Gorbachev critical of current leaders

Terrorism, preservation among threats to society, former Soviet chief says

     ESTERO - He promised a message of peace. He delivered a list of challenges that he says threaten the world he hoped to create nearly 20 years ago with the fall of the Berlin Wall.
     Mikhail Gorbachev, 75, named political unrest in the Middle East and the widening gap between the rich and the poor as proof there is still much to be done.
     The former Soviet president also named terrorism and a great lapse in efforts to preserve the environment as the greatest threats that face society.
     He spoke for more than an hour Tuesday evening at Alico Arena.
     "These challenges, until they are addressed, we will not feel any security," said Gorbachev, who appeared as part of a lecture series started at Florida Gulf Coast University two years ago.
     Gorbachev is the second speaker in the University Lecture Series, which brought renowned poet Maya Angelou to campus last year. The former Soviet president's arrival was slightly delayed due to traffic. A crowd of 4,500 waited for the man who won a Nobel Prize for his help in bringing the Cold War to an end. A group of about 500 watched a live feed of the event from the FGCU campus.
     Gorbachev spoke in his native Russian and was translated by his interpreter over a loudspeaker for the audience, which included his daughter.
     He told the audience he visits the United States at least twice a year and travels around the world on a regular basis. With his thick Russian accent, Gorbachev noted that he has not been encouraged by the aggravated political and social climate he has witnessed.
     "People are concerned. People are alarmed," Gorbachev said. "Everywhere, people are unsettled about the future."
     The dialogue that took place between the Soviet Union and the United States is not what is happening today, said Gorbachev, who was applauded as he chastised U.S. and foreign political leaders who have chosen to go to war to resolve conflicts.
     "I have to be critical of the new generation of leaders," he said.
     It was this frankness that surprised audience members like Kim Fritz, 40, a Fort Myers teacher.
     "I thought he was a little more direct than I expected," Fritz said. "He challenged us to change the way things are."
     Fort Myers resident Francis Xavier, 66, a retired banker from Massachusetts, was one of the thousands of people who stood in a long line three months ago to secure tickets to hear Gorbachev speak. He came with his son Tuesday to see Gorbachev in person.
     "I think he helped change the world," Xavier said.
     The university secured 5,000 to cover costs of the Gorbachev visit, including an offer from the founder of a Naples software company to use his private jet for Gorbachev's transportation. The university also sold 35 tickets for a private dinner with Gorbachev, which was priced at ,000 a plate. Proceeds will be used to expand the lecture series.
     Gorbachev has pledged his 5,000 speaking fee toward the Gorbachev Foundation and Green Cross International. The Gorbachev Foundation is a nonprofit educational foundation he founded in 1992. Green Cross International is an environmental organization dedicated to the creation of sustainable relationships between humans and the environment.

"Naples Daily News", March 29, 2006