Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe took the stage at the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly, and used part of his time to preach peace to U.S. President Donald Trump, urging him to be a trumpet for peace, not damnation.
“May I say to the United States President, Mr. [Donald] Trump, please blow your trumpet. Blow your trumpet in a musical way towards the values of unity, peace, cooperation, togetherness, dialogue, which we have always stood for and which are well written in our very sacred document and charter of the United Nations,” said President Mugabe.
He added that the values of peace and unity is what the U.S. should guide the world with, “and not by the promise of our damnation,” which President Mugabe said the world would resist.
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Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe - 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly
As in previous speeches before the UNGA, President Mugabe called on the UN and its member states like the US, to respect the sovereignty and independence of each nation.
In what seemed to be a reference to the recently imposed U.S. sanctions against North Korea for carrying out its nuclear and missiles program, President Mugabe, whose country too is under targeted sanctions imposed by the U.S. for human rights violations, said the world will not stand by the infringement of one country over another.
“And on this may I say, some of us were embarrassed, if not frightened by what appeared to be the return of the biblical, giant, gold goliath,” said President Mugabe to loud applause. “Are we having a return of goliath to our midst, who threatens the extinction of other countries?” queried Mr. Mugabe.
U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the 72nd United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
Unlike all previous speeches before the UNGA where President Mugabe had raised the issue of sanctions against his country, this time President Mugabe did not even mention the word, but instead took a swipe at what he called “the monster of imperialism,” which continues to threaten the sovereignty of independent states.
“We have resisted it when it was in the form of imperialism, as we fought for our own independence, our own culture, our own sovereignty to be masters of our own destiny. That is why we call ourselves free today,” said President Mugabe to applause. “It is because the monster of imperialism was defeated by us. Bring us another monster by whatever name, he will suffer the same consequences,” he said.
President Mugabe reiterated his call for Africa’s representation at the UN Security Council, a cause he and other African leaders on the continent have championed for many years. The UN Security Council is comprised of five permanent members with veto power, namely the US, the United Kingdom, Russia, China and France.
President Mugabe said the world’s inequity and growing distance between the rich and poor nations, is partly attributable to this, and needs to be changed.
FILE - The United Nations logo is pictured in front of the United Nations Headquarters building during the 71st United Nations General Assembly in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S.
“For us in Africa, the current antiquated system perpetuates our historic injustice. One that can never, ever be justified today,” said President Mugabe. “It is for this reason that I raise my country’s unflinching support on Security Council reform, commonly known as the Ezulwini Consensus.”
President Mugabe said the slow pace of reform of the UN Security Council is out of synch with “the overwhelming majority of us have accepted that we need to reform the current system in order to improve, but not to destroy it.”
Among the issues consistent in Mr. Mugabe’s UNGA speeches is the attainment of a two-state solution to resolve the conflict between Palestine and Israel, and also independence for the people of Western Sahara. He urged the UN Security Council to act on both.
At the conclusion of his speech that lasted just over 20-minutes, President Mugabe expressed sympathy for Americans affected by the series of hurricanes that ravaged parts of Texas, Florida, Louisiana and Puerto Rico.