Geingob speaks on international turmoil

WINDHOEK, Sept. 23 –  In a clarion call for peace, Namibia’s President Hage Geingob quoted the physicist Albert Einstein who once said: “Peace cannot be kept by force, it can only be achieved through understanding.”

Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Geingob urged world leaders to be more tolerant by embracing diverse views through dialogue and understanding.

In a world were over a trillion US dollars were spent on defense budgets worldwide, the implications of war among nations could perhaps spell the beginning of an apocalyptic turn of events.

This is probably why he urged world leaders to exercise reason “before hastily embarking on a path of force, which will only lead to conflict and eventually war.”

He added: “Namibia stands together with the international consensus that the Israeli occupation of Palestine must end. We reiterate that statehood and independence are the national, inalienable, and legal rights of the Palestinian people. We therefore join the call for the two-state solution to be pursued with renewed vigor and determination.”

Geingob added: “Similarly, the people of Western Sahara cannot continue to have their inalienable rights to self-determination and national independence denied. Namibia, therefore, reaffirms its full and unequivocal support for the inalienable rights of the People of the Western Sahara to self-determination. We call upon for the urgent implementation of all Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, with the aim of holding a free and fair referendum in Western Sahara.”

In addition, Geingob said that the past several years Namibia had noted the growing rapprochement between Cuba and the United States, culminating in the reopening of embassies between the two countries, and that such a development should lead to the full lifting of economic and financial embargoes against the Republic of Cuba and its people, who have the right to pursue peace and a decent life.

The United Nations is a great social experiment which features small and large nations coexisting in peace and harmony, he said, adding that the platform it provides is one of unity; an element that is a catalyst to bringing about a world free from hunger and poverty. “It is only through unity, that we will deliver a sustainable planet for our children and their children,” he concluded. – NDN Staffer