Non-agreement for non-aligned

Press, 7 September 1989, Page 8

Non-agreement for non-aligned

NZPA-Reuter

Belgrade

Conflicts in the Middle East and Asia are preventing non-aligned countries from presenting a united front to the world as their summit in Belgrade moves into a third day.

Fighting in Lebanon, diplomatic deadlock between Iran and Iraq and the 10-year-old military confrontations in Cambodia and Afghanistan emerged yesterday as the thorniest problems facing the 102-member NonAligned Movement. The United Nations Secretary-General, Javier Perez de Cuellar, failed to revive peace talks between Iran and Iraq, which are still at odds, in spite of ending their war last year. “I would be dishonest if I said we were making progress,” he said. President Najibullah of Afghanistan, proposed a conference to halt the civil war in his country which would include Iran, Pakistan, India, China, the Soviet Union, the United States and Yugoslavia, the new chairman of the NonAligned Movement.

Asian diplomats said Pakistan made it clear that it opposed any initiative at the non-aligned summit which implied acceptance of Mr Najibullah as leader of an Afghan government. Iran, like Pakistan a supporter of Muslim rebels fighting Mr Najibullah’s Government, raised objections by urging that Afghanistan be called “Islamic Afghanistan” — a term unacceptable to India and the Afghan leader himself. The summit appeared closer to satisfying African countries. Most delegates accepted that there should be tougher criticism of South Africa’s apartheid policies than the host country Yugoslavia had prepared in a draft final statement.

Participants also sounded a common note by calling for urgent steps to loosen the stranglehold of debt on developing states, which together owe about SUSI. 3 trillion to Western countries and world financial institutions.

Peru, an advocate - of resisting payments to

creditors, agreed with Argentina, Nigeria and eight other indebted countries to form a group to lobby rich Western nations on debt and related Third World economic crises.

The Indian Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, highlighted the anxiety of non-aligned countries at the deterioration of the environment by calling for an SUS 18 billion-a-year fund, largely paid for by the West, to avert ecological disaster. Yugoslavia and other moderate nations such as India, Egypt, Algeria and Cyprus are trying to steer the four-day summit in the direction of concise, pragmatic declarations which take account of United States-Soviet efforts to reduce world tension.

The Libyan leader, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, disconcerted many moderates on Tuesday by suggesting that Jews should move to a new homeland in either Alaska, the three Soviet Baltic republics or the French region of AlsaceLorraine.