USA: UN Secretary-General designate, Ban Ki-Moon promises to restore trust in the organisation, says it is unacceptable for Iran to deny the Holocaust or call for Israel to be wiped off the map

Record ID: 560795

  • Title: USA: UN Secretary-General designate, Ban Ki-Moon promises to restore trust in the organisation, says it is unacceptable for Iran to deny the Holocaust or call for Israel to be wiped off the map
  • Date: 15th December 2006
  • Summary: (W4) UNITED NATIONS (FILE) (REUTERS) UNITED NATIONS BUILDING
  • Embargoed: 30th December 2006 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVAII1X8FHDYSXYC5T93TYUVNKL
  • Story Text: Incoming U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told Iran on Thursday (December 14) it was unacceptable to deny the Holocaust or call for Israel to be wiped off the map.
    Ban, at a news conference, was asked about Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who since coming to power in August last year has caused an outcry by terming the Holocaust a "myth" and calling Israel a "tumour" in the Middle East.
    Ahmadinejad just ended a two-day international conference on the Holocaust that was dominated by speakers who questioned the extermination of 6 million Jews by the Nazis in World War Two.
    "Denying historical facts, especially on such an important subject as the Holocaust is just not acceptable," Ban said.
    "Nor is it acceptable to call for the elimination of any states or people," Ban said. "I would like to see this fundamental principle respected both in rhetoric and practice by all the members of the international community."
    A former South Korean foreign minister, Ban spoke to reporters after he took an oath of office in the U.N. General Assembly as secretary-general to succeed Kofi Annan. He may strike colleagues as a shy and retiring bureaucrat but vows to be a "man of action" when he takes the world body's helm on January 1.
    Journalists covering the 62-year-old former South Korean Foreign Minister in Seoul called him "Slippery Eel," he acknowledges, for his skill in making a graceful exit when they tried to put him on the spot over a thorny issue.
    "Your colleagues in Korea may have dubbed me 'The Slippery Eel' because I was too charming for them to be able to catch me. But that nickname was given because I was very friendly with the media, you should understand that. But I promise today that I can be a pretty straight shooter when I need to," he told amused journalists.
    Diplomats predicted Ban's public image may suffer for having to follow the outspoken and personable Kofi Annan, who steps down on December 31 after two five-year terms as secretary-general. Annan travelled the world, giving his views on world hot spots.
    He tangled repeatedly with Washington, the biggest U.N. dues-payer, after the United States led the March 2003 invasion of Iraq without a green light from the U.N. Security Council.
    But Ban made clear that while he would carry on some of Annan's unfinished work, he wanted to draw a line with the past.
    "You could say that I'm a man on a mission and my mission could be dubbed 'Operation Restore Trust'. Trust in the organization and trust between member states and the secretariat. I hope this mission is not 'Mission Impossible'," he said.
    Annan suffered during his tenure from charges of mismanagement and corruption in the $64 billion oil-for-food program for Iraq and in U.N. procurement.
    Diplomats said that while Ban was not a great communicator, he had great determination and was very hardworking.
    The former diplomat was chosen for the top U.N. job, with strong support from the United States and China, over six rivals by the 15-nation Security Council in October and later approved by the General Assembly as the first Asian U.N. head in 35 years.
    Ban also promised to engage in negotiations over North Korea's nuclear programme.
    "I as Secretary-General designate and future Secretary-General coming January next year will place a high priority on this issue. I will closely follow the development of this situation and try to facilitate the Six-Party process. While watching this development of the situation I will also think about my own initiative, what I as Secretary-General of the United nations needs to do in close consultation with the Security Council and members of the Six-Party talks," he said.
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