Non-aligned nations clash

Press, 14 August 1976, Page 6

Non-aligned nations clash

NZPA-Reuter Colombo A serious clash of views has built up within the NonAligned Movement over what criteria to adopt in admitting new members to the 85-country grouping. Non-aligned Foreign Ministers failed to agree in five hours of talks on Thursday on applications by .Rumania and the Philippines for observer status at next week’s non-aligned summit in Colombo. Rumania is a member of the East European Warsaw Pact and the Philippines belongs to the South-East Asia treaty organisation. In addition, Pakistan, which is in the Central treaty organisation, was sponsored at the last minute by Saudi Arabia.

Some Ministers maintained that the movement must adhere to previouslyestablished rules barring members of military pacts, while others argued that the criteria should be relaxed in the light of changed international circumstances. The conference secretarygenera) (Mr Vernon Mendis, of Sri Lanka) indicated that the Ministers’ agenda would be dislocated unless they reached agreement when they resumed discussions. The Ministers were also faced with a decision on an almost equally tricky problem — the size, membership and future role of the NonAligned Movement’s co-ordi-nating bureau. The task of compiling draft political and economic declarations to represent the mass views of the movement has been handed over to two standing committees which

met until late in the night to consider 60 proposed amendments to documents drawn up by Sri Lanka. The main interest centred on attempts to safeguard t.he security of non-aligned States and to prevent interference in their internal affairs. Yugoslavia proposed that a new co-ordinating committee, based on member States permanent United Nations representatives, should be called into session immediately a non-aligned country was invaded. Some countries opposed the Yugoslav proposal on the grounds that it would give the co-ordinating committee the status of a permanent secretariat operating under a rigid structure. These countries have so far resisted any attempts to institutionalise the NonAligned Movement. Troops with submachineguns were dug in around Colombo’s international airport. when President Tito of Yugoslavia arrived to attend the summit. Troops and police cordoned off the entire airport as the Yugoslav leader, a founder member of the NonAligned Movement, stepped from his plane with Mrs Tito.