Bush challenges U.N. to advance freedom

The president said very little about Iraq or Iran.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — President Bush announced new sanctions Tuesday against the military dictatorship in Myanmar, accusing it of imposing “a 19-year reign of fear” that denies basic freedoms of speech, assembly and worship.

“Americans are outraged by the situation in Burma,” the president said in an address to the U.N. General Assembly. The military junta renamed the Asian country Myanmar, but the United States does not recognize the change.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a bitter foe of the United States, sat in the chamber and checked his watch during Bush’s remarks. First lady Laura Bush, also present for the president’s speech, walked right by the seated Iranian president. The two had no contact.

Bush urged other nations to support countries that are struggling for democracy.

“The people of Lebanon and Afghanistan and Iraq have asked for our help, and every civilized nation has a responsibility to stand with them,” Bush said.

“Every civilized nation also has a responsibility to stand up for the people suffering under dictatorship,” the president said. “In Belarus, North Korea, Syria and Iran, brutal regimes deny their people the fundamental rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration” of the United Nations.

Iraq

Though the war in Iraq continues, Bush made scant mention of it.

After his speech, however, he reassured Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki that U.S. support is not wavering. “We’re with ya, prime minister,” Bush told him.

Addressing reporters after a roughly hourlong meeting, Bush and al-Maliki did not say whether they had discussed the killing of 11 Iraqi civilians by security guards with Blackwater USA, a private contractor. The incident has strained U.S.-Iraqi ties.

But Al-Maliki did say “Iraq’s security is very important, and we talked about the importance of mutual respect between our two sides.”

Bush prodded political parties in Iraq to reconcile their differences and pass a series of pivotal laws.

In his address to the U.N., Bush barely mentioned Iran, a nation the United States accuses of terrorism, pursuit of a nuclear weapon and aid for deadly insurgents in Iraq.

Bush’s focus

Instead, Bush focused his remarks elsewhere, challenging the U.N. to uphold its pledge to fight for freedom in lands of poverty and terror.

“The nations in this chamber have our differences, yet there are some areas where we can all agree,” Bush said. “When innocent people are trapped in a life of murder and fear, the declaration is not being upheld. When millions of children starve to death or perish from a mosquito bite, we’re not doing our duty in the world. When whole societies are cut off from the prosperity of the global economy, we’re all worse off.”

Bush looked ahead to a Cuba no longer ruled by Fidel Castro, the ailing 81-year-old leader of the communist-run government.

“In Cuba, the long rule of a cruel dictator is nearing its end,” Bush said. “The Cuban people are ready for their freedom. And as that nation enters a period of transition, the United Nations must insist on free speech, free assembly and, ultimately, free and competitive elections.”

Cuba’s foreign minister walked out of the gathering in protest of Bush’s speech. The Cuban delegation later said Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque’s move was a “sign of profound rejection of the arrogant and mediocre statement” by Bush.