NAM seeks united stance on NPT
NAM seeks united stance on NPT
JAKARTA (JP): As developed and developing countries begin
considering the future of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
(NPT), ministers of the 111-nation Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)
will attempt to find a common position on the issue when they
meet in Bandung, West Java, next week.
The chief executive assistant to NAM's chairman, Indonesia's
Nana Sutresna, said yesterday that the issue would be one of the
central topics at the NAM ministerial meeting in Bandung between
April 25 and April 27.
He said that, while the NPT had prevented many countries from
procuring nuclear weapons, there was nothing in it to encourage
those countries which already had nuclear weapons to reduce their
nuclear arsenals.
The Non-Aligned Movement was striving to redress that
imbalance, Nana said.
However, he acknowledged that NAM would face considerable
difficulties in pursuing its goal. "It is true that we have not
been able to reach a consensus position," Nana said of NAM's past
efforts on the issue.
The Bandung conference will be the last high-level meeting
Indonesia will host as NAM chairman before handing over the
reigns at the 11th NAM Summit in Cartagena to host Colombia.
The meeting will be opened on Monday by President Soeharto.
The date of the opening is the 40th Anniversary of the Asia-
Africa Conference in Bandung.
The 1955 Bandung conference brought together newly independent
countries from the two continents for the first time. It formed
the embryo of NAM, which was founded seven years later by
countries wishing to remain neutral in the Cold War.
United Nations Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali is
scheduled to attend the opening ceremony of the NAM meeting at
the historic Gedung Merdeka, venue of the Asia-Africa Conference.
Seventy-six member countries have confirmed their attendance
and 57 delegations will be lead by ministers. There will be four
observers and 15 guest countries.
"If most countries do not have nuclear weapons, then those few
that do must get rid of theirs," Nana said.
Signatories to the treaty are currently in New York for a
month-long meeting which is to decide whether the NPT should be
extended indefinitely or not.
Indonesia has stated that it is inclined against an indefinite
extension because it is unhappy about the reluctance of the
countries who have nuclear weapons to reduce their arsenals.
Another topic which will receive special attention at the
Bandung meeting is the question of restructuring the permanent
membership of the UN Security Council.
Nana said that Indonesia, which has staked a claim to any
newly created permanent seat at the council, already had support
for its ambitions.
He refused to give details, saying only that there were a few
supporters who were "quite important."
Nana stressed that the coming NAM meeting would be very
important because it would provide an opportunity for member
states to forge a common vision before the UN celebrates its
golden anniversary in August. (mds)