NAM officials call for additional meeting
NAM officials call for additional meeting
By Meidyatama Suryodiningrat
BANDUNG (JP): Ministers of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) will
cap off their three-day gathering on Thursday with an additional
meeting to plot a common view on such critical issues as nuclear
non-proliferation and reform of the United Nations Security
Council.
The decision to hold an extra-ordinary meeting came at the
closing session of NAM's two-day senior officials meeting which
ended on late Saturday night.
"The aim is to prepare the possibility of a common position
for the Non-Aligned Movement in the debates or negotiations now
taking place in the UN," NAM's chief executive assistant, Nana
Sutresna, said on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Indonesia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas
reasserted the relevance of NAM Ministers in discussing such
issues as the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
"At least we have an exchange of views that can be very
useful to explain the intricacies of what is being discussed.
That is the main purpose," Alatas said after arriving here
yesterday from Jakarta.
Some 60 ministers from 114 delegations will participate in
the Ministerial Meeting of NAM's Coordinating Bureau which begins
tomorrow at the Horison Hotel in Bandung, West Java, about 180-
kilometers south of Jakarta.
The ministerial meeting is being held in preparation for
October's NAM Summit in Cartagena, where Indonesia will hand over
its chairmanship to host Colombia.
However, due to the urgency of certain issues, and with the
50th anniversary celebrations of the UN beginning in September,
the ministerial meeting is also being seen as a momentous
occasion for NAM to come together and provide its input.
For this purpose, four working papers have been prepared for
discussion at the extra-ordinary meeting -- a solemn declaration
on the 50th anniversary of the UN, the agenda for development,
reform of the UN Security Council, particularly on veto rights,
and nuclear non-proliferation.
The two latter issues are expected to be the most contentious.
A month-long review of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is
now taking place in New York, where an indefinite extension of
the treaty is being discussed.
Indonesia and a number of other NAM countries have expressed
their reluctance in accepting an indefinite extension without a
commitment from other nuclear weapon owning countries to abolish
their nuclear arsenals.
Nevertheless, Alatas acknowledged the diverging opinions held
by NAM members on the NPT and of the potential difficulties in
achieving a common position.
"This is a treaty. Sovereign countries are members of that
treaty and therefore may or may not already have a position on
what they will do with regard to the review and extension," he
said.
The reform of the UN Security Council has been a much debated
topic in the past few years. Developing countries argue that
reforms must be made to better represent them on the council.
A particularly contentious point is the question of exclusive
veto rights.
"We hope to be able to look at certain aspects that have been
discussed in New York and see how far it can go," Alatas said in
reference to the working paper on Security Council reform
prepared by NAM's coordinating bureau in New York.
Senior officials on Saturday also agreed to refer the
requests from Macedonia and the Russian federation for guest
status along with Turkmenistan's application for membership for
further consultation.
"Because the (application) letter was only received one or
two days ago, a few delegates felt they should report the matter
to their respective capitals," Nana said of Turkmenistan's
request for membership.
On Friday, senior officials instated the east-African state of
Eritrea as the next newest member of NAM, raising the membership
to 112.
Separately on Saturday, Burundi's permanent representative to
the UN, Tharcisse Ntakibirora, called on NAM to help his troubled
country.
Ntakibirora asked NAM for observers and personnel to help
develop Burundi's infrastructure.