THE GULF WAR: The International Front : Pygmy Versus Dwarf

Iraq’s U.N. ambassador broke the code of diplomacy recently when he personally attacked Kuwait’s ambassador, calling him a pygmy. But the INSULT CAME BACK TO HAUNT HIM. Ambassador Abdul Amir Anbari was taken to task by the envoy from Zaire. Lectured Ambassador Bagbeni Adeito Nzengeya: “As the representative of Zaire, whose population is nearly 36 million, including 400,000 Pygmies enjoying all rights . . . I should like to say that Pygmies are fully fledged human beings and cannot be treated in discriminatory fashion because of their size.” Chastened, Iraq’s ambassador said that when he read the official version of his earlier remarks, he noted an error in translation and has substituted the word dwarf for pygmy . “I assure my friend we have full respect for . . . Pygmies.”