Soeharto criticizes UN for not preventing conflicts

By Rikza Abdullah

NEW YORK (JP): President Soeharto delivered a five-minute speech at the United Nations' Special Commemorative Meeting on its 50th anniversary here on Monday, criticizing the organization for failing to prevent military conflicts since 1945.

"To guarantee peaceful life after the Cold War, we need to improve the capability of the UN, through effective global and regional mechanisms, to create and retain peace and develop the post-conflict peace while preventing conflicts through diplomacy," Soeharto told the afternoon session on the second day of the three-day meeting.

The gathering was attended by more than 145 heads of state/government of the organization's 185 member countries. Soeharto was the 83rd speaker at the commemorative meeting.

Soeharto said the UN had played a very important role in efforts to limit conflicts through its peacekeeping operations and negotiations which have sought peaceful solutions to conflicts.

Indonesia, together with 15 other countries, issued a joint statement after a meeting of their heads of state/government here on Monday morning, saying that the capacity of the UN to prevent conflicts and provide security must be greatly increased.

"The United Nations must be able to anticipate and prevent crises, respond more rapidly to outbreaks of violence and efficiently manage and resolve crises when they occur," the statement said.

In his address, Soeharto said that the UN has introduced a series of international development strategies since the 1960s, but that these had been insufficient.

"They have not been adequate to mend the imbalance between industrial and developing countries," he said.

He said the gap between industrialized and developing countries continues to expand and that developing nations continue to be excluded from decision-making processes regarding the world economy.

The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) has been promoting the reactivation of talks and cooperation between industrialized and developing nations on the basis of mutual interests.

Soeharto said the failures of the UN in carrying out its mission should also be attributed to its member countries. "We often forget that the failures of this world organization are also our failures," he said.

"We, therefore, have to pledge our full commitment to supporting its efforts to improve services," he said.

The 50th anniversary provides a good opportunity for the UN to improve its services through reform, revitalization and democratization, he added.

After delivering his speech, Soeharto led an unprecedented summit of the NAM Caucus in the General Assembly at the UN headquarters building here. The caucus, whose coordinatorship is rotated every six months, is currently led by Indonesia.

The closed-door meeting was attended by the presidents of Botswana, Honduras, Nigeria, Oman and Rwanda. Colombian President Ernesto Samper Pizano, the new chairman of the movement, was also invited to the meeting.