Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann of Nicaragua, the current president of the UN’s General Assembly, says Iran has been treated unfairly by the U.S.
Returning on Tuesday from a tour of several countries including Iran, Brockmann told reporters that the United States has “demonized” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He further implied that he had not heard of Ahmadinejad’s infamous call to wipe Israel off the map, and remarked, “If this was said, it is unfortunate. But we must remember that words do not kill.”
Brockmann drew consternation and criticism for these and other remarks, including his observation that the International Criminal Court’s indictment of Sudan’s president on war crimes charges was "regrettable." In addition to criticism of Israel, he also had harsh words for the United States in general for its behavior towards the United Nations, of which the U.S. is the largest financial sponsor.
The New York Times reported that Mark Kornblau, the spokesman for the United States Mission to the U.N., said, “It’s hard to make sense of Mr. d’Escoto’s increasingly bizarre statements.” Chile, Uganda, and other countries also expressed criticism of Brockmann, a Roman Catholic priest and former Nicaraguan foreign minister.