Annan Says Bin Laden Insults the Third World
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan accused Osama bin Laden of insulting the people of the Third World by scorning democracy and human rights.
“When Bin Laden maintains that democracy and human rights are only products of the West, I find that insulting for the people of the Third World whom he pretends to defend,” Annan told France’s Le Figaro newspaper in Paris.
But Annan warned that the U.S. and its allies risk inflaming Muslims by inflicting civilian casualties during their bombing of Afghanistan.
“Each time civilians are killed or injured, discontent grows strongly. . . ,” he said. “The innocent mustn’t pay for the guilty.”
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