The Havana summit<\/p>\n
The most intriguing question for me, and I am sure many other
\npeople as well, is what went on in President Abdurrahman Wahid's
\n(Gus Dur's) mind when he heard Cuban (communist) leader Fidel
\nCastro, as the media reported, lash out at the International
\nMonetary Fund (IMF), as being the main culprit of poverty and
\nbackwardness among people of developing nations. Just consider
\nthat without the IMF's (and the World Bank's) assistance,
\nIndonesia would have perished and Gus Dur himself would not have
\nbeen able, with his family, to fly to Cuba and other
\ndestinations, on a private Airbus plane.<\/p>\n
The Group of 77, has grown in number to 133 members, or as it
\nis also popularly called the South-South Forum, should not have
\nserved as a fiesta of developing nations urging the abolition of
\nthe capitalist system and accusing it of exploiting the poor
\npeople of the developing nations, while they themselves have done
\npractically little to help alleviate the world's suffering.<\/p>\n
My guess is that Gus Dur very much enjoyed his presence at the
\nHavana summit meeting and talking to so many dignitaries. Upon
\nhearing from his host all the rhetoric and accusations or
\ncritical remarks of the bad western style of capitalism (what
\nabout Russian communist style of capitalism?) Abdurrahman Wahid
\nmust have only chuckled in pleasure. After all, he must have
\nthought to himself that free trade and globalization are not the
\nwork of the devil, so there is no harm in it from a religious
\npoint of view.<\/p>\n
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's presence at the South-South
\nsummit reminded us that the spirit of cooperation of the United
\nNations Charter was fortunately still present.<\/p>\n
The Havana summit should deal mostly with trade issues; how to
\nexport more, how to buy more cheaply and remove any barriers,
\neither artificial or due to force. What they must realize is that
\nthey cannot thrive without the North, which is after all richer,
\nalthough the South may have control over some of the world's
\nminerals.<\/p>\n
Another essential aspect is that countries of the South-South
\nregion could assist each other more in technical cooperation and
\nnew inventions, or exchange personnel. When Gus Dur comes back, I
\nwould personally prefer him to stay longer at home and address
\nthe nation's priority problems and let others, especially
\nIndonesian ambassadors, lure prospective investors.<\/p>\n
GANDHI SUKARDI<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-havana-summit-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }