Questions arise about the future of NAM

By Meidyatama Suryodiningrat

JAKARTA (JP): As Indonesia hands over the chairmanship of the 112 nation Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to Colombia this week, questions arise about the past three-years and the commitment of the new chairman towards the movement.

Indonesian experts have varied opinions on the effectiveness of Indonesia's leadership, but share the view that Latin American issues will gain prevalence.

Nur Imam Subono, a lecturer at the University of Indonesia's School of Political and Social Sciences, said regional cooperation is far more important than NAM for Latin American countries.

In his assessment, Colombia will thus introduce programs which are of particular concern to that region.

"For them, NAM is not a number one priority," said Imam, who specializes in Latin American politics.

Likewise, Kusnanto Anggoro from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, believes more focus will now be poured into issues concerning Latin America.

"Although Colombia has promised to continue the ideas and steps taken by Indonesia, they will at the same time add a new color," Kusnanto said. "I think regional affairs will likely color Colombia's leadership."

The 11th NAM Summit will be held between Oct. 18 and 20 at the seaside town of Cartagena, north of Bogota.

At least 52 heads of state or government, including President Soeharto, have confirmed their attendance, with 86 of the 112- member states expected to attend.

Among the new topics expected to surface during the Colombia's tenure are drug trafficking, poverty, international terrorism and human rights, the experts said.

Though these issues are of international concern, Kusnanto notes that "many of these issues are of specific interest to Latin America."

During a NAM Ministerial Meeting in Bandung, West Java, earlier this year, Colombian Foreign Minister Rodrigo Pardo Garcia-Pena asserted the need for NAM to work together in favor of the poorest people in the developing world.

Pardo insisted that Colombia will continue the North-South dialog which Indonesia has promoted, but stressed that before this will be possible, South-South cooperation will have to be strengthened first.

Kusnanto welcomes this step, saying that although NAM can never replace the importance of economic and financial assistance of the North, in the long run it is South-South cooperation which should be enhanced and remain a central focus of the movement.

Kusnanto also predicts that as chair, Colombia will also focus on the regional border disputes straining the South American states, particularly the recent renewed flare-ups between Ecuador and Bolivia.

The question is: Does Colombia, which is more known for its coffee and drug cartels than its diplomatic exploits, have the political will or capability to effectively pursue these goals?

Nur Imam Subono wonders why Colombia took the reigns of leadership when traditionally NAM has not been a priority in the country.

He argues that it is merely Latin America's turn to bear the chairmanship, and the fate fell upon Colombia only after Nicaragua, which was keen to preside over NAM, withdrew due to domestic political constraints.

Hasnan Habib, NAM's ambassador to Latin America and the Caribbean, has hinted that domestic problems, like rampant drug trafficking, could pose difficulties for NAM's new chairman.

More importantly, he added, NAM needs strong committed leaders to perpetuate the movement's new spirit evoked in the past three- years.

Spirit

There is a wider range of assessments on Indonesia's performance as chair of the movement.

Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas said last week that, "I think Indonesia in the past three-years as chairman of NAM has tried to accomplish concrete results which profit its members."

International affairs expert Dewi Fortuna Anwar, from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, agrees that Indonesia's leadership was very successful and helped to reinvigorate the movement.

She states that chairing NAM and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and becoming a non-permanent member in the United Nations Security Council are the peak of the Indonesia's foreign policy.

Kusnanto Anggoro acknowledges Indonesia's success, but takes a more pragmatic look. He says Indonesia has succeeded in elevating the movement's image but has made few concrete results.

"I think Indonesia has been successful despite not having any real results, because it is really only moral and symbolic," he said.

Nur Imam Subono also points at the nominal outcomes of the past three-years and maintains that what has been accomplished is "just a symbolic resonance".

He contends NAM allowed Indonesia to shift from a low-profile foreign policy to a higher-profile.

Among the features of Indonesia's tenure was forging South- South cooperation in exchanging development experiences, and the North-South dialog with special concern over the debt problem of the developing world.

Meetings such as the Asia-Africa Forum were held, there were scholarships for African farmers and students to study here. But other than that, few significant breakthroughs were achieved.

As Kusnanto points out, "The NAM forum is an ineffective forum of pressure. NAM is more of a moral force whose programs can only be implemented by more practical means such as bilateral ties."

The political ineffectiveness of the movement was also evident when it failed to come up with a common stance on the pending Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty earlier this year.

"NAM has too many members, so it cannot come to a common decision," said Nur Imam Subono.

Kusnanto also agrees with the difficulty of reaching a political decision in a movement which hosts so many interests and contends that "NAM will never be an effective political entity."

What is then to be made of the many costly declarations and meetings that were held in the past three-years and will be held in the future?

Kusnanto puts it bluntly: "I believe only NAM's spirit will be imparted in the end."