WSSD-BRITAIN:
The Way to Bush Does Not Lie Through Blair
by Sanjay Suri
LONDON, Aug 21 (IPS) - A series of dubious moves are under
way for British Prime Minister Tony Blair to persuade U.S.
President George Bush to attend the World Summit for Sustainable
Development in Johannesburg.
Dubious because the moves Blair has made
have shown no immediate signs of succeeding. And dubious also
because many activists are asking whether such moves should
be necessary to make.
British officials have said that several
representations have been made by London to Bush to persuade
him to attend the summit. The representations have been made
at ”the highest level”, an official said. Clearly,
they have been made by Blair directly.
Blair himself has been asked by several
leaders, particularly by the South African leadership, to
try to persuade Bush to attend, according to activists working
closely with the South African government. Britain is the
closest political and military ally of the U.S. and several
leaders want the ”special relationship” to deliver
at Johannesburg
But President Bush has snubbed repeated
efforts by Tony Blair, The Observer reported Sunday. ”The
Prime Minister believes it is vital that the U.S. President
makes an appearance in Johannesburg to avoid derailing the
most important environmental talks for a decade,” the
paper reported.
Blair was reported to have raised the
issue with Bush at the Group of Eight Summit two months ago,
and repeated the plea several times.
”I think Tony Blair can talk to
Bush and I think he should,” Gichinga Ndirangu from
Action Aid in Kenya told IPS. ”There is an expectation
in developing countries that Tony Blair would use that closeness
to persuade Bush to attend.”
But that still leaves the question whether
Britain should have to do it, Ndirangu said. ”Is it
that the U.S. is not concerned that it has to be pushed?”
he asked. ”Where is its commitment if it has to be pushed?
In the end this summit is about equals. World leaders should
not have to be persuaded, they should have the inward commitment
to attend.”
The absence of Bush will be felt particularly
because the dates of the summit were changed with the U.S.
in mind, Ndirangu said. The summit was originally scheduled
to be held from September 2 to September 11, he said.
”The dates were changed partly
because of September 11 to enable Bush to attend,” he
said. ”That is because the presence of Bush would help
give political significance to discussions at the summit.”
Activists from other NGOs say there is
no need for Blair to make moves to persuade Bush. ”We
understand that U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell will
be going and representing the U.S., and there will be a big
U.S. delegation even if the head of state is not there,”
said Sally Nicholson, head of international policy at the
WWF.
The U.S. has not signed a number of multilateral
agreements ”but that has not stopped them coming into
force,” she said. ”It would be better if all agree
at the highest level to deliver on sustainable development.
But there are 180 countries in the United Nations and we're
sure we can get something done with them.”
Activists point out that several of the
key outcomes at the Rio summit ten years ago became possible
because of the strong presence of U.S. and other Western leaders.
They also see a strong U.S. presence led by Bush as critical
for decisions on issues such as trade and globalisation.
Blair and Bush have taken extreme positions
on attending the summit. While Bush is most likely to stay
away, Blair was the first world leader outside South Africa
to announce he would attend; that announcement came on March
6 last year.
The Blair government has taken some firm
decisions ahead of the summit, even though green critics accuse
the Labour government of betraying their cause. Britain announced
an increase in international aid to 0.4 per cent of its GNI
(Gross National Income). Minister for International Development
Clare Short is campaigning with the European Union for better
use of aid. These moves are radically different from the position
taken by the U.S.
Senior British officials have said that
the Johannesburg summit should be made an occasion to show
that multilateralism can work. The U.S. has instead withdrawn
from multilateral agreements such as the Kyoto protocol on
climate change.
As Blair seeks to back President
Bush on Iraq, he is encountering fundamental differences in
environmental and development policies that the personal relationship
between the two leaders and the political relationship between
the two countries seems unable to bridge. Leaders and activists
are beginning to find out that it does not work to look at
Washington through London. (END/2002)
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