DEVELOPMENT-AFRICA: “NAM Only Needs to Redefine Itself”

By Moyiga Nduru Reprint | | Print |

Moyiga Nduru

JOHANNESBURG, Sep 11 2006 (IPS) - With countries in Africa accounting for almost half the membership of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), it could be argued that this continent has a particular interest in the future strategies and effectiveness of the grouping – now holding its fourteenth summit, in Cuba.

While some have questioned the worth of an organisation that was a product of Cold War politics, others have no doubt of NAM’s continuing usefulness – particularly as concerns Africa.

“You can’t confront the issues of globalisation as a country. Smaller players are vulnerable; they can only play well in a bigger organisation like NAM,” said Rok Ajulu, a professor of international relations at the University of the Witwatersrand, in South Africa’s commercial centre of Johannesburg.

“I think there is still room for NAM,” he added, in an interview with IPS. “NAM only needs to redefine itself.”

Similar words came from Bongani Masuku, secretary general of the Johannesburg-based Swaziland Solidarity Network, a pressure group campaigning for political change in Swaziland, where opposition parties are outlawed.

“The name may not be relevant, but the idea of solidarity among poor countries has never been so relevantàconsidering the controversy around the WTO negotiations and the way the U.S. is bullying everybody,” he told IPS, referring to the collapse – in July – of World Trade Organisation talks aimed at helping developing nations to benefit more from global commerce.

NAM got underway in the 1950s, as certain countries sought to remain neutral in the stand-off between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. These concerns brought 29 African and Asian states together in Bandung, Indonesia, in 1955 – a meeting that laid the ground for the first NAM summit held six years later in Belgrade, capital of the former Yugoslavia.

Over subsequent years, certain NAM members failed to adhere fully to the movement’s principles of non-alignment, placing its credibility in doubt. The end of the Cold War placed yet another question mark over the viability of NAM.

“I think NAM was weak during the Cold War: it was manipulated by both the Soviets and the West. During the Cold War we didn’t have options because of the superpower tensions. Now the tensions are over,” said Claude Kabemba of the Pretoria-based Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa, an institution partly-funded by government.

“We now have more space, which needs to be backed up by a strong economy,” he told IPS.

The current summit will see a bid to give NAM a shot in the arm. Member states are expected to adopt a declaration that reaffirms the importance of the movement, while initiatives to deepen co-operation in matters such as efficient energy use and the training of health personnel are also on the cards.

“One can argue that the Cold War is overàBut economically the world is still a divided society,” noted Kabemba.

The declaration also focuses on international political developments, such as the recent offensive by Israel against Lebanon which followed the abduction of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah – a political and military grouping of Shia Muslims.

“Palestine and Kashmir are other burning issues. At the twelfth NAM summit in South Africa, (former President Nelson) Mandela tried to push the Kashmir issue on the international agenda, but India didn’t like it,” Garth le Pere, executive director of the Johannesburg-based Institute for Global Dialogue, a think tank, told IPS.

The territory of Kashmir lies along the border of Pakistan and India, and is claimed by both countries. India regards the Kashmir dispute as something that has to be dealt with domestically, said Le Pere.

Given that Cuba is a one-party state with a chequered human rights record, the latest summit may have its own share of sore spots.

“It’s unlikely that the issues of bad governance, authoritarianism in member states and democratisation will appear in Cuba. Cuba regards them as (part of) a Western agendaàI find this worrisome,” observed le Pere.

Some 50 heads of state and government are expected to attend the Sep. 11-16 summit, as well as dignatories such as United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Amr Moussa – secretary general of the Arab League – and Alpha Oumar Konare, chairman of the African Union Commission.

NAM summits take place roughly every three years. The organisation now has 118 member states.