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)