Maravi

(TALKZIMBABWE) Big brother is watching: warns Pres Mugabe

Big brother is watching: warns Pres Mugabe
Philip Murombedzi
Thu, 16 Jul 2009 01:14:00 +0000

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe has urged members of the Non Aligned Movement to be wary of the 'abhorrent machinations' of the West and says these actions are a threat to international peace and security.

The President was speaking at the opening of the 15th Non Alignment Movement's Heads of State and Government Summit at Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, Wednesday.

He told delegates to the summit, which is held every three years, that there was clear and renewed attempts by the West, whom he dubbed 'big brother', to interfere in the internal affairs of NAM countries.

"The Non-Aligned Movement faces renewed attempts by some Western countries to interfere in the internal affairs of NAM member countries. This ‘big brother is watching’ state of affairs is a grave danger to international peace and security," said President Mugabe who is accompanied by foreign affairs minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi and First Lady Grace Mugabe.

"The severity of the machinations by the Western world has often manifested itself in a number of ways, including the use of surreptitious and illegal attempts by some Western countries to abuse the UN Security Council to unjustly punish developing countries through the imposition of illegal and unilateral sanctions, and other intimidatory measures," he said.

The President says the NAM should change its manner of doing business and focus on putting into action many of the agreements that have been adopted since it was founded in 1961.

"The Movement cannot afford a business-as-usual approach. Hard questions beckon we need to go beyond the current practice of debates and the adoption of action plans that rarely see the light of day.

"Our clear and present challenge is a timeous, effective and unapologetic responsibility of delivering a just, peaceful and equitable world order."

President Mugabe also called for the reform of the United Nations system which he said was being used by "the mighty, haughty and militarily powerful" to victimise smaller countries like Zimbabwe.

"We need to recognise that for as long as the UN retains its present form, it will continue to be abused by the mighty, haughty and militarily powerful to victimise the smaller and weaker nations," he said.

The President also took a swipe at Western countries for their running of the Bretton Woods twin institutions: the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

"The international financial system, symbolised by the Bretton Woods institutions in particular, is similarly in dire need of reform," he said, echoing statements from Cuban leader Raul Castro, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon..

"The fact that the global economic crisis had originated in the West demonstrates that these countries could not be trusted to oversee the international financial system.

"I am glad that the high-level meeting on global financial and economic crisis that was recently held at the United Nations headquarters in New York recommended that these institutions (IMF and World Bank) be put under the control of the UN General Assembly."

He said there was need to make the IMF and World Bank "more accountable and responsive".

"This would no doubt make them more accountable and responsive to the needs of the majority of UN members, including developing countries."

Besides the NAM outgoing chairman and Cuban President Castro, the incoming chairman, Egyptian President Mubarak and UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, 31 heads of state and governments attended and addressed the two-day summit.

Other leaders who attended are Philippines President Gloria Arroyo, Nigeria's Musa Yar Adua, Libya's Muamar Gadafi, and Ghana's John Attar Mills.

The NAM is the largest grouping of countries outside of the United Nations, made up of mostly African, Asian and Latin American speaking nations.

In the NAM, now also the G77, the most pressing issues as the leaders gather in Sharm el Sheik , Egypt, are concerns over pandemics, rising poverty, effects of climate change and conflicts within and among some member states.

The leaders also meet amid growing optimism as the economies of some key member states such China, Brazil, India among others rise to global player status.

The twin theme of this year's summit-"International Solidarity for Peace and Development" and the "International Financial and its impact on Movement at least to changed realities.

A report in The Herald and other sources were used in compiling this story.

Labels: COLOUR REVOLUTIONS, MUGABE, NAM, NEOCOLONIALISM, SANCTIONS, SHARM-EL-SHEIKH, ZDERA

posted by MrK @ 4:35 AM