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NAM: Lining up against
war
By Anil Netto
PENANG, Malaysia - The summit of the Non-Aligned
Movement (NAM) opened in Kuala Lumpur on Monday amid
tight security and a backdrop of gathering war clouds.
It will give the usually ignored 114-nation grouping -
soon to be 116 with the admission of East Timor and St
Vincent and the Grenadines - a rare opportunity to throw
its weight behind mounting war opposition around the
world.
That Iraq will take center stage is a
given, but Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who takes
over the chair from South African President Thabo Mbeki,
has sought to widen the discussion, pointing a finger
squarely at the unresolved Palestinian issue as the root
cause of war and terrorism today.
Mahathir set
the tone in his opening address by comparing the
belligerent stance adopted toward Iraq with the softer
position toward North Korea. He said a war on Iraq would
be seen as a war against Muslims and would only anger
them.
On Sunday evening Malaysia's ruling
parties and affiliated groups successfully mobilized a
huge crowd in the capital - with a little help from a
star-studded peace concert. More than 100,000 thronged
the National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur for the gathering.
The gathering was timed to coincide with NAM
but, with most opposition politicians missing, it looked
almost like a ruling-coalition peace rally. Reveling in
front of the huge crowd, Mahathir, flanked by key
coalition officials on stage, lashed out at US plans to
attack Iraq while it turned a blind eye toward Israeli
atrocities against the Palestinians.
In this
respect, Mahathir was spot-on. In its war against its
version of terrorism, the United States cannot hope to
enlist the support of most of the NAM nations, many of
whom are sympathetic toward the Palestinians. These
nations complain bitterly about US double standards when
it comes to Israeli aggression, possession of weapons of
mass destruction, and non-compliance with United Nations
resolutions.
Mahathir said he feared that after
Iraq, the superpowers would then turn their sights to
North Korea, Iran and others. He pointed out that some
American journalists had themselves claimed that the
United States was out to attack Iraq to lay their hands
on Iraqi oil.
At the stadium, Mahathir was
presented with what the organizers said were 2.8 million
signatures collected during the Malaysians for Peace
campaign.
Some have suggested that Washington is
unlikely to heed NAM's anti-war position. If Washington
can ride roughshod over France's and Germany's
reservations, what is NAM to it? asked one Western media
commentator.
But the fact that NAM member
countries account for more than 50 percent of the
world's population will bolster the mounting global
anti-war sentiment.
NAM's anti-war stand will
also confirm the opinions among dissenting US voices who
point out that President George W Bush has lost much of
the goodwill and sympathy around the world that occurred
in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. His policies
have instead alienated many of the NAM nations, whose
assistance in any war against terrorism would have been
vital. It also shows up the differing interpretations of
what constitutes "terrorism".
But for all
Mahathir's talk of double standards, NAM nations have
not been entirely consistent in their own back yards.
While arguing for justice and fair play on the global
front, many NAM nations do not practice justice and fair
play on the domestic front, refusing to respect the
basic rights of their people and to practice meaningful
democracy.
Malaysia, for instance, collaborates
with the United States in military training and
continues to use the Internal Security Act - a
colonial-era law that denies detainees the right to
trial - against Malaysians, whether suspected militants
or political opponents. The Philippines, for its part,
has allowed US troops on its territory, claiming that
they are merely there in an "advisory" capacity.
Thailand is tightening curbs on its domestic media and
Singapore continues to be a strong US ally. Many of them
are beholden to the United States on a host of issues,
not the least of which is debt and trade.
Malaysia's chairmanship of the movement will
undoubtedly bring trade issues to the fore. Among the
issues that are likely to be highlighted are the
inequities in the global economic system such as
trade-distorting agriculture subsidies in developed
nations. There will be grouses about the persistent
pressure imposed to "liberalize" developing nations'
economies and capital markets in favor of Western
business interests.
The summit is expected to
issue a final document, Kuala Lumpur Declaration,
Statement on Iraq and a Statement on Palestine. It
remains to be seen how far the strong rhetoric will be
watered down to balance the varied interests.
But, for what it's worth, much of the sentiment
around the NAM summit will resonate with the anti-war
opinion around the world. If it achieves one thing it
will be this: the summit will show how isolated the
United States leadership has become, with few friends it
can really count on, except for a couple of hawkish
European political leaders who are increasingly out of
touch with the masses on the ground.
(©2003 Asia
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