SECRETARY-GENERAL, AT UNITED NATIONS DAY CONCERT OF KOREAN MUSIC, LOOKS TO END OF ‘DECADES OF HOSTILITY AND MISTRUST’ ON PENINSULA

SECRETARY-GENERAL, AT UNITED NATIONS DAY CONCERT OF KOREAN MUSIC,

LOOKS TO END OF ‘DECADES OF HOSTILITY AND MISTRUST’ ON PENINSULA

These are the remarks of Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the United Nations Day concert given in the General Assembly Hall last night (24 October) by the Traditional Music Orchestra of the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS):

It is my great pleasure to welcome you all to United Nations Headquarters.

Every year on this day, we mark the anniversary of the entry into force of the United Nations Charter, the document that guides and inspires our work.

And for many years on this day, we have been treated to a concert.  Saxophones, sitars, arias and arpeggios, have all been heard in this great hall, as people from many countries have shared their art with the world in the name of global peace and understanding.

The compositions you are about to hear represent three different styles -- sacred, court and popular music.  But every single note reflects the richness of Korean history and culture.

The last item on the programme –- “Sound of Reunification” – is not from the classical era.  But it does reflect the yearning of the people of the Korean peninsula to put an end to decades of hostility and mistrust, and to build on a new era of peace.  The international community has a responsibility to help them attain this goal.

Let us listen to them.  Let me not keep us any longer from the music.  I would like to thank the performers and the Government of the Republic of Korea for their role in making this event possible.

May the harmonies we are about to hear contribute to harmony not only on the Korean peninsula, but among all nations and peoples.

* *** *