POLITICS: Non-Aligned Movement Hits Back at Outgoing US Envoy

By Thalif Deen Reprint | | Print |

Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 9 2001 (IPS) - The 114-member Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), the largest single political group at the United Nations, has hit back at the outgoing US ambassador who urged African nations to breakaway from the Movement.

South Africa, NAM’s current chairman, says that former US Ambassador Richard Holbrooke’s proposal was an insult to the entire membership of the Movement.

“This attempt by a non-NAM member to prescribe to the African members of the Movement is, at best uninformed, or at worst, misguided, misleading and constitutes an affront to NAM members as a whole.”

In one of his farewell addresses to the African Group at the United Nations last month, Holbrooke said: “I respectfully ask the African countries here today to reconsider their association with the Non-Aligned Movement. The Non-Aligned Movement is not Africa’s friend at this point. Your goals and NAM’s are not synonymous.”

Although Holbrooke is no longer the US ambassador – the post remains vacant under the new Bush Administration – the US Mission to the United Nations has circulated Holbrooke’s speech as an official document of the General Assembly.

“The decision by the US Mission to publish the statement under the General Assembly agenda can only be seen as an attempt to question the legitimacy of NAM,” South African Ambassador Dumisani Shadrack Kumalo said Thursday.

In a letter to NAM members, which is also expected to be circulated as an official General Assembly document, Kumalo says that South Affrica is proud to be the NAM chair.

“For our people, NAM will always be remembered for having stood steadfast in support of our struggle against apartheid whilst many outside NAM were either complacent or supportive of the racist regime of our past,” he adds.

An Asian diplomat told IPS that Holbrooke was, in fact, trying an old tactic devised by colonial powers: “divide and rule”.

“He was trying to play the Africans against the Asian and Latin American members in NAM,” he added, “But it just didn’t work”.

The chairman’s letter says that the founding principles of NAM – respect for the UN Charter and the sovereign equality and independence of all nations – remain valid. The letter also points out that these principles are reflected in NAM’s agenda endorsed at the highest level at its various summit meetings, the most recent being in Durban, South Africa in 1998.

NAM, which was founded in 1955 in Bandung, Indonesia, has remained united despite occasional political differences among its members.

Holbrooke told the African Group that Africa’s voice is weakened because of its association with NAM. “I have not seen a single issue in which NAM positions actually benefited the African Group.”

The US envoy also said that NAM is dominated by “non-African radicals, with one or two African members,” who do not represent the interests of Africa.

Holbrooke suggested that NAM should either cease to exist as a separate caucus or merge with the Group of 77 (G-77) developing nations.

The G-77, the largest single economic group at the United Nations, consists of 133 members – and most developing nations are members of both groups.

Holbrooke said that African nations “should consider distancing themselves from NAM … So that you can protect African interests and not allow yourself to be pushed by less than 10 radicalised States into positions that you don’t need.”

“Now every country in this room is a member of both groups,” he told the African delegates, “and I know that I am making a suggestion that is potent with meaning and history.”

Since its founding, NAM has taken strong collective positions on several political issues involving developing nations: apartheid, nuclear disarmament, the right to self-determination, terrorism and the Middle East peace process.

At the United Nations, it has also formed a NAM Caucus in the 15- member Security Council. Last year, the Caucus was responsible for sponsoring a resolution calling for a UN Monitoring Force in the Israeli- occupied territories in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem: a proposal that was strongly opposed by the United States and other Western nations in the Council.

South Africa is expected to hand over the chairmanship of NAM to Bangladesh early next year.