M A I N   N E W S

PM: NAM should not be ambiguous on terror
V. S. Chandrasekar

Havana, September 15
Warning that NAM cannot be ambiguous on the issue of terrorism if it wants to be relevant, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today told its leaders to unitedly fight the scourge and not allow the forces of extremism to distract the world’s attention from developmental issues.

“If NAM is to be relevant in today’s circumstances, it cannot afford to equivocate on the subject of terrorism. A message must emanate from us that we are united in our desire to fight and eliminate the scourge of terrorism,” Mr Manmohan Singh said in his address to the 14th summit here of the 118-member grouping.

The forces of intolerance and extremism could not be allowed “to distract the world’s attention from the vital concerns” like poverty, ignorance and disease, he told the summit attended by 55 heads of state and government, including Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and South African President Thabo Mbeki, besides UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Rejecting the notion of a “clash of civilisations”, he made a strong appeal to the Non-Aligned Movement to be seen as being central to global efforts to deal with urgent trans-national issues, including terrorism.

“Today we again confront the danger of the world being split along an artificially created cultural and religious divide. The NAM, encompassing as it does, every religion professed by mankind, every ethnic group and ideological persuasion, is uniquely placed today, once again, to play the role of a bridge of understanding,” the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister proposed the establishment of a working group to frame an action plan to address future energy challenges. India would be prepared to coordinate such a group, he said.

He said if the member countries wanted to revitalise NAM, then the "collective message" of the summit must focus on urgent trans-national issues like terrorism, pandemics, energy security and the environment.

"Our cooperative world view is in itself a rejection of the notion of 'clash of civilisations'. Rather, our message to the world should be that it is possible to work for a 'confluence of civilisations'," he told the two-day meet.

"As a group we have rejected extremes. We must spread the message of Gandhiji, the apostle of peace. Our voice must then be one of moderation, harmony and reason. If such is the voice of more than half of the people of the world, it will prevail. And it will guide the destiny of our planet," he said.

Dr Singh said the world was again facing the danger of “being split along an artificially created cultural and religious divide.” The emerging faultlines of the new ideological divide were nowhere more apparent than in West Asia, which witnessed a tragic and pointless war in Lebanon.

This sharpened the sense of alienation and resentment, brutalising a country that had just begun to reclaim its heritage of inter-ethnic and inter-religious harmony after years of conflict, he told leaders of the developing world.

The Prime Minister suggested the constitution of a NAM high-level group for West Asia that could undertake a sustained mission to promote understanding in the region and assist in implementing the agreed roadmap towards a comprehensive peace.

The international community must address more fully its responsibility to resolve this issue and bring to an end the long years of suffering of the Palestinian people, he said.

Dwelling on the role of NAM in the current global order, Dr Singh said in an increasingly inter-dependent world, the challenge was to promote balanced and equitable management of this inter-dependence of nations.

As globalisation progressed, national and regional boundaries were becoming less relevant. "Our problems are global, so must our solutions be," he said.

Reforming the UN and revitalising the General Assembly was imperative. The developing world must find its due representation among permanent members of the UN Security Council, he said.

"We must joint hands to promote democratisation of processes of global governance, ushering in a new global polity based on the rule of law, reason and equity," he said. — PTI

PM celebrates wedding anniversary

On Board Air India One, September 15
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife, Gursharan Kaur, today celebrated their 48th wedding anniversary on board a special Air-India flight from Brasilia to Havana.

Dr Singh (74) and his wife cut a cake and received greetings from officials accompanying them on the flight, his aides told journalists.

Asked by the officials to say something on the occasion, Dr Singh, in a rare display of humour, quoted the Duke of Edinburg as having said: “The first 25 years of a marriage are normally horrible.’’

To this, Ms Gursharan Kaur responded “We have crossed that milestone.” — UNI