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Non-Aligned no apologists for terror: South Africa diplomat
By Michael Langan
AFP
HAVANA
Petroleumworld.com 09 12 06
Most Non-Aligned nations firmly oppose terrorism and understand the United States' grief over the September 11 terror strikes, a top South African diplomat said Monday.
"Many countries have expressed their own feelings about the tragic events of five years ago. No grievance justifies the type of action that we saw five years ago," Ayanda Ntsaluba, leading his country's delegation meeting at the Non-Aligned Summit here, told reporters.
"I think most of the members of the NAM share that view," Ntsaluba said as delegates began work at the summit of 118 countries committed to countering what they see as the overwhelming US political and military weight.
The summit brings together leaders from about 50 developing nations and high-level representatives from another 50, including some of the most outspoken foes of the United States, such as Iran and North Korea for their nuclear ambitions plus Venezuela and Cuba, which the United States accuses of seeking to destabilize democracies in the Americas.
The Non-Aligned Movement did not issue a statement on September 11, but in a draft of its final statement firmly condemns terrorist acts as "the most flagrant violations of international law".
"The fight against terrorism isn't connected to any particular date. We have a very clear position, independent of the date," Cuban vice foreign minister Abelardo Moreno told reporters here.
For Ntsaluba, "What we saw in New York was just a manifestation of a bigger problem."
To target conditions that could favor terrorism, "Our goal should be to create a world where everybody has a stake," the South African added.
"The global community of nations have to work together to establish an environment where peace can triumph, with respect for diversity," Ntsaluba said.
Cuba and several other members of the NAM have stressed the need to retool the movement created during the Cold War to counter the hegemonic influence of the superpowers. Now, they say, they must work against overwhelming US might.
Among the prominent leaders slated to attend is Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has defied UN demands that he halt uranium enrichment, the process used to make nuclear reactor fuel but also atomic bomb material.
The summit will also give nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan a chance to jumpstart peace talks aimed at resolving their decades-old dispute over Kashmir, a Himalayan region divided between the two countries but claimed by both.
The bilateral talks would be the first high-level contact between the two countries since multiple blasts on commuter trains in India's financial capital Mumbai in July stalled the peace process. New Delhi had pointed the finger at Islamabad and a Pakistan-backed Islamic rebel group for the blasts which killed 183 people and wounded more than 800.
AFP 11 2111 GMT 09 06
Copyright ©2006 AFP. All Rights Reserved.
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