He said so in Tokyo, during his Asia trip that led him to South Korea too. The last Asian diplomat to fill the post was Burma's U Thant in the sixties. South Korea, Thailand and Sri Lanka have already fielded their candidates.
Tokyo (AsiaNews/Agencies) The next secretary-general of the United Nations could be Asian. At least, this is what Kofi Annan said yesterday in Tokyo: "I can say that most of the member states believe that it is a turn for Asia. It is a practice that we have rotated it over the years from one region to the other." The United States, however, has resisted the regional power-sharing arrangement, saying it would support the best candidate regardless of his or her region. The world's largest region has not had a United Nations chief since U Thant of Myanmar (then Burma) finished his second term in 1971.
South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon has already announced his candidacy. Earlier this week, the diplomat met Annan, who will finish his second five-year mandate at the end of the year. Other Asians who have expressed interest in his post include Thai Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai and Sri Lanka's Jayantha Dhanapala, an adviser to President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Japan has not yet fielded any candidates, and according to Annan, this is a wise choice because Asia's most important economy would have little chance of making it. "If Japan wants to put up a candidate for the secretary-generalship, I'm sure it is free to do that," he said. "But countries that are very powerful should not seek to get additional power by seeking positions of that kind, traditionally. The secretary-general has come from countries not as powerful as Japan". Anyhow, Japan's priority is a permanent seat on the security council.