Kuala Lumpur: Anti war sentiments ran high ahead of the NAM (Non-Aligned Movement)
summit as officials began their meeting on February 20 with host Malaysia calling for
a multilateral approach to resolve the Iraq crisis and attacking developed nations
for "double standards" in their fight against terrorism and Human Rights
violations.
Setting the tone for the two day summit from February 24, which would also be
attended by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed
Hamid Albar told senior officials of NAM countries that the bloc should put its "own
house in order" to avoid interference from rich and developed nations.
Malaysian Foreign Secretary general Ahmed Fauzi Abdul Razak said the 114-nation
grouping should adopt a common position on the situation in Iraq.
"War is not the option to resolve conflicts as the diplomatic channel is still
available. It should be through negotiations and multilateral efforts... this is
message we hope to convey," Razak said.
Lashing out at developed nations for lecturing the developing nations for alleged
Human Rights violations and related forms of intolerance, he said, "acts of racism,
racial discrimination and xenophobia... were growing in their own backyard."
"It would seem that the fight against terrorists has brought out the worst racial
impulses in these countries, which is now manifested in their policies established in
the aftermath of September 11 (2001), including those which can be considered to be
racial profiling," Albar said.
PTI
