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afrol.com, 9 September - The President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang, this week arose from a pariah status to everybody's attention at the United Nation's Millennium Summit in New York. Locally known as the worst violator of human rights in Africa, he became the proud symbol of the equality among developed superpowers and small, underdeveloped African states in the UN forums. After the opening of the summit by the UN hosts, US president Bill Clinton was the first to address the Millennium Summit. When the president of the last superpower stepped down from the rostrum, a proud Teodoro Obiang stepped up. Notably content with the media attention and the full attention from the assembly, Obiang became the voice of the developing world. In the afrol.com editorial of 6 September, the editor warned about the consequences of treating "anything from highly honored presidents to outright criminals" equally on the UN Summit, and asked if it was advisable for the UN to allow heads of state committing crimes against humanity "to consolidate their role as legitimate heads of states". Despite of the well-documented gross violations of human rights in Equatorial Guinea, Obiang started his speech by reminding the assembly of the great advances the world has has experienced in "the areas of science and technology, conflict resolution, democratic change, respect for human rights and good governance" in the passed century. The U.S. State Department's report on human rights in Equatorial Guinea, on the other hand, focuses on the "great advances" made there include "serious and systematic human rights abuses," "extrajudicial killings," "torture," "looting of private homes" and not respecting the freedoms of the press, speech, religion, assembly, movement, the people electing its government, etc.
- As long as the growth and prosperity of some nations are based on the impoverishment of others, the result cannot but be a world dominated by tensions. During the major world conferences, such as in Mexico, Copenhagen and Beijing, the international community has identified and expounded on the major political, economic and social problems affecting mankind, especially in the developing countries. The vast majority of the world’s population, particularly those in the third world, are victims of extreme poverty, indebtedness, disease and natural disasters, Obiang told the Assembly, speaking on behalf of the developing countries. Equatorial Guinea is experiencing an economic boom, according to statistics. Newfound off-shore oil has tripled GDP the last four years. However, "little evidence is apparent that the country's oil wealth is being devoted to the public good," the CIA assesses the boom in Equatorial Guinea. Businesses, for the most part, are owned by government officials and their family members. - We note the clear incapacity of the present United Nations system to address and meet the challenges of the twenty-first century. To be effective, the Organization must democratize itself. Otherwise, it will find it difficult to act with justice and equity in carrying out its role. I take this opportunity to urge well-needed reform for the United Nations. Globalization presented great opportunities, but for now its benefits are distributed unequally. It should be a positive force for all the world’s population, Obiang concluded his speech. Normally avoided because of the terrible human rights reputation and the fraudulent elections in 1996, Obiang gained momentum as the spokesman of the developing world. The new oil wealth also has opened doors for the president, who's journey to New York was sponsored by the Mobil Oil Company. Obiang continued his success in New York holding several meeting with heads of state and companies. Among others, he met with Spanish president Jose María Aznar. Spain (the former colonial power) had cut down relations to a minimum as a consequence of the misrule of Obiang. In 1999, however, Spain and Equatorial Guinea signed a cooperation treaty, as Spain had been put on the sideline by US and French oil companies gaining lucrative contracts in Guinea. The Spanish government, however, assured that Aznar had addresses the "juridical security and the situation of democracy" in Equatorial Guinea in his meeting with Teodoro Obiang.
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