CNN news 2011-09-25
CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, there. Hope you had a great weekend. I`m Carl Azuz. This week at the United Nations, there`s a big meeting scheduled to take place at the annual gathering of the U.N. General Assembly, and that`s factoring into two of our top stories today.
The first of those stories, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou says he`s postponing his trip the United States. Papandreou was scheduled to speak at the U.N. meeting, but he said he needs to stay in Greece instead to focus on the nation`s ongoing financial crisis.
As we mentioned last week, there are fears that Greece won`t be able to pay its debts, and that`s taking a major toll on stock markets in Europe and the United States.
Papandreou says this week is an especially important time for Greece, to act on an agreement it made with the European Union back in July. That`s when Greece got a second round of bailout money, and because E.U. leaders were afraid its financial problems would spill over into other European countries.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just the facts: in 1947, the United Nations put forward a plan to divide a Middle Eastern area known as Palestine. One part was to become an Arab country, another a Jewish country called Israel.
The Arabs didn`t accept the decision to divide the land. A series of wars broke out between them and Israel. Israel won these wars, and there have been tensions between Israel and the Palestinians ever since.
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AZUZ: Now Palestinians want a state of their own. And on Friday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced he`s going to push for full U.N. membership during the general assembly meeting this week.
Israel says that move could complicate the Middle East peace process. Right now, Palestinians are considered observers at the U.N. Richard Roth explains what full U.N. membership would mean, and where things could go from here.
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RICHARD ROTH, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): The nations of the world got yet another reminder from the Palestinians of their desire for a state of their own, a symbolic siege from Palestine was flown in, arriving in New York and U.N. headquarters, accompanied by activists and the Palestinian U.N. delegate.
Despite heavy pressure before the upcoming general assembly debate, achieving statehood on the world stage is not as easy as staging a photo op.
ROTH: This is the potential first stop for the Palestinians to apply for U.N. membership. This is the U. N. Security Council, though this chamber may pose the toughest obstacle to potential Palestinian membership.
Under the rules of the organization and the U.N. Charter, the Palestinians must first get approval from the security council in order to obtain membership and get their flag outside the building.
However, in this room are permanent members of the security council who have veto power. And one of them, the United States, has vowed to deny any request for potential membership.
HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: The only way of getting a lasting solution is through direct negotiations between the parties. And the route to that lies in Jerusalem and Ramallah, not in New York.
ROTH: If they want to avoid a U.S. veto, the Palestinians are very likely to come here, next door, at the U.N. General Assembly, already full of 193 countries.
RIYADH MANSOUR, PALESTINIAN U.N. OBSERVER: If one road is blocked, we will follow another one. But the objective is still the same. And, as they say, they are many roads to lead to Rome, and we know that very well. And we will act accordingly.
ROTH: The Palestinians already have a seat here at the general assembly, but their status is just simply known as "observer." The assembly may grant them upgraded observer state status, not full membership though.
But they may get more rights, which will allow them to join other U.N. style international organizations. But their status would be on par with the Vatican. So in effect, their prayers to get a full U.N. member state would not be granted.
ROTH (voice-over): With upgraded diplomatic status, the Palestinians may be able to demand action against Israel at the international criminal court. The Palestine chair could be a hot seat for other U.N. members -- Richard Roth, CNN, United Nations.