Mr. Trump's speech at the UN

To  laugh or cry while watching president Trump deliver his long and endless speech at the United Nations Assembly was my dilemma.  His megalomaniac attitude was not much different from his inauguration speech.  However that speech was for his own people and for those who had elected him promising them that he will make America great again. But to stand at the United Nations podium bragging about his achievements while humiliating the organization itself and many countries which he specifically named was absolutely  unacceptable. 

Ironically it is not the United Nations building that needs reform to accommodate a more convenient access to the president and the First Lady.  It is the veto  system  of the security council and the USA abuse  of its veto power  that has been constantly used to block world justice, that needs reform. 

His bragging about ending a number of wars during his term while alluding to the ongoing genocide in Gaza as an issue of hostages is unacceptable.  All the Palestinian people and especially the prisoners have been  held hostages by bIsrael within its settler colonial system.  In fact,  the first steps towards achieving peace in our region  would be by putting  an immediate end to the genocide, the military assaults and the atempts at ethniic cleansing in Gaza., simultaneously opening its borders for aid.   

This should be followed by ending the occupation of the rest of the occupied territories and establishing a sovereign Palestinian  state.  Dare we hope that the United Nations will live up to that responsibility????

Samia 

No Wonder the World is in a Mess

The first thing I do every morning  is to turn on the radio near my bed  to get the latest update on Gaza.   Yesterday  morning there was a special item reporting that Mr. Trump will not allow the  Palestinian president and his delegation   from reaching New York to attend  and address the general assembly of the UN in September, simply because some European countries have already expressed their plans to recognize the Palestinian State in that  September meeting of the UN General Assembly . 

The first thing that came to my mind was why are the headquarters of the United nations in New York in the first place?  But then I recalled that  When the United Nations was established in 1945, there was a  stipulation that all delegations to the UN would have access to reach the headquarters in New York.  However,  when Mr. Arafat was due to address the GA in 1988 and the US denied him a visa, the whole United Nations meeting was held in the headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.  That could be an option in this case as well.   But the mere fact that the US dictates the terms of attendance at the UN, as well as the right to veto any resolution that would affect the US or its staunch ally, Israel,   means that this body is not a United Nations body but a USA organization.

 So it is very clear that as long as the international community is at the mercy of the USA, there can be no justice or peace around the world,  nor can the United Nations play the role that it was meant to play according to its charter.  However,  dare we hope that  the news item of today that Turkey has cut all ties with Israel– Ports, Airspace, and trade closed over Gaza Genocide,  will really make a dent?  And encourage other countries, and especially the  Arab Gulf  countries  to do likewise?  Most probably not, but without that hope we could not have survived the ongoing genocide ever since 1948.