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SUNDAY POUCH

NAM Summit: Diplomatic boost for Iran

Ashfaqur Rahman
Last week, the 16th Summit meeting of the leaders of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) was held in Tehran, Iran. Twenty nine head of states, two kings, seven prime ministers, including our prime minister, and twenty five foreign ministers attended along with representatives from all the 120 member states. Seventeen observer countries along with ten member organisations like the UN, the African Union and the Arab League also sent their delegations.
This was the first time since the 1979 Iranian Revolution that the country hosted so many high foreign dignitaries to an international conference. In spite of attempts made by the USA and Israel to discourage member countries to join the conference, the member countries ultimately sent their delegations. Thus, Iran could claim that it was not isolated diplomatically by the world.
The Iranian government declared a six-day holiday for the residents of Tehran when the meetings were held. As an added incentive for them to leave the city, it also made available to each adult Tehrani an additional eight gallons of subsidised petrol to allow them to take a vacation. In their place, however, seven thousand foreigners crowded into the city for the meetings. For their protection the government mobilised 110,000 security personnel for the duration of the Summit.
Three major issues dominated the agenda of the Summit meeting. They were the prevailing crisis in Syria, the Iranian nuclear programme and world terrorism. Several other issues took centre stage as the meetings progressed. These included the neutrality of the United Nations due to inordinate power given to the Security Council, which is mainly comprised of western powers. The issue of giving greater voice to developing countries in world affairs as well as abstaining from taking sides in global conflicts was also mooted. More common issues like the question of Palestine, the ill-effects of climate change, the need to increase trade among the non-aligned countries, etc also engaged the leaders.
Secretary General of the United
Nations, Mr. Ban Ki Moon, in spite of being urged by the West not to go to Tehran, was at hand to meet the leaders of the host country before the Conference, and other world leaders during the meetings. However, the Secretary General was visibly distraught when the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei, attacked the US government led by President Obama. The Ayatullah said that the
US and its allies misuse the "illogical, unjust and completely undemocratic structure of the UN Security Council to impose their bullying on the world. This is a flagrant form of dic-
tatorship which is antiquated and
obsolete and whose expiry date has passed." He added that "the US and its accomplices protect the interest of the West in the name of human
rights, interferes militarily in other countries in the name of democracy, and target defenseless people in
villages and cities with their bombs and weapons (read drone attacks in Pakistan) in the name of combating terrorism."
Mr. Ban Ki Moon, however, seized the opportunity of his presence in Teheran to flag Iran's disputed nuclear programme. He told Ayatullah Khamenei as well as
President Ahmadinejad to take "concrete" steps to fix the wors-
ber of the Muslim Brotherhood, was elected president and had gained political legitimacy. He then, for the first time, jettisoned the extra constitutional powers that his military had usurped. He, therefore, came to the NAM Summit as a star guest. Everyone, including the Iranians, expected that he would advocate reconciliation between the fighting parties. Instead, President Morsi
stunned everyone when he said that the "oppressive" Syrian regime had lost all legitimacy. He even rebuked his Iranian hosts for supporting President Assad. This was like a ver-
bal hand grenade lobbed at Iran's
shocked leadership.
With such a strong stand President Morsi immediately stood out as a leader and demonstrated Egypt's
renewed regional leadership ambitions. In one quick move, he had thrown Egypt's weight behind a pow-
ening international showdown over their atomic activities. He stressed "the cost of Iran's current trajectory" which "risked degenerating into a war of violence." He also took issue with Iran's leaders over their recent description of Israel as a "cancerous tumour" that should be cut off from the Middle East. He made it clearly known to the Iranian leaders that he "strongly objected to these words." The Secretary General also called upon Iran to release "opposition leaders, human right activists, journalists to promote public discourse there."
But besides the verbal sparring, the coup of the Summit meeting was the support given by the new Egyptian President Morsi to the Syrian opposition who are now engaged in a military confrontation with the forces of President Assad. Morsi, who till recently was a mem-
erful group of Sunni states, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, which support the Syrian rebels. In a sense, Iran is the only country that now stands with the increasingly besieged President Assad and his Shia-Alawite regime. However, Morsi urged diplomacy rather than use of
force to bring any regime change in Syria. He proposed a 4-nation contact
group including Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran to resolve the factional crisis.
Another situation that merited the attention of all those present at the Summit was whether President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority would finally come to Tehran to represent his people's case for an independent state. Initially, he was unwilling to come if Ismail Haniyah, a Hamas leader who is close to Iran and controls the Gaza Strip, would be present. Iran had earlier invited both the leaders. If Haniyah came it would embarrass President Mahmoud Abbas and the world would get the impression that Palestinians did not have a single leadership. Good sense, however, prevailed on Haniyah and he finally did not come. President Mahmoud Abbas took his seat in the NAM
Conference representing all Palestinians.
So what did this NAM summit achieve? Some analysts say that it is the host country Iran that gained much. Not only was it able to attract so many important leaders, all 120 member states and observer countries had also sent delegations. It proved once again that Iran, in spite of sanctions and other approbations, is not diplomatically isolated. Iran will now hold the mantle of leadership of NAM for the next three years. This will give it political power and diplomatic leverage. Iran would also enjoy great international prestige.
In concrete terms, a way out of the Syrian situation was suggested by the members, including Egypt, although it remains unresolved. President Morsi grabbed the opportunity and displayed to the world Egypt's new and colourful plumes. The balmy breeze of the Arab Spring floated through the precinct of the Conference where dictators and their potentates were present. It was made known that they must change soon or be caught up by history.
The final document that was adopted by the 120 member states condemned all unilateral sanctions. It also backed peaceful use of nuclear energy for all. It supported the creation of a Palestinian state. It urged all countries to start nuclear disarmament if they had any stockpile. Human rights free from political agenda and an end to "Islamophobia" were also agreed upon.
Finally, to many analysts, Israel, which had all along felt that it would be able to dissuade many members of the NAM from travelling to Tehran, was left deeply disappointed. The western press, which had continued to harp on the old theme that NAM summit meetings were irrelevant in the present international context, found that the context was itself changing very fast. A fresh wind seems to be blowing and scattering the politics of the past. The second largest gathering of states in the world after the UN was realising that together they had much to offer to resolve intractable issues which the UN Security Council was unable to do as it remained locked in its own outdated rivalries.
With time, the 16,h NAM Summit will reveal what more was achieved there.
The writer is a former Ambassador and a Commentator on contemporary issues.
E-mail: ashfaque303@gmail.com
***The second largest gathering of states in the world after the UN was realising that together they had much to offer to resolve intractable issues which the UN Security Council was unable to do as it remained locked in its own outdated rivalries.***