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Title [Press Release] "Hundreds to Gather at UN Oct. 23 to Protest Financial Crisis"
Event is Part of Worldwide Vigil on Eve of UN Day
For Immediate Release Contact:
James Paul, Global Policy Forum, (212) 501-7435
Sharon McHale, World Federation of UN Associations, (212) 963-5610
Bill Pace; Naomi Onaga, World Federalist Movement, (212) 599-1320
New York City, October 20, 1997 -- As part of a worldwide vigil to protest the UN’s financial crisis, concerned citizens from the New York tristate area will converge at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza near UN headquarters on October 23 at 6:15 PM. Assistant Secretary General Gillian Sorensen will read a message from UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. Other speakers at the event – whose main organizers are Global Policy Forum, the World Federalist Movement and the World Federation of United Nations Associations -- will include leaders of the NGO community.
For over two years, the UN has been on the verge of financial collapse. Member states now owe the organization $2.4 billion, of which the United States owes $1.5 billion -- more than all other UN members combined. The crisis has forced the UN to make crippling budget cuts. Citizen organizations have built a broad movement of protest in countries around the globe.
Organizers listed 40 vigils worldwide – including Rome, Copenhagen, London, Helskini and Oslo, as well as Tokyo, Madras, Ottawa, Nairobi, and Paramaribo. There are 20 vigils in U.S. cities including Boston, Denver, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City and Washington DC. The Washington vigil, in Lafayette Park across from the White House, is expected to be one of the biggest. A list of vigils is updated daily on the world wide web, at - www.globalpolicy.org/vigil.
"U.S. citizens are fed up," said Bill Pace, Executive Director of the World Federalist Movement. "Our Government is acting against the wishes of the great majority of voters. It’s time Washington stopped breaking international law and started listening to its constituents."
"Deadbeat governments have been sending a dangerous message to their own taxpayers," said James Paul, Executive Director of Global Policy Forum. "What if citizens started withholding their taxes or imposing conditions for payment?" -- "Ted Turner’s gift of $1 billion is commendable, but it does not let the U.S. government off the hook," said Jim Olson, Vice-President for National Programs of the United Nations Association-USA.
Vigil participants will hold candles and wear UN-blue ribbons. Musicians will perform on exotic instruments. Organizers will deliver a letter to United States UN Ambassador Bill Richardson calling on the U.S. to pay up. A reception will follow at 777 UN Plaza.
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