mariaesalinas.com)
© 2007 by Maria Elena Salinas
Distributed by King Features Syndicate