• Daily Nation, Nairobi, Kenya, on U.N.’s Annan Daily Nation, Nairobi, Kenya, on U.N.’s Annan Secretary General Kofi Annan has shrugged off calls to resign over a scandal that preceded him at the UN. The so-called food-for-oil scandal is traced
• Daily Nation, Nairobi, Kenya, on U.N.’s Annan
Daily Nation, Nairobi, Kenya, on U.N.’s Annan
Secretary General Kofi Annan has shrugged off calls to resign over a scandal that preceded him at the UN. The so-called food-for-oil scandal is traced back to 1990 — seven years before Mr. Annan took the helm — and dragged on to last year. But the Americans believe they have found the smoking gun in Mr. Annan’s son, Kojo.
The younger Annan is alleged to have received US$150,000 over several years from Swiss company COTECNA, which received a UN contract in Iraq. So far, there has been no evidence linking Mr. Annan with his son’s alleged misdemeanor.
It is no secret that Mr. Annan has been a thorn in the US flesh after repeatedly criticizing the US and its allies for their unilateral war activities. …
Embarrassed that Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction or any links with Al-Qaida terror network, Americans have been looking for a fall-guy.
America should not use its position as the biggest contributor to the UN to bully Mr. Annan out of office … the US should allow the investigations headed by one of its own to conclude before condemning Mr. Annan.
La Nacion, Santiago, Chile, on preparedness for a tidal wave
The humanitarian effort that is needed in southeast Asia will be the greatest the modern world has ever been confronted with following a natural disaster.
All structures of cooperation are being tried by an event never before witnessed, but not unforeseen. This is a vital task for the bureaucracies of international aid organizations, because solidarity must be established quickly and effectively. The very system of multilateral collaboration hangs in the balance.
It is estimated that the human loss will be greater that 70,000 people. Many more will die because of untreated injuries or diseases in the following weeks. It will be many years before that part of the world will be able to return to what is considered a normal life. …
Experts and governments agree that many thousands of lives could have been saved if the affected countries had been connected to some international early alert system, as there is in the Pacific, of which Chile is a part. Still, are we prepared to adequately save ourselves in a disaster of this magnitude? …
We can hardly be optimistic if, despite counting on all the adequate mechanism of prediction, those responsible for making them effective — municipal officials — exhibit an inhuman lack of interest. Because of their carelessness, as an expert pointed out, we continue to build clinics, nursing homes and hospitals right on the edge of the coast. … The fact is there are millions of people in our seaside cities who ignore the procedures for surviving a tidal wave. It is not only because they aren’t interested. Some authorities are not doing their jobs.
The Hindu, Madras, India, on the tardiness of tsunami relief
While India was understandably unprepared for the tsunami that came without warning on Sunday morning, this does not explain the inexcusable tardiness in the relief work in some of the affected areas. The tsunami might be a stranger to India, but not the destruction brought by Nature to the country’s eastern coastline, for long used to natural calamities such as cyclones and torrential rain. Given the swiftness with which the tsunami struck, the government’s communication and warning system was no match. … No doubt, the demands made on civilian authorities in times like these are enormous, but quite inexplicably some of the villages in Tamil Nadu were untouched by relief operations more than 48 hours after the tsunami slammed the shore. …
A lack of coordination and foresight in making full use of the armed forces seems to have resulted in valuable time being lost. While the Coast Guard straightway plunged into search and rescue operations, a whole day was lost before the Army was called in to undertake rehabilitative measures and reconstruction work. …
In Tamil Nadu, it was evident that politicians were keener on winning brownie points for meeting the aggrieved sections than on concerted action to bring effective relief. Central Ministers seemed to go one way, State Ministers another. Although there can be no argument against people’s representatives visiting hospitals and the affected areas, an unconscionable amount of manpower, logistics support, and resources appear to have been soaked up by (these) visits at the cost of reaching relief to the victims quickly and effectively. …
The Independent, London, on the Ukrainian election
The Ukrainian people have delivered a decisive verdict on who should be their next president. Viktor Yushchenko has defeated his rival, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych in the Boxing Day poll. And the size of the turnout – 77 per cent – leaves little room for Mr Yanukovych’s campaign to mount a legal challenge to the result. The verdict of the 1,200 independent electoral observers yesterday was also decisive. They ruled that, despite some continued problems with voter lists, this poll constituted a fair election. The widespread intimidation and fraud witnessed in November’s poll were, thankfully, absent this time. This alone vindicates the decision taken by the Ukrainian Supreme Court a few weeks ago to call a fresh run-off election.
The Age, Melbourne, Australia, on duty help to tsunami victims
On Boxing Day, the world’s biggest earthquake in 40 years triggered tsunamis across southern Asia. …
Coming so soon after Christmas, tragedy on such a scale compels us to reflect, even more than usual, on life – on the life we lead and on the lives of others in the world, most of them less fortunate than us. In this time of giving, sometimes to excess in Australia, we have had a sobering reminder that there is no greater gift than life itself. …
Even now, there needn’t be guilt in celebrating this truly fortunate life. Knowingly ignoring the desperate needs of others is another matter altogether. Australians have so much in a world where many others have so little, and our prosperity carries with it responsibility. We can make a difference to the lives of others out of all proportion to what our contribution costs us. Australians do know something of the human and financial costs of recovery from natural disasters, but this country is also better equipped than most others to do that.
For every person killed, the fate of scores more depends on aid – first to survive a time of chaos, then to rebuild homes and lives. This requires that aid pledges be kept. Of course, it will be to Australia’s diplomatic advantage to provide aid, but such calculations pale against the humanitarian imperative. At this time, above all, we should recognize that. The enormity of such human tragedy strikes at our being. The only remotely adequate way to respond is to reach out and help the survivors in whatever way we can.
