World Briefing | UNITED NATIONS
Secretary General Ignores Pleas to Ask China to Free Nobel Peace Prize Winner
The New York Times, November 1, 2010
Philippe Lopez/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Secretary General
Ban Ki-moon on Monday ignored pleas from human rights activists to ask President
Hu Jintao of
China to release from jail the new Nobel Peace Prize laureate,
Liu Xiaobo. Despite Mr. Ban’s statements that he considers human rights a priority, his spokesman, Martin Nesirky, said the secretary general avoided the subject when he met the Chinese leader in Beijing. Mr. Ban, above, also did not congratulate Mr. Liu. As a permanent Security Council member, China can veto a second term as secretary general for Mr. Ban.
