Non-aligned seek bigger role

Press, 13 September 1988, Page 8

Non-aligned seek bigger role

NZPA-Reuter Nicosia

The Non-Aligned Movement is set on a bigger role in international affairs but seems unsure over ways of finding an effective niche on the world stage.

“We know what we want to do, but we haven’t got anywhere near agreeing on how to set about it,” said one diplomat during a Foreign Ministers’ conference in Nicosia. At the end of the fourday meeting, the NonAligned Ministers promised to help the world’s “have-nots” and managed to avert a split over regional conflicts and disputes. Several delegations, however; criticised the volunsnous reiteration of

principles. To head off a crisis of confidence, the Ministers issued a “Nicosia Declaration” saying the movement should streamline procedures and initiate change.

They also resolved the issue of which memberstate will host the 1989 summit and take on the three-year chairmanship after a delay that angered many delegates. Yugoslavia was chosen after the formal candidates, Nicaragua and Indonesia, failed to win enough support. The issue delayed the start of the final session while Belgrade considered whether it could accept without a stamp of approval from the Yugoslav federation. 5~

Highlights of the final statement:— • Middle East: Ministers deplored Israel’s “Iron Fist” policy in suppressing the 10-month Palestinian uprising in the occupied West Bank and Gaza strip and called for United Nations supervision of the Israeli-ruled territories. • South Africa: The document attacked Pretoria’s apartheid policy and its role in Namibia.

• Afghanistan: Ministers called for a comprehensive peace settlement and the return of refugees to their homes. • Western Sahara: Ministers accepted a call for direct talks between Morocco and the Algerian-backed Polisario

Front despite opposition from the Moroccan delegation. • Kampuchea: The conference reaffirmed the role of the movement in supporting regional peace efforts. • Disasters: The statement appealed for aid for flood victims and reconstruction in Sudan and Bangladesh. • Hostages: Ministers appealed for the immediate release of all hostages and abducted people, wherever they were held.

• Debt: The conference urged debtor and creditor countries and banks to solve the debt crisis.

A theme running through several speeches and working papers was how the 101-member NonAlgned Movement could

rise to the challenge of super-Power rapprochement.

Launched in 1961 at the height of the Cold War, the movement now found itself in a more complex, multi-polar world. “The international political, economic and social environment has changed drastically,” said a Sudanese working paper on the functioning of the movement. “Our movement cannot afford to be on the sidelines,” said an Egyptian document.

Several speakers criticised the paperwork. The Moroccan Foreign Minister, Abdelatif Filali, criticised the “long, turgid documents that are forgotten as soon as the is finished.” -ty