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Friday, January 21 1:44 AM SGT

Do not encroach on sovereignty, Helms tells UN

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 20 (AFP) -

The most prominent US critic of the United Nations, Senator Jesse Helms, came here Thursday and said he wanted "a new beginning" in the US-UN relationship but warned the world body not to encroach on American sovereignty.

Helms, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also said that if the United Nations on full payment of US contributions it would be "the beginning of the end" of American support for the UN.

He told the Security Council that it had "a mixed record" in countering aggression.

The speech was heard in silence. There was no applause at the end.

Some of his fiercest comments were directed at the International Criminal Court (ICC), established by treaty in Rome in 1998 but yet to take form. Helms led efforts to exempt US soldiers from the provisions of the court.

The first US legislator to address the council, Helms said he wanted "to extend the hand of friendship."

It was important, he said, "that this body have greater contact with the elected representatives of the American people, and that we have greater contact with you."

His speech was described as "historic" by US Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, who holds the rotating monthly presidency of the council.

The permanent representatives of all 15 council members were present in the council chamber.

Ambassadors representing many other UN countries were in the public gallery to hear Helms express "our desire for a new beginning in the US-UN relationship."

Earlier, Helms met the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan.

Helms was due to chair a meeting of his committee in New York on Friday to discuss UN reform and the future of US-UN relations.

He told the council he had received "literally thousands of letters from Americans all across the country expressing their deep frustration with this institution."

They had seen the majority in the UN General Assembly vote against the United States, he said.

They had heard "the raucous cheering" of delegates to the ICC treaty conference, he said.

"They see the UN aspiring to establish itself as the central authority of a new international order of global laws and global governance," he said

"This is an international order the American people will not accept," he added.

"International law did not defeat Hitler, nor did it win the Cold War," he said.

He told the council that although it had reacted "admirably" to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990, it had since failed to stop Iraqi President Saddam Hussein from acquiring weapons of mass destruction.

It had been "paralysed" over Kosovo and had failed to protect the people of Bosnia from genocide, he said.

"No UN institution -- not the Security Council, nor the Yugoslav tribunal, nor a future ICC -- is competent to judge the foreign policy and national security decisions of the United States," Helms went on.

"No treaty or law can ever supersede the one document that all Americans hold sacred: the US constitution," he said.

Helms is the co-author of a bill that set conditions on the part payment of the United States dues to the United Nations. The bill became law in November.

The bill, co-authored by Senator Joseph Biden, capped US arrears at 926 million dollars. The UN estimates the arrears at more than 1.5 billion.

The bill, passed by 98 votes to one in the US Senate last year, stipulated that the United Nations accept the lower figure as one of five preconditions for payment.

It also insisted on a new scale reducing US contributions to the UN's general and peacekeeping budgets, and that the UN adopt a zero-growth budget.

The United States was "the single largest investor in the United Nations," Helms said, and "the American people rightly expect a return" from their investment.

-- rocky (rknolls@no.spam), January 21, 2000

Answers

i don't remember the american citizens ever getting a choice about "investing" in the UN. about the only thing we are getting for our "investment" is consistent erosion of our rights and sovereignty.

-- tt (cuddluppy@aol.com), January 21, 2000.

"said he wanted "a new beginning" in the US-UN relationship"

And that should be...US out of the UN.

-- Mark Hillyard (foster@inreach.com), January 21, 2000.

.....and vice versa

-- (4@5.6), January 21, 2000.

Jesse Helms is a member of the World Anti-
Communist League. This is a group of fascists,
generals and Nazis from the world's most
repressive governments. His voting record is
so atrocious that he should be given no
credibility when he opens that cesspool that
looks like a mouth.

-- spider (spider0@usa.net), January 21, 2000.

.....and of course you prefer a UN takeover of the world, spider? Let's see, if he's anti-communist that makes him a fascist?

-- ($@5.6), January 21, 2000.

His politics may be repulsive but at least he's telling the UN take a flying f*ck at a rolling donut...

-- Billy Boy (Rakkasan101st@Aol.com), January 21, 2000.

For the eight months that I have been an active participant on this forum there have been daily concerns expressed by many American citizens about the NWO, the UN facilitating the takeover of America, etc. And rightly so.

Now, today, someone speaks up to the UN openly, for all the world to hear, and lets them know that Americans and their legislators are aware of their agenda, and will not accept it...and what do I hear here? People attacking the messenger who delivered this message on their behalf.

Beats me....

And cheers to Jesse Helms for that act of patriotism and courage!

-- Elaine Seavey (Gods1sheep@aol.com), January 21, 2000.

I'm not too fond of Helms, but he has done a good thing, in my opinion.

I'm with the last poster. Sheeze, you guys are impossible to please. I doubt that you will ever find a messenger squeaky clean enough for you.

-- Bill (billclo@msgbox.com), January 21, 2000.

Well, maybe we could send Milne to go address the UN. That might make the more vocal forum happier. And truly terrify the p*ss out of the UN members, too.

And if Milne isn't your cup of tea, there's always Zog, Greybear, Nikolai, Corrine, heck, let's just have the whole forum population go down to the UN. At the sight of that mob they just might flee the country and set up headquarters someplace else.

Like we'd miss their company.

WW

-- Wildweasel (vtmldm@epix.net), January 21, 2000.