25 Sep 2010

UN / GA WRAP 1

Serbia’s President, Boris Tadic, tells the plenary meeting of the 65^th United Nations General Assembly that organized crime is now a global industry and the “dark side of globalization”. UNTV

Posted at: September 25, 2010 2:43 pm

Duration: 03:38

Available in: SD

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Full script

STORY: UN / GA WRAP 1
TRT: 3.38
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / ARABIC / NATS

DATELINE: 25 SEPTEMBER 2010, NEW YORK CITY

SHOTLIST:

21 SEPTEMBER 2010, NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior United Nation headquarters with press island

25 SEPTEMBER 2010, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, General Assembly hall
3. Wide shot, Boris Tadic, President of Serbia approaches microphone
4. Cutaway, Serbian delegation
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Boris Tadic, President, Serbia:
"Organized crime is now a global industry. It is the dark side of globalization. It attaches itself to weak societies. It attaches itself to political and religious extremists. It attempts to buy and subvert democracies. Like water, its spreads to where it finds least resistance. It is global and globalized in its inter-connections. Organized crime, I want to tell you emphatically, is in the Western Balkans. And I consider it to be the greatest single challenge to my country and, if I may say, to the whole region."
6. Wide shot, Haris Silajdzic, Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia & Herzegovina approaches podium
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Haris Silajdzic, Chairman of the Presidency, Bosnia & Herzegovina:
"One million three hundred thousand of them still remain outside of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Systematic obstructions were the cause of failure of return programs, and they are still an obstacle to those who want to return. Those who made it back to their homes are often confronted with a wall of blockades or with outright violations of basic rights. That makes the restoration of our pluralist society the single most difficult task ahead of us. But hope remains that the upcoming constitutional changes will lay a foundation for the new generation to bridge the divides."
8. Wide shot, Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority approaches podium
9. Cutaway, Palestinian delegation
10. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mahmoud Abbas, President, Palestinian Authority:
"Our demands for the cessation of settlement activities, the lifting of the siege and an end to all other illegal Israeli policies and practices do not constitute arbitrary pre-conditions in the peace process, but are consistent with the implementation of obligations and previous commitments, compliance with which has been repeatedly reaffirmed in all resolutions adopted since the very start of the political process. Israel's implementation of these obligations and commitments will lead to the creation of the necessary environment for the success of the negotiations and will give credibility to the pledge to implement the final agreement reached. Israel must choose between peace and the continuation of settlements."
11. Wide shot, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Egypt approaches microphone
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Egypt:
"There is no doubt that freezing Israeli settlement activity in the Occupied Palestinian Territories has become a major factor in determining the intentions of the Israeli side and its level of commitment to making the negotiations a success. If Israel fails in its commitment to continue freezing its settlement activities then it would expose the negotiating process to collapse and it would shoulder the full responsibility before the regional and world pubic opinion as well as the American sponsor for wasting the valuable opportunity which was made possible by a major American effort."
13. Wide shot, Ahmed Aboul Gheit leaves podium behind
 
STORYLINE:

Serbia's President warned today (25 September) that organized crime is now "a global industry" and represents "the dark side of globalization."

Boris Tadic told leaders present at the 65th General Assembly of the United Nations that "like water", organized crime spreads to where it finds least resistance. He added that it is global and globalized in its inter-connections.

Tadic emphasized that organized crime, was present in the Western Balkans and he considered it to be the greatest single challenge to his country and "to the whole region". He added that the region has a common responsibility to eliminate the scourge from societies and Serbia would spare no effort in its quest to eradicate the threat.

The conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995 forced more than 2.2 million people to flee their homes, making it the largest displacement of people in Europe since the end of the Second World War, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). To date, more than one million people have returned home across Bosnia, however, there are still 113,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the country, with some 7,000 still living in collective accommodation centres created more than 15 years ago and intended only as temporary housing.

On addressing the Assembly Haris Silajdzic, Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia & Herzegovina noted that "systematic obstructions" were the cause of failure of return programs, and they were still an obstacle to those who want to return. He added that those who made it back to their homes were often confronted with a "wall of blockades or with outright violations of basic rights". Still, he said that hope remained that the upcoming constitutional changes in his country would lay a foundation "for the new generation to bridge the divides".

Moving on to the Middle East region, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, President Mahmoud Abbas emphasized to the Assembly that "Israel must choose between settlements and peace". Abbas called on Israel to stand behind its past commitments and also emphasized that the Palestinians were ready for and desired a peace agreement, saying such an agreement would be possible if Israel ceased with the settlement activities, the lifting of the siege and an end to all other illegal Israeli policies and practices.

And Egypt's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Aboul Gheit characterized Israel's settlement activity in the Occupied Palestinian Territories as a major factor in determining the Israeli commitment towards making the peace negotiations a success.

Aboul Gheit warned that if Israel failed in its commitment to freeze its settlement activities, it would expose the negotiating process "to collapse and it would shoulder the full responsibility before the regional and world pubic opinion as well as the American sponsor for wasting the valuable opportunity which was made possible by a major American effort."