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NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document GIULIANI S BLUNT IN RARE UN. TALK Choose Civilization or Terroi in Global Struggle, He Says By SERGE SCHMEMANN UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 1 — May- or Rudolph W. Giuliani used a rare invitation to the United Nations podi- um today to entreat the countries of the world to abandon neutrality in the battle on terrorism: “You’re ei- ther with civilization or with terror- ists.”’ “This is not a time for further study or vague directives,” Mr. Giu- -liani declared in a speech that alter- nated between lessons in. American civics and forceful appeals to the world to join forces in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. ‘‘The evidence of terrorism’s brutality and inhuman- ity, of its contempt for life and the concept of peace, is lying beneath the rubble of the World Trade Center less than two miles from where we ' rheet today.’” [Excerpts, Pagé B5.] ~ ““Mr. Giuliani became only the third New York mayor ever to address the General Assembly, and the first to speak at an event other than a groundbreaking or a grand opening. The last was in 1952, when Mayor Vincent R. Impellitteri spoke at the opening of the United Nations head- quarters on the East River. _ Mr. Giuliani, by contrast, was in- vited on Friday by the Assembly to speak at the opening of its debate on terrorism, which was planned long before Sept. 11 but has taken on new significance since. “Delegates filling the Assembly hal greeted Mr. Giuliani with applause, but remained silent throughout his speech. Though his blunt tone dif- fered from the usual flow of diplo- matic formulas, most diplomats in the hall were also New York resi- dents who lived through the horror of the attacks and who regarded Mr. Giuliani not only as their sometimes critical host, but also as their mayor. “That hall was packed with people not only wanting to show global soli- darity, but also as New Yorkers,” a European diplomat said. As for the stern tone, “He does it to George Bush, so he can do it to us also,’’ she added with a smile. “It was good, it was O.K.,” said Nasser al-Kidwa of the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine, whose leader, Yasir Arafat, has been routinely snubbed by the mayor and was barred by him from a Lincoln Center concert in 1995 celebrating the United Nations’ 50th anniversa- NYC-WTC_000152390 ry. “Everything has changed in life. 1 once thought of this man only asa Political enemy,” Mr. Kidwa said of € mayor. ““Now I respect him.” And the didactic tone? “Well that’s Giuliani,” Mr. Kidwa said.” Others were more effusive, «yt was a great speech from a great guy,” said Ambassador Ahmed boul Gheit of Egypt. “Everything Said we’ll ing i ment today.” be saying in our State- Mr. Giuliani’s basic mes. that the attack on the twin towens had been an attack also on the United Nations and what it stood for, and that It was time to respond seriously Let those who Say that we must understand the reasons for terror- Plain those insane, mani to the children who will sree ; without fathers and mothers and to ine Parents who have had their chil- a en re ped som them for no reason “On this issue — terrorism — United Nations must draw a line" the mayor declared. “The era of moral relativism between those who Practice or condone terrorism, and € nations w: inst j must eae ho stand up against it, __Mr. Giuliani went out of hi to emphasize to the delegates, many of them Arabs and Muslims, that he was opposed to singling out any eth- nic or religious group for blame. He Said there were many times when he Would visit a mosque on Friday, a jSynagogue on Saturday, and , a church _ “sometimes two churches” — On Sunday. “And by the time I] finished,” he Said, “I would Say to myself, I know that we’re getting through to God. We’re talking to him in every language that he understands. We’re using every lit. urgy that exists. And | know we’re getting through to the Same God.” He also peppered his remarks with - lessons in American Civics, noting that each country represented j hall has contributed citizens (= the United States and to New York, “and people continue to come here in large, large numbers to seek free- TT Mab [ol dom, opportunity, decency, civility.’’ His final appeal was for people from around the world who had con- sidered visiting New York to come now. “‘Come to enjoy our thousands of restaurants and museums and sporting events and shopping and Broadway,” he said. “But also come to take a stand against terrorism.” In coming days, 144 speakers are scheduled to follow Mr. Giuliani to the podium in the debate on terror- ism. The initial speeches continued with the strong expressions of soli- darity and pledges of support that have come from the United Nations ever since the attack. Both the Gen- eral Assembly and the Security Council have passed strongly worded resolutions, including a council reso- lution last Friday that obliged all member states to freeze the finances and control the movements and ac- tivities of terrorists. Secretary General Kofi Annan added a chilling note of urgency to the discussion. ‘‘It is hard to imagine how the tragedy of 11 September could have been worse,” he said. “Yet the truth is that a single attack involving a nuclear or biologicai weapon could have killed millions.” Mr. Annan and many diplomats said they hoped the debate would leac to the conclusion of a compre- hensive convention on international terrorism, which has been under dis- cussion for many months. The main sticking point has been the definition of terrorism, since groups that would be branded terrorists by one country may be giorified as freedom fighters by another. Taking a cue from Mr. Giuliani’s address, Mr. Annan said he under- stood the complexity of the issue, “but let me sa¥ frankly that there is also a peed ior moral clarity. There can be no acceptance of those who would seek to justify the deliberate taking of innocent civilian life,”’ Several diplomats said they hoped that the negotiations would not be- come stranded on heated issues like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the way the United Nations conference on racism was in Durban, South Af- tica, last month. But it was evident tat the conflict would not remain entirely in the background. In his address today, Mr. Aboul Gheit of Egypt said that some parties in Isra- el believed “there is an Opportunity now to crush Palestinian resisiance by taking advantage of current cor. ditions gripping the entire world.” “That would be a terrible mistake of incaiculable consequences,” he warned.