TIGHT SECURITY AS WORLD LEADERS GATHER FOR UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

From Mokhtar Hussain

NEW YORK, Sept 24 (Bernama) -- A crowd of onlookers gathered along 50th
street near Lexington Avenue here to catch a glimpse of President Barack Obama
as the president's motorcade passed by before Obama spoke to world leaders at
the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Thursday morning.

Standing behind barricades with blue-uniformed New York Police Department
(NYPD) officers lining up the
street, many tried to take pictures with cell phone cameras.

Workers of a side-walk restaurant who gathered spontaneously outside clapped
and cheered as Obama and wife Michelle waved to them.

"They were both awesome," said a female worker.

As world leaders accompanied by large delegations arrived for the 65th
session of the UNGA beginning Thursday, traffic in the vicinity of the eastside
of midtown Manhattan leading towards the UN headquarters was heavy.


For a week every September, it will be a headache for those who live, work
or travel through the Big Apple. The UN headquarters as well as hotels in the
vicinity have been turned into fortresses with high-level security.

NYPD officers, secret service agents and fire fighters from the Fire
Department New York (FDNY) are stationed at many locations working 12-hour
shifts. Many roads are closed.

"It happens every year. We just have to live with it," said a hotel worker,
but added that New Yorkers never complain as it was "good for business".

A company driver said he preferred not to drive during this period as it
would be "faster to walk rather then drive" to arrive at a destination just a
few blocks away.

Security was especially heavy as President Obama and president Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad of Iran were scheduled to take the dark green marble podium a few
hours apart on this first day of the assembly.

Addressing the General Assembly, Obama called for international support
towards the Middle-east peace process as Israel and Palestine resumed peace
talks recently.

Obama urged world leaders to make sure "this time is different" from
previous efforts to end the six-decade conflict between the Israel and
Palestine.

Later in the afternoon, Ahmadinejad caused the US and European
delegations to leave the hall in protest when the Iranian president said in
his speech that most people believed the US government was behind the attacks
of Sept 11, 2001.

According to him, it was mostly US government officials and statesmen who
believed al-Qaeda militants carried out the suicide attacks that brought down
New York's World Trade Center.

Ahmadinejad also accused some segments within the US government of
orchestrating the attack "to reverse the declining American economy and its
grip on the Middle East in order to save the Zionist regime.

US officials immediately condemned the comments, describing it as "utterly
outrageous and offensive", especially when the speech was delivered in the city
where the attacks occurred.

Several kilometers away from the UN building, the site of the attack now
known as "Ground Zero" is undergoing massive reconstruction with six new
skyscrapers and a memorial to the casualties of the attacks. The project is due
for completion in 2013.

The vicinity was busy with foot traffic, particularly shoppers thronging
the famous Century 21 store despite recent reports of rallies staged by
thousands of Americans, both in protest and support of a recent plan to build a
mosque at Ground Zero.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak who arrived with his wife
Rosmah Mansor Thursday morning held talks with Palestinian president Mahmoud
Abbas at the UN building.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to deliver his maiden speech at the
192-nation assembly on Monday.

On Friday, Najib will join other leaders of Southeast Asian nations at
the second Asean-US summit, to be hosted by Obama at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.

While here, Najib will hold talks with UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon and
at least six world leaders on the sidelines of the UN general assembly.

He is also scheduled to meet US business captains as well as visit the
New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Monday.

Najib and Rosmah will also host an Aidilfitri "open house" for Malaysian
students and community in New York on Saturday.
-- BERNAMA


Attachments:
untitled-[2] 10 k