Scrap powerless U.N.

For the first time, the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), took a positive step by issuing a communique at its recent contact group meeting, declaring illegal the UN arms embargo on Bosnia.

For the first time, its stance was decisive and firm, as so far it has done little except issue statements condemning the aggression and calling for greater action by Western nations.

Now that the OIC has decided to go ahead unilaterally under its own banner, it should immediately put into action its declarations to prove its seriousness in ending the Bosnian conflict.

The OIC declaration has expressed the will of over one billion Moslems of the world. The Islamic countries have a good chance now to show the international community that their power and strength cannot be underestimated and that in the event of a crisis concerning their own brethren, they can rise to the challenges.

There is no reason anymore, for the Moslems to rely on the world body, the United Nations or other Western alliances, to resolve their problems.

The United Nations has become powerless in the face of veto power rivalries, thus it is pointless to work under the framework of the UN decisions as they are more often biased.

Bold statements have come from some Moslem leaders regarding the Bosnians' plight. The 52-member OIC has the wherewithal to take firm action as together they form a very wealthy bloc. The time has come for the OIC to stand up as an effective, viable alternative and work under its own vision of thinking.

Perhaps the time has also come to dismantle the United Nations. Several nations have expressed disillusionment with the world body's functioning in a crisis. Its peacekeeping operations without firepower can't bring reprieve to the new mind-boggling situations arising everyday in areas of conflict.

-- Kayhan International, Tehran