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SA understands 9/11 grief
11/09/2006 22:03 - (SA)
Havana - 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 on 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.
These include some of the most outspoken foes of the US - Iran, North Korea, Syria Venezuela and Cuba, which the United States accuses of seeking to destabilise democracies in the Americas. Though the NAM itself did not immediately issue a statement on September 11, the movement in a draft of its final statement firmly condemns terrorist acts as "the most flagrant violations of international law". Respect for diversity
"What we saw in New York was just a manifestation of a bigger problem," Ntsaluba said.
To target conditions that could favour terrorism, "Our goal should be to create a world where everybody has a stake," he 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. India, Pakistan
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.
- SAPA
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