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"NAM Is an Alternative to the Neo-Liberal Agenda" |
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Written by (posted by) Rebecca Kim
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Tuesday, 19 September 2006 |
The 14th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement(NAM) was held in Havana, Cuba, from 11-16 September 2006. Welcoming 50 heads of state and government from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean with a vision of a revitalized bloc of non-alignment, the Summit focused on strengthening the NAM. The declaration adopted at the Summit by leaders of more than half of the UN seats (53 countries in Africa, 38 in Asia, 24 in Latin America and the Caribbean, and one in Europe) expressed "grave concern about the deterioration of the situation ... in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, as a result of the unlawful policies and practices being carried out by Israel."
Following is an IPS-TerraViva interview with Ms. Thenjiwe Mtintso, South Africa's Ambassador to Cuba.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2006 "NAM IS AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE NEO-LIBERAL AGENDA" Patricia Grogg/IPS-TerraViva Patricia Grogg: Why so much importance has been given now to the necessity of revitalizing NAM? In other words: Why is it so necessary that NAM gains now more presence at the international fora and what are the objectives? THENJIWE MTINTSO, SOUTH AFRICA´S AMBASSADOR TO CUBA: NAM was formed during the collapse of the colonial system and the independence struggles of Africa, Asia, Latin America and other regions at the height of the Cold War. It was formed on the principles of promotion of mutual interest and cooperation; need to respect justice and international obligations and the respect of fundamental human rights and of the objectives and principles of the UN Charter. Some of these imperatives still remain though the Cold War is replaced by a unipolar world. Smaller, poorer and underdeveloped countries still have to work together for both development and survival of their nations. It is imperative to revive and strengthen the Movement in such a way that it acts efficiently in the defense of the interests and priorities of its member countries in today’s International situation. The major challenges that need to be addressed are: Poverty and underdevelopment, imbalance in economic and political power, peace and security, the growing threat of terrorism and unilateralism. What is South Africa expecting from this Summit from the new Chair that will take over in September? As a country one of our expectations from the new Chair and the Summit in general is to strengthen the relationship between the Group of 77 & China and the Non Aligned Movement to work together in order to fight poverty, and underdevelopment, maintaining peace and stability and restructuring the global exercise of economic and political power. Others include to strengthen NAM itself, to use its experience, especially on meeting needs of people and solidarity with others to ensure strong South-South relations and to strengthen the committee on Palestine and the resolution of its problem.
Many Summits are being held in the World. Should this one be different? Why?
Because of the urgency of the issues, current threats to poorer nations due to poverty, imbalance of power, etc. Poorer underdeveloped countries need and depend on each other for development and survival of their nations. This is already recognized but the urgency is now on strategies to survive and develop.
Africa is the continent with more representative countries within NAM. What should a region that requires so much for its development expect from this Summit?
NAM represents solidarity and support for the African people and Governments in their struggle against poverty and underdevelopment in order to achieve their NEPAD goals and the Millenium Development Goals. Also NAM is a forum of political harmonization and given the current situation (political in Africa) the issue of stability will be discussed.
This movement was born into a bipolar world, facing a "Cold War" between the Communist bloc, led by the USSR and the Western Bloc, led by the US. Things are very much different today. In this context, what should NAM represent? NAM represents a hope for developing countries, faced with the goals yet to be reached and the many new challenges that are arising; the Movement should maintain a prominent and leading role in the current international relations in defense of the interest and priorities of its member States. It is important that the Movement continues to be in the front line of struggle to change and transform the present unjust international order. NAM is an alternative to the neo-liberal agenda of the so called unipolar and global order. |
