NAM supports peaceful use of nuclear energy
The Non-Alignment Movement (NAM), an organisation of 114 nations formed during the Cold War, has supported the development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes but says it must work to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
In an obvious reference to the current stand-off between Western nations and Iran over Iran's nuclear energy programme, the movement issued a statement after a meeting here yesterday emphasising the right of all nations "without any discrimination" to nuclear technology for research and energy production. Ministerial delegates reaffirmed the inviolability of peaceful nuclear activities and said that any attack or threat of attack against peaceful nuclear facilities, either operational or under construction, poses a great danger to human beings and the environment, and constitutes a grave violation of international law. NAM was established in the 1950s and 1960s as a neutral bloc in an atmosphere of bitter rivalry between the US and the former Soviet Union. At the end of the Cold War, the movement sought a new role relevant to the contemporary world. Thailand urged members of the movement to expand its interests beyond concerns with traditional military threats to security. "We also have to cope with non-traditional threats to human security, such as international terrorism, human trafficking and migration, narcotic drugs, poverty and environmental degradation, as well as life-threatening diseases and natural disasters," said Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon in an address to the ministerial meeting on Tuesday. On the sidelines of the meeting, Kantathi had bilateral talks with his counterparts from several countries, including Gambia, Ghana, Mozambique, Tanzania, Croatia, Belarus, Barbados and Yemen. He asked them to consider supporting Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai as a candidate for the post of UN secretary-general. Kantathi said he proposed the establishment of a joint business council during a meeting with the representative of Ghana. Thailand also agreed to enhance cooperation on agriculture and education, as well as the fight against HIV/Aids, with Tanzania and other African nations. Sopaporn Kurz The Nation PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA
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