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PlainSpeak
Non-Aligned
Movement (NAM)
Summit in Havana, September 06
by Dr. Subhash Kapila
The 14th NAM Summit is currently underway in Havana, the capital of
Cuba. Ironically, the NAM Summit is being held in a country which is
implacably hostile to the United States which lies just across the seas
90 kilometers away. Gathered there are a motley group of leaders of this
116-member countries spanning Asia, Africa, Latin America and the
Islamic World. In fact the last three outnumber the non-Islamic Asian
countries. The NAM was originally founded by the leaders of India,
Indonesia, Egypt and Yugoslavia.
 The
movement was originally conceived in the hey-day of the post- colonial
era and motivated by the founder- member countries desire not to be
drawn into the Cold War ideological and military confrontation. However,
this idealistic obsession of these leaders soon gave way to the global
realpolitik realities and all these countries became to be known as
closely aligned with the former Soviet Union. This included becoming
dependant on the Soviet Union militarily in terms of their military
hard- ware inventories for their armed forces. This included India also
as the leading member of NAM.
While the world had moved on, the NAM Havana Declaration in 1979 was
still declaring that NAM was to “ensure the national independence,
sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of non-aligned countries
in their struggle against imperialism, colonialism, apartheid , racism
and Zionism and all foreign aggression, occupation, domination,
interference or hegemony as well as against great power and bloc
politics”
Noble words indeed but behind this façade was a whole history of
double-standards and dealings within NAM and between NAM and the rest of
the world. The above text would indicate that this entire rhetoric was
directed against the United States and Israel. The former was the target
under pressure from NAM countries ties with Soviet Union and the radical
regimes that sprouted in the underdeveloped countries of NAM and the
diatribe against Israel was under pressure from the Islamic Bloc
countries within NAM. Surely, if NAM was truly non-aligned then it would
not be indulging in this sort of rhetoric. Its declarations,
formulations and the general tenor of its pronouncements would have been
more balanced, politically matured and objective.
The present NAM Summit in Havana seems even more ridiculous when one
views the presence of notorious WMD Proliferators like North Korea and
Pakistan and when Pakistan is now a recognized state- sponsor of
terrorism against two fellow NAM Member states, namely Afghanistan and
India. From the United States and Western countries’ perspective,
present in Havana would be a whole range of Anti-US countries like Iran
,North Korea, Sudan and Venezuala and the host Cuba besides many
others.. One cannot forget that in case of Iran and North Korea the
United Nations and the global community are seized with their nuclear
weapons programs and imposition of possible sanctions.
The present Havana Summit would keenly be watched in terms of stances it
assumes on the question of condemnation of Islamist terrorism which
plagues the global community in an extended manner and India and
Afghanistan in particular. Strong opposition can be expected from the
Islamic Bloc within NAM and especially Pakistan. Rather than unanimity
on this crucial challenge what seems probable is that once again there
will be a tirade against the United States and Israel with Iran leading
the Islamic Bloc on this hackneyed route.
The stark reality today is that NAM is an anachronism in the
contemporary world. It neither has the moral force or political force or
the economic strength to influence the existing world order nor has it
itself set exemplary standards of political behavior and probity.
With the political irrelevance of NAM well established in the global
scheme of things it would be in the fitness of things that the Havana
Declaration 2006 on the conclusion of the present Summit announces the
dissolution of NAM.
September 17, 2006
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PlainSpeak
The Week of September 17, 2006
Fighting Terror: Musharraf's Offer Too Little, Too
Late! by Rajinder Puri
Clash of 'Words' not 'Civilizations' by Col.
Rahul K. Bhonsle
The Last "J" that Broke Bush's Back by Gaurang
Bhatt, MD
Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Havana, Sept 06
by Dr. Subhash Kapila
Social Rocketry by J. Ajithkumar
Are China's Rulers Illegal? by William R.
Stimson
Empires and Dust: Travels in Modern India II by
Ashish Nangia
Dating the Dunes at Sam a Photo
Essay by Sutapa Chaudhuri
The World is One Family by TA Ramesh
Arguments for including Bhoti Language
in the 8th Schedule of the
Indian Constitution by Stanzin Dawa
Understanding Mahabharata: A Woman's Fury, Soft
Skills and a Hero by Satya Chaitanya
And, the Clock Stopped ! by VK Joshi
Ustad Bismillah Khan: The Shehnai Maestro by
Yamini Ayyagari
Search Engines: Technology Behind Searching
by Ruchi Gupta
In Feline Company by Bijoyeta Das
Friendship Never Ends by Wazhma Frogh
The Night of Ten – La Noche del 10 by Dibyendu
Ghoshal
The Coast of Mendocino by Walter Durk
A Hope by Arya Bhushan
Ganga's Daughters by Julia Dutta
Investing in Women by Stephanie Hiller
Insurgency: The Long Way Down by Nava Thakuria
The Dark Side of Media Hype by Anuja Agrawal
On the Fast Track to Growth? by Usha Kakkar
Struggling to Make It: A Mother's Dilemma by
Rajesh Talwar
Arun Kumar Das: A Beam of Hope by Amarendra
Kishore
Pune: Down Memory Lane by Vikram Karve
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