Raul Castro urges NAM countries to stand up to US

Deutsche Presse Agentur
Published: Friday September 15, 2006

Havana- Raul Castro asked members of the Non-Aligned Movement to defend multilateralism in the face of what he called the hypocrisy of the United States' policy of "double standards" and "imperial conquest." Raul Castro's remarks came at the 14th NAM presidential summit as he accepted the chairmanship of the organization from the Malaysian prime minister.

Though President Fidel Castro was originally set to take over the chairmanship, he was absent from the meeting as he continued to recover from surgery he underwent July 31. Fidel Castro, 80, turned over power to his brother Raul during his recovery.

"The current international situation, characterised by the irrational aspirations of world domination by the only world superpower, with the complicity of its allies, shows the need to be ever more cohesive in the defence of the principles and purposes that determined the foundation of the non-aligned (movement)," Raul Castro said.

He reminded his audience that NAM represents almost two thirds of UN members, and urged them to turn their diversity into a "source of stregth."

In a further attack on the US, Fidel Castro's brother expressed support for Iran, also a member of NAM.

"Let us denounce the hypocrisy of the United States government, which threatens Iran to prevent it from the peaceful use of nuclear energy while it supports Israel in the expansion of its nuclear arsenal," he said.

Malaysia's Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi opened the summit with best wishes for Fidel Castro's prompt recovery.

The Malaysian premier went on to recall his country's NAM presidency, including the debates surrounding the Palestinian cause, the role of women, socioeconomic development and other issues linked to the revitalization of the bloc.

Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi also mentioned NAM's fight against inequality, the domination of world powers, interference and human rights violations, and stressed the need to take on the challenges of the future.

More than 55 heads of state - including Mahmud Ahmadinejad of Iran, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan, Manmohan Singh of India, Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, Aleksander Lukashenko of Belarus, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and Evo Morales of Bolivia - have travelled to Havana, the self- proclaimed "capital of the Third World" for the NAM summit.

Fidel Castro's doctors asked him not to attend the summit and have "insisted that he continues resting," Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said.

"Fidel strictly abides by medical recommendations and will therefore not be presiding over the Cuban delegation at this summit," he said.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan also addressed the summit, stressing the importance of multilateralism.

Annan met with Fidel Castro on Thursday night, the Cuban press reported on Friday.

They spoke about the relevance of NAM, the conflict in the Middle East, the situation in Africa and the rise in oil prices, Cuban media reported. That meeting also included Perez Roque and Rodrigo Malmierca, the Cuban ambassador to the UN.

The NAM summit is scheduled to continue through Saturday.

© 2006 DPA - Deutsche Presse-Agenteur