NAM foreign ministers begin meeting amid tight security

CAIRO (JP): The 11th Foreign Ministers Conference of the Non- Aligned Movement member countries was opened yesterday amid very tight security, creating a chaotic situation for many member delegates and journalists attending the opening ceremony.

Journalists had to be stopped at several checkpoints and those carrying bags had to be searched by security officials, despite the fact that the reporters had their identification cards visibly attached to their clothing.

Member delegates attending the meeting could not leave the conference room while Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was talking to chief delegates at the conference.

Even those who tried to leave the conference room after the president had departed were barred by security officials, including Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati.

Velayati, chief delegate of his country, looked baffled for a moment while officials of the Iranian embassy in Egypt tried to explain to the guards who he was. Unable to pass through the checkpoint, Velayati and his groups turned back to the conference hall, smiling.

The same also happened to a number of chief delegates.

The main boulevards leading to the magnificent Cairo International Conference Center was lined up with soldiers and security officers, each standing around 30 meters a part.

The Conference Center lies not far from Tombs of the Unknown Soldiers where Mubarak's predecessor, Anwar Sadat, is also buried.

Right in front of the heroes cemetery is the podium where Sadat was assassinated by the Moslem fundamentalists while watching the military parade many years ago.

The Organizing Committee of the Conference didn't seem prepared to provide journalists with the manuscript of speeches delivered by chief delegates at the meeting yesterday.

To make matters worse, President Hosni Mubarak's opening address was delivered in Arabic and wasn't translated into English, leaving many non-Arab journalists baffled and frustrated. Many foreign reporters from Asia and the West complained, but it seemed that officials simply turned a deaf ear. (ego)