Latvia's President Vaira Vike-Freiberga for the job of Secretary-General of the United Nations

URGENT!

SOUTH KOREA'S BAN STILL AHEAD IN UN LEADER RACE
[   BUT  BALTS DON'T  GIVE UP!   DO WE?   ]

Dear Friends,

South Korean Foreign Minister Ban retained his lead in an informal Security Council poll or UN Secretary-General on Thursday. He received 13 votes, while Latvia's candidate Vaira Vike-Freiberga came in third with 8 votes. A candidate is required to get at least nine positive votes and no veto in the official vote expected by mid-October, reports Reuters news agency.

A fourth and a more definitive informal vote will be held on MONDAY, October 2, when ballots will be distinguished among the five permanent members with veto power and the other 10 elected nations that serve for two-year terms. A candidate needs at least nine votes and no veto. If Mr. Ban consolidates his lead Monday, it could be all over.

"We are at the pint where we should make a decision," U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said on Wednesday.  Only Britain has spoken against the rush to close the process, arguing that two candidates--Latvian President Vaira Vike- Freiberga and former Afghan Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani--had entered late and should have the chance in straw polls.

WE MEED TO ACT IMMEDIATELY!

I am forwarding you excerpts of an article published in The Times (London) about the qualifications of Latvia's President Vaira Vike-Freiberga for the job of Secretary-General of the United Nations. Please read it, then:

1.    Contact   www.chooseawomanforun.org TODAY and sign on as a supporter of Vike-Freiberga. Over 12,000 people already have done so, but we need more supporters.

2.    Call President George Bush at (202) 456-1414 and leave a message for him for him to support the President of Latvia, Vaira Vike-Freiberga, for the job of Secretary-General.

3.    Call the U.S. Secretary of State, Dr. Condoleezza Rice, at (202) 647-4000 and leave the same message for her. You will not get through to her office on the weekend, you have to call her FIRST THING MONDAY.

4.    Also very important.  Send this message to others (Americans, Balts, etc.) on your mailing list and heads of organization.  The latter should leave the messages in the name of their organization

According to Latvian press reports, the U.S. has not decided who to support in the unofficial vote Monday. But that it will NOT follow the rotation principle, and will vote for the best qualified candidate. There are six other candidates besides Vike-Freiberga. They are from South Korea, Jordan, India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Thailand.  The five permanent members on the Security Council with veto powers are U.S., France, Russia, China and Great Britain, the two year members are Argentina, Denmark, Ghana, Greece, Japan, Katara, Republic of Congo and Peru. The five permanent members have veto powers.

You will find more information and talking points about President Vike-Freiberga on the following website ALA: www.alainfor.org,  BAFL: www.BAFL.com, JABNC: http://jbanc.org and BATUN: www.batun.org.

Thank you.  Please carry out the suggested tasks.

Valdis Pavlovskis

Kofi's successor


It is time to end the Buggin's turn way to pick a UN secretary-general Kofi Annan, the United Nations Secretary-General, steps down in December, and the race to succeed him is still wide open. The process of choosing his successor is anything but clear: by tradition a candidate emerges from discussion in the Security Council, and the name is then put to the General Assembly for approval. In practice, the successful contender is chosen after heated wrangling, horse trading and threats by the veto-wielding members to block anyone they do not like.

The candidates this time have declared their hand earlier, and there have already been two straw polls in the Security Council, with a final informal vote on Thursday. So far Ban Ki Moon, the South Korean Foreign Minister, appears to be ahead.

It would be a mistake, however, to think that Mr Ban has the job in the bag. He is counting on the Buggin's turn tradition in the UN, which assumes that it is Asia's turn to provide the new secretary-general. That tradition is as irrelevant as it is limiting. John Bolton, the US Ambassador to the UN, has already stated publicly what many others believe: that the job should go to the best-qualified person, regardless of origin. This is the argument of the impressive Latvian President, who should not be disqualified either by being a European or a woman. If there is to be any turnabout in UN fortunes, its members should be looking to turn around the opaque and unsatisfactory way in which its top administrator is chosen.

Any candidate must understand the challenge: putting the UN house in order will take courage, political will and an integrity that is proof against institutionalised bureaucracy or political pressure. The secretary-general has come to be seen as the world's top diplomat; but the jo b specification is to run the UN, a role that has been badly neglected. The idea that Mr Ban is entitled to the job is absurd. The exotic field, the Latvian President aside, is not particularly impressive, and he would be a winner by default rather than chosen with enthusiasm. The UN and the world deserve better. ##


Please register at www.chooseawomanforun.org, call the President and the Secretary of State, and forward this message to others.

Thank you.

AMERICAN LATVIAN ASSOCIATION
BALTIC AMERICAN FREEDOM LEAGUE