SMH : Fire and brimstone as Chavez gives Bush one hell of a blast

Fire and brimstone as Chavez gives Bush one hell of a blast

Ed Pilkington in New York | September 22, 2006

BRANDISHING a copy of Noam Chomsky's Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance, the President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, has cemented his reputation as Washington's chief irritant with a fiery performance at the United Nations.

In a 15-minute address to the annual gathering of international leaders in New York on Wednesday, Mr Chavez said he could still "smell sulfur" left behind by the "devil", George Bush, who had addressed the chamber 24 hours before.

His speech, which veered between a rousing appeal for a better world and a florid denunciation of the United States, included the claim that the US President thought he was in a western where people shot from the hip.

Mr Chavez complained that his personal doctor and head of security had been prevented from disembarking at New York airport by US authorities.

"This is another abuse and another abuse of power on the part of the devil," he said. "It smells of sulfur here, but God is with us and I embrace you all."

Many diplomats in the vaulted chamber laughed and clapped.

Mr Chavez went on to accuse the US of double standards on terrorism.

"The US has already planned, financed and set in motion a coup in Venezuela, and it continues to support coup attempts in Venezuela and elsewhere," he said. "I accuse the American Government of protecting terrorists and of having a completely cynical discourse."

Coming just 12 hours after Washington's other nemesis the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, had stood at the same spot and accused the US of hegemony and hypocrisy, Mr Chavez's colourful speech left senior Bush Administration officials exasperated.

The US delegate's seat was empty as Mr Chavez spoke. Asked later about the swipes at Mr Bush, the US ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, said: "We're not going to address that sort of comic-strip approach to international affairs."

Australia's Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, has questioned the effectiveness of the UN Security Council, saying its work is sometimes disappointing and frustrating.

Opening an investment conference in New York on Wednesday, Mr Downer said he was spending the week involved in some UN meetings that passed resolutions that "are nearly all completely meaningless".

The Guardian, Australian Associated Press