09-29-2006, 03:05 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>UN top job frontrunner gets greedy for votes</b>
Associated Press
Posted online: Thursday, September 28, 2006 at 1237 hours IST
Updated: Thursday, September 28, 2006 at 1441 hours IST
United Nations, September 28: The South Korean frontrunner to replace Kofi Annan as UN Secretary-General said he hopes to get support from all 15 Security Council nations in Thursday's informal poll, adding that he has received "very positive, encouraging support from many countries."
Ban Ki-Moon, who has been South Korea's Foreign Minister for over 2 1/2 years, said he was encouraged by the results of the recent straw polls and was continuing to campaign "so that I'll be able to get the fullest unanimous support from the member states."
In the last straw poll, where council members chose among three choices - "encourage," "discourage" or "no opinion" - Ban came out on top.
Fourteen countries encouraged him to remain in the race, and one discouraged him.
"I regard it as confirmation of widespread confidence in me and in the visions that I laid out for the future of the United Nations, including the United Nations' reform process," Ban said in an interview on Wednesday.
"I accept this result with humility. At the same time, I feel a deep sense of responsibility."
<b>"I hope that I'll be able to maintain the level of support or increase the level of support to the fullest possible consensus for tomorrow's straw poll," he said.
Seven candidates will be vying for the council's support in Thursday's straw poll, two for the first time - former Afghan Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani and Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga.
In the last straw poll, India's candidate, UN Under Secretary General for Public Information Shashi Tharoor, came second followed by Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai, Jordan's UN Ambassador Prince Zeid al Hussein, and former UN Disarmament Chief Jayantha Dhanapala of Sri Lanka.
Under the UN Charter, the Security Council recommends a candidate to the 192-member UN General Assembly, which has traditionally approved that person with little debate.</b>
Most nations now generally accept that the next Secretary General should come from Asia because of a tradition that the post-rotate by region.
Most council members remained mum about the support but a US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, "Of the seven, we would lean toward Ban."
Thursday's poll will be followed by a more telling poll on Monday. At that time, council ambassadors will feature coloured ballots to indicate whether a candidate is opposed or supported by one of the five veto-wielding members of the council.
A negative vote from one of the five permanent members - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States - would all but doom the candidate's chances.
Asked why he was the frontrunner, Ban cited his almost four decades as a diplomat "dealing with many complex, difficult, security-related issues" including negotiations with North Korea on its nuclear program and with members of the General Assembly after the Sept 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
"I can also offer the collective wisdom and experience of the Republic of Korea, which has risen from the devastation of war to the 11th-largest world economy, and also full-fledged democracy from authoritarian military rule."
South Korea has also undertaken sweeping reforms in the public and private sector, and Ban said he has taken the lead in reforming the Foreign Ministry, an experience that will be useful in the reforms the United Nations is undertaking.
Ban has said he would focus primarily on being the world's top diplomat and leave the UN's day-to-day operations primarily to a deputy, though he stressed, "I will be fully responsible."
To deal with the conventional and non-conventional challenges of the 21st century, he said, "the Secretary General should be a person who combines both capabilities as chief administrative officer and also as a political leader who can engage himself or herself in resolving many regional conflicts and global issues."
While Ban is certainly far ahead in the race, some diplomatic observers have expressed concern that he is not forceful enough, and that if elected he would be a weak Secretary General at a time that the United Nations needs a strong chief at the helm.
Ban said he had heard similar comments but he stressed that his jobs over the last 20 years, including foreign minister and national security adviser for two presidents, attest to his capabilities.
"The position of foreign minister of the Republic of Korea is a very challenging job," he said. Over the last three years, he said, he has played a coordinating role in the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program, dealing with the US, China, Russia, Japan and some European countries.
"This has not been an easy job," Ban said. "Sometimes I may look like a weak, soft leadership. You may look at me as a soft person, but I have inner strength. This is what normally people from the outside world would have some difficulty in seeing - people from Asia particularly, when we regard humility, a humbleness, as a very important virtue."
Ban said he has gained "a very good reputation" combining humility with "a strong commitment of responsibility for the public good."
"So I'm confident that I can be sometimes able to demonstrate strong leadership, but at the same time try to understand the challenges with a full sense of sympathy (for) the problems of others," he said.
"I try to care for other people first before myself. That's the way I have been living my entire life." <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Associated Press
Posted online: Thursday, September 28, 2006 at 1237 hours IST
Updated: Thursday, September 28, 2006 at 1441 hours IST
United Nations, September 28: The South Korean frontrunner to replace Kofi Annan as UN Secretary-General said he hopes to get support from all 15 Security Council nations in Thursday's informal poll, adding that he has received "very positive, encouraging support from many countries."
Ban Ki-Moon, who has been South Korea's Foreign Minister for over 2 1/2 years, said he was encouraged by the results of the recent straw polls and was continuing to campaign "so that I'll be able to get the fullest unanimous support from the member states."
In the last straw poll, where council members chose among three choices - "encourage," "discourage" or "no opinion" - Ban came out on top.
Fourteen countries encouraged him to remain in the race, and one discouraged him.
"I regard it as confirmation of widespread confidence in me and in the visions that I laid out for the future of the United Nations, including the United Nations' reform process," Ban said in an interview on Wednesday.
"I accept this result with humility. At the same time, I feel a deep sense of responsibility."
<b>"I hope that I'll be able to maintain the level of support or increase the level of support to the fullest possible consensus for tomorrow's straw poll," he said.
Seven candidates will be vying for the council's support in Thursday's straw poll, two for the first time - former Afghan Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani and Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga.
In the last straw poll, India's candidate, UN Under Secretary General for Public Information Shashi Tharoor, came second followed by Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai, Jordan's UN Ambassador Prince Zeid al Hussein, and former UN Disarmament Chief Jayantha Dhanapala of Sri Lanka.
Under the UN Charter, the Security Council recommends a candidate to the 192-member UN General Assembly, which has traditionally approved that person with little debate.</b>
Most nations now generally accept that the next Secretary General should come from Asia because of a tradition that the post-rotate by region.
Most council members remained mum about the support but a US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, "Of the seven, we would lean toward Ban."
Thursday's poll will be followed by a more telling poll on Monday. At that time, council ambassadors will feature coloured ballots to indicate whether a candidate is opposed or supported by one of the five veto-wielding members of the council.
A negative vote from one of the five permanent members - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States - would all but doom the candidate's chances.
Asked why he was the frontrunner, Ban cited his almost four decades as a diplomat "dealing with many complex, difficult, security-related issues" including negotiations with North Korea on its nuclear program and with members of the General Assembly after the Sept 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
"I can also offer the collective wisdom and experience of the Republic of Korea, which has risen from the devastation of war to the 11th-largest world economy, and also full-fledged democracy from authoritarian military rule."
South Korea has also undertaken sweeping reforms in the public and private sector, and Ban said he has taken the lead in reforming the Foreign Ministry, an experience that will be useful in the reforms the United Nations is undertaking.
Ban has said he would focus primarily on being the world's top diplomat and leave the UN's day-to-day operations primarily to a deputy, though he stressed, "I will be fully responsible."
To deal with the conventional and non-conventional challenges of the 21st century, he said, "the Secretary General should be a person who combines both capabilities as chief administrative officer and also as a political leader who can engage himself or herself in resolving many regional conflicts and global issues."
While Ban is certainly far ahead in the race, some diplomatic observers have expressed concern that he is not forceful enough, and that if elected he would be a weak Secretary General at a time that the United Nations needs a strong chief at the helm.
Ban said he had heard similar comments but he stressed that his jobs over the last 20 years, including foreign minister and national security adviser for two presidents, attest to his capabilities.
"The position of foreign minister of the Republic of Korea is a very challenging job," he said. Over the last three years, he said, he has played a coordinating role in the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program, dealing with the US, China, Russia, Japan and some European countries.
"This has not been an easy job," Ban said. "Sometimes I may look like a weak, soft leadership. You may look at me as a soft person, but I have inner strength. This is what normally people from the outside world would have some difficulty in seeing - people from Asia particularly, when we regard humility, a humbleness, as a very important virtue."
Ban said he has gained "a very good reputation" combining humility with "a strong commitment of responsibility for the public good."
"So I'm confident that I can be sometimes able to demonstrate strong leadership, but at the same time try to understand the challenges with a full sense of sympathy (for) the problems of others," he said.
"I try to care for other people first before myself. That's the way I have been living my entire life." <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->