PRESS CONFERENCE BY NATION OF ISLAM, SPONSORED BY LIBYA

17 October 1996

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE BY NATION OF ISLAM, SPONSORED BY LIBYA

19961017 FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY

At a Headquarters' press conference Wednesday, sponsored by Libya, Minister Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, told correspondents that he was honoured to be at the United Nations which was dedicated to world peace but was struggling very hard. He said, to mark the anniversary of last year's "Million Man March" held in Washington, D.C., the 16th of October this year had been declared: "A world's day of atonement against violence, murder and warfare".

What was his opinion of the situation in the Sudan where the Government persecuted and killed blacks in the south of the country? a correspondent asked. Minister Farrakhan said the question suggested people in the north were not black, when the Sudan was a black nation. He abhorred the killing of any human being by another human being. The long war between the north and south of the Sudan suggested there was a problem which needed to be addressed. He had visited the Sudan during three previous administrations, as well as during the current one of President Omer Hassan Ahmed Al-Bashir. But in all those years, he had never heard the word slavery mentioned. Former President Sadiq Al-Mahdi had given assurances that he could solve the deep problem between the north and the south, but had been unable to do so.

Mr. Farrakhan said he had met with Kenyan President Daniel T. arap Moi in Nairobi last year, after stopping in Ghana and Zambia, to seek the advice of leaders there on how to bring peace to the Sudan. He had also met with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and with the leader of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army, John Garang. In Khartoum, he met with Sudanese religious leader Hassan Al-Turabi and President Bashir. For a time, it had seemed there might be a breakthrough, but unfortunately that had not happened. In dealing with the problems in the Sudan, the United Nations should not allow itself to be a tool of United States foreign policy objectives. It should not impose Security Council sanctions against an entire people because it was alleged that some of those who had plotted to kill Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak were living somewhere in the Sudan. That was no reason to punish a whole nation of people. He hoped that the United Nations would strive to bring more justice into the dealings of Member nations and so avoid the cataclysmic war which was on the horizon.

Some Muslim Governments and leaders kept their distance and did not treat Minister Farrakhan as a mainstream Muslim leader, and the United States mainstream media portrayed him as an extremist, a correspondent said. Did Minister Farrakhan think there was something wrong with his message? he asked. "Something was wrong with the mainstream, not necessarily with me and my

message", Mr. Farrakhan replied. Those of the mainstream seemed to be American puppets and tools, and cowered and ran from anyone who spoke the truth. He was like those prophets and messengers of God who spoke the truth, he added. He was not calling himself a prophet or a messenger, but he followed in that tradition. There was nothing wrong with his message. God had given him the assignment to tell the truth.

A correspondent asked for Minister Farrakhan's opinion of the "invasion and continuous occupation of Haiti". Minister Farrakhan said his sympathy had always been with the Haitian people who had never been able to come out from under Western domination and humiliation. It was wrong and "a mockery" that former Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide had been restored to power by America, but had not been allowed to stand for re-election. The Haitians would continue to suffer until someone rose up from the masses with the wisdom, knowledge and understanding to unite them and throw off the yoke of imperialism, colonialism, slavery and dependence that had weakened the country.

What did he think of the new Turkish Prime Minister and his foreign policy? a correspondent asked. Minister Farrakhan said the Turkish leader was showing independence from Western dominance. His visits to Iran, Libya and Nigeria were not the way to curry friendship. Turkey was too great a nation to be cowed by Western Powers.

The theme of the Day of Atonement was "Can the United Nations Avoid Armageddon?" Did he think that the United Nations could do that and if so how? a correspondent asked. The United Nations could not do it at the moment because it was in a very weak position, Minister Farrakhan replied. He did not understand how the United States still had so much influence and a vote in the Security Council when it owed over a billion dollars in dues. The way the United Nations was going would lead to war, not away from it. There were two major problems in the world. One was the very serious problem between Israel and the Palestinians, which could bring the whole world to war.

Minister Farrakhan said since the United Nations, under a British mandate, had divided Palestine to give Israeli people the right to a homeland, independence and sovereignty, while knowing the Arab world would reject it, the problem had festered. The United Nations must never abandon its role in the peace process to America. It must also recognize the Palestinian people's right to self-governance and independence. The borders of Israel and Palestine would only be secure when there was true justice for the Palestinians. If Israel and its security was the cornerstone of America's foreign policy, then the weakening of the Arab world and pitting Arab nations against each other was also part of that policy. And any peace would not give true justice to the Palestinian people.

The premise behind the Day of Atonement was that even the best people had committed errors which they must confess and seek forgiveness for, a

Farrakhan Press Conference - 3 - 17 October 1996

correspondent said. What errors had Minister Farrakhan chosen to confess and seek forgiveness for? he asked. Minister Farrakhan replied that he certainly would not confess to the error of not telling the truth. He would never repent for telling the truth if it hurt the feelings of those who were guilty of injustice. Like all human beings, he was a sinner and he had the right to repent and atone to those whom he had offended by his personal actions. If, however, his actions had offended his own Government which chose to see him as a "hate-monger" and a racist and an anti-semite, he could not repent for their "evil appellations" and labels. He could only repent for something for which he knew he was guilty.

Minister Farrakhan said he had asked members of the Jewish community to hold a dialogue. If they did not, how would he ever know where they thought he was wrong, he asked. The silly "no talk" policy had gone on between the Israelis and the Palestinians for so long. When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had first come to power, he had not wanted to talk with the President of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat. And he only did so after the blood of 70, 80 or 90 Palestinians and Israelis had been spilled. "Must we bleed and die before human beings act civilly and talk to each other? I am willing to talk to the members of the Jewish community and if they can show me where I am in error, I am not too proud to say I am sorry and repent and ask forgiveness", he added.

A correspondent asked why Minister Farrakhan had been going to accept a gift from Libyan President Colonel Muammar Al-Qadhafi who was a sponsor of international terrorism. "I guess terrorism, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder", Minister Farrakhan replied, adding that he saw President Al-Qadhafi not as a sponsor of international terrorism, but as a victim of European and American evil.

President Al-Qadhafi came to power in a bloodless coup d'état and nationalized the oil industry, thus, making enemies of British and American petroleum companies, Minister Farrakhan continued. He had used Libyan petro- dollars to raise the living standards of his people and aid the liberation struggle of people all over the world who had been strangled by the corporate greed of Europe and America. The Libyan leader was a freedom-fighter, and it was the United States Government that was guilty of some of the worst forms of terrorism. He described President Al-Qadhafi as his "friend and brother" who had never done anything against black people in America, although his own Government had proved to be their enemy.

The United Nations should be ashamed for placing economic sanctions against a country on the basis of an allegation which had not yet been proved, he continued. When President Al-Qadhafi offered to let the Libyan nationals, accused of bombing PanAm flight 103, face trial in a third country, the United Nations should have offered to try them in either Lockerbie, Scotland, or in The Hague.

Farrakhan Press Conference - 4 - 17 October 1996

A correspondent asked if the march led by Minister Farrakhan on the United Nations was part of a plan he had always had to bring the issue of racial discrimination in the United States to the attention of the Organization. She also asked why he had his eyes on the Caribbean. Minister Farrakhan said he was from the Caribbean, the home of his parents. It was a vital area and had done much for America. Many great leaders had some connection with the region. He hoped that in America black people could become politically and economically strong and leverage that strength against America's unjust foreign policy towards the Caribbean. His movement intended to bring not only the question of discrimination, but one of genocide before the United Nations. "If we can prove to the world that our Government had and was sponsoring the destruction of the lives and well-being of a whole section of its people and of the Native Americans and of others, then I think the United Nations should not be cowardly to take up this question of reparations and justice."

What was wrong with the Muslim peoples and governments that they did not speak as he did? a correspondent asked. Minister Farrakhan replied that he loved the Muslim world and its holy houses. Something was wrong with the world of Islam which had nothing to do with Israel or America or the United Kingdom. It had everything to do with the deviation from the principles of the Prophet Mohammed. Because of this weakness, the Western world had destroyed the Muslim world internally. The Muslim world would continue to be whipped by God until it recognized there was no God but Allah, and that Mohammed was his messenger. Minister Farrakhan said he spoke out boldly because he was free and he refused to recognize any God but Allah or any power greater than Him.

If the United Nations did not lift the sanctions against Iraq, Minister Farrakhan said he would ask Muslims to stand up, in the name of Allah, and defy them. Over 500,000 Iraqi children had died and more were dying every day because of the sanctions. They were still in place because American was angry it had not destroyed President Saddam Hussein and the love the Iraqi people had for him. He appealed for the United Nations to lift its sanctions against Libya and let its nationals be tried in a court of law under the supervision of the Organizations, so the truth of who really bombed PanAm flight 103 could come out.

How was Minister Farrakhan's position different from that of Martin Luther King or Mahatma Gandhi? Was he now preaching non-violence? a correspondent asked. Minister Farrakhan said the founder of the Nation of Islam, Elijah Muhammed, had always preached non-violence. He had stripped members of guns, knives and other weapons and made them solve their problems by reasoning with each other. There had been some violations of his teachings, but, by and large, his people were not violent. However, they could not lie down in the face of violence. In keeping with the teachings of the Koran, members of the Nation of Islam could not be the aggressor in word or deed, but they must fight if they were attacked, otherwise people would be over-run by

Farrakhan Press Conference - 5 - 17 October 1996

tyrants and oppressors. He respected the philosophy of Gandhi and said Martin Luther King had learned much from him.

In response to another question, Minister Farrakhan said he was sorry for any of his words which had contributed to the atmosphere that led to the death of Malcolm X. As in a divorce, when children were forced to choose between two parents they love, Minister Farrakhan said he had chosen to go with Elijah Muhammed when he separated from Malcolm. When Malcolm attacked the moral character of Elijah Mohammed, Minister Farrakhan said he had felt he must defend his leader. But no one knew that the United States Government and its counter intelligence programme was fostering the divisions between the two men. "In our innocence and in our zeal ... we spoke words and created an atmosphere that allowed Malcolm X to be killed and I am heartily sorry for that."

Minister Farrakhan said Nigeria was one of the most important countries in sub-Saharan Africa. No doubt, there was corruption and mismanagement of resources, and many Nigerian nationals living in Europe and America were deeply concerned. However, he had been to Nigeria and he saw a bigger picture. European nations had got together last century to carve up Africa, and he believed they had met again and decided to marginalize the continent. And the country with the largest material and economic potential was being decimated. The just crimes of many Nigerian nationals were being manipulated to balkanize Nigeria making it weak and ineffective so Africa would always be the footstool of Europe and America. However, with God's help, the continent would rise to take its rightful place in the next century, he added.

A correspondent asked him what he thought of the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Minister Farrakhan said he would like to know more of what went on in that part of the world, as he was a victim of the American mass media's portrayal of events. He could not agree with the ethnic cleansing of any people and would have to condemn it. However, he wondered what the root of the problem was. He hoped peace could be established to Bosnia as all people in the region were basically the same, if not genetically or biologically, then at least in the eyes of God. If there was no peace, the area could trigger a war in all of Europe.

As a private citizen, how did Minister Farrakhan plan to effect change internationally and what were his plans domestically? a correspondent asked. Minister Farrakhan said the little people knew more than the media and understood his trip overseas. "What happened to you, who are under the thumb of our open enemy that you couldn't understand?" he asked the correspondent. The little people had responded with joy when he went to Africa. He was attempting to get Americans, who he described as the most learned and educated black people on earth, to use their knowledge and education and experience to develop Africa. That kind of strategic alliance was vitally necessary.

Farrakhan Press Conference - 6 - 17 October 1996

Attention must be paid to people in America, he continued. Many organizations were doing that and the Million Man March spawned many more. But everywhere he went, he had seen the enormous power of the United States, especially since the decline of the Soviet Union. But America was not a moral super-Power, so the power of 40 million inside America united with Hispanics and Arabs and Asians could yield a leverage that could change the country's domestic and foreign policies. And that was his and his organization's objective. Never again would the United States be allowed to develop foreign policies on Africa, the Caribbean and Central and South America without involving people from those regions, he added.

He had learned that 400 American corporations would have given the United States Congress over $1 billion by the end of the year to enact laws in the interest of corporate greed. He could not stand by and watch corporate America dictate how leaders in Africa would run their country and spawn coups which brought into power corrupt leaders who bowed to their will. "We intend to bust all of that up inside America. Watch and see. Our time has come", he added.

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