February 22, 2003
Developing Nations Want Iraq Disarmed Without War
Reuters

The world's developing nations on Saturday hardened their call on Iraq to surrender any weapons of mass destruction but hit out at the United States as well, saying no to war.

By Patrick Chalmers

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - The world's developing nations on Saturday hardened their call on Iraq to surrender any weapons of mass destruction but hit out at the United States as well, saying no to war.

Opening their three-yearly ministerial meeting, members of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) said there was no doubt that Iraq must comply with U.N. resolutions but they challenged Washington with vociferous opposition to any U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

"We call on Iraq to actively comply with Security Council Resolution 1441 and all other relevant Security Council resolutions," said a draft of a statement on Iraq to be issued at the end of a two-day summit on Monday and Tuesday.

The statement by the group, whose members make up almost two-thirds of the United Nations, dropped earlier references to threats of "aggression" against Baghdad after several countries, including Singapore and Chile, saw the wording as too strong, delegates said during pre-summit debate.

The issue of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and North Korea has dominated the run-up to the two-day summit of leaders of the 114-member NAM, a movement founded during the Cold War as a counterweight to the Eastern and Western blocs.

The United States and Britain are massing 150,000 troops on Iraq's border, threatening war unless President Saddam Hussein surrenders alleged stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction. Opinion polls show many people believe Washington's motive is control of Iraq's vast oilfields.

Several countries had wanted to ensure the statement, which will be separate from the final summit declaration, was not too soft on the issue of Iraqi compliance.

"THE BEST WE CAN DO"

"It's the best we can do for the rejection of war in Iraq," said a Chilean delegate.

"It's not about supporting Iraq. The issue is that we are against a war as a solution; we need a peaceful solution," the delegate said, when asked why the statement was toned down.

The grouping, which includes Iran, Iraq and North Korea -- the three states President Bush has branded an "axis of evil" -- used the statement to criticize the United States, stressing the need for multilateral, not unilateral, actions to avoid war.

"We are fully cognizant of the concerns expressed by millions in our countries...who reject war and believe, like we do, that war against Iraq will be a destabilizing factor for the whole region," the statement said.

Iraq had seized the opportunity to lobby furiously for support to counter the United States and was disappointed.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri earlier said: "We expect a strong position rejecting the colonial war policy by Washington and calling for peace." The language of the statement was a far cry from those expectations.

One senior Iraqi delegate cited differences over the wording. "I see hidden forces at work," he said, adding that he was referring to countries friendly to the United States.

While the statement represented the views of the 114 members, the views of the six non-aligned countries currently holding seats on the 15-member U.N. Security Council were crucial. Most want the weapons inspectors to be given more time.

The six are Angola, Guinea, Syria, Pakistan, Chile and Cameroon.

Ministers have said the inspectors, headed by Hans Blix, should be given ample time to make a proper assessment and not be coaxed into accelerating the drive to war. Blix has given Baghdad until March 1 to start destroying its longer-range missiles.

The pre-summit meeting of foreign ministers opened with forceful statements against the threat of unilateral action against Iraq.

NO TO WAR

Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi attacked what he called the influence of "just one superpower."

"This state of affairs brings us to the brink of conflict -- a conflict which the peoples of the world have loudly and clearly opposed," he said. The global majority said "no to war," he said.

Apparent agreement over the question of war with Iraq was not matched by consensus on the North Korean nuclear crisis.

Pyongyang held to its position that it would only discuss its nuclear ambitions with Washington and refused requests from other members to reconsider its decision to quit the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Poverty-stricken communist North Korea has kicked out weapons inspectors and left the NPT, saying it needs nuclear arms and wants to discuss the crisis with the United States. Washington says it will hold multilateral talks. (Additional reporting by Wong Choon Mei, Jalil Hamid and Simon Cameron-Moore)

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