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Outg
oing Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) chairperson Thabo Mbeki has
called on leaders from developing nations to stand their ground in
preventing an imminent war in Iraq, as well as act swiftly to turn
the tide on poverty and underdevelopment in poorer countries.
Opening the three-day conference of the 13th NAM summit in Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia, President Mbeki, who is also African Union
chairperson, warned the leaders that failure to resolve the issues
in a ‘bold, determined and united manner’ would lead to
the downfall of the globe.
‘We must position ourselves in word and deed as the enemies
of anarchy…we have to act to neutralise the deadly impact of
the tide, hungry for human blood, which seeks to celebrate a
victory defined as the prevalence of an ephemeral peace, whose
parent is the fear of death,’ said President Mbeki.
He added that a US led military assault on Iraq – a NAM
member - would further entrench poverty and underdevelopment in
developing nations. He said war would prevent the poor and weak
‘from participation in the formulation of a world agenda and
programme of action that relates to the central question of whether
we are considered human enough to decide what our own future shall
be.’
He called on the leaders to rise up and seek peaceful solutions to
an imminent standoff between Washington and Baghdad.
‘Inherent to this is the absolute necessity to act to ensure
that we, who proclaim these positions, must not hesitate to act to
ensure such a peaceful resolution even in instances that affect our
member States.
‘It demands of us that we do everything we can to protect and
advance the principle and practice of multilateralism. This
requires that we fight even harder for the democratisation of the
international system of governance,’ President Mbeki
said.
Turning his focus to the 48-year-old organisation, which is set to
be chaired next by Malaysia, Mr Mbeki reported that the movement,
under his captaincy, had managed to highlight to other global
forums such as the G8 and WSSD, amongst others debt eradication and
the need to stop conflicts throughout the world.
He however warned of other remaining obstacles such as the scourge
of AIDS, poverty, underdevelopment and the imbalances between the
rich and poor countries that the movement needed to pay attention
to. – BuaNews
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