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Lukashenko calls on Non-Aligned Movement to become "independent global center of political force"

Aleksandr Lukashenko called on the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to become an "independent global center of political force" as soon as possible.

"This moment has come now," and the NAM member states should not miss, as "it may be too late tomorrow," the Belarusian leader said in speech at a NAM summit in Havana, Cuba, on September 15. "We should by no means allow us to be removed one by one to the backyards of our planet or torn to pieces like Yugoslavia and other states and drawn into the shade so that nobody will ever see us."

In order to become an independent global center of political force, the NAM should have political will, Mr. Lukashenko suggested. "We should pool our efforts for achieving this strategic goal," he said.

He called for reviving the principle of solidarity in the NAM. "The Movemnet should resolutely come out in political defense of its members subject to external pressure or aggression," he said.

Mr. Lukashenko called on the NAM member states to coordinate their stances in the framework of the United Nations. "It was very correct of the Iranian president to reproach the United Nations Organization and the Security Council of inaction in the hottest events of our life, which the UN secretary general was ashamed to mention while speaking here," he said. He noted that while demanding efficient activities from the United Nations, the NAM should also be actively involved in solving international problems. "Interventions have lately occurred in states that were or are members of the Non-Aligned Movement," he said. "What was our response? Are we like ostriches sticking their head down in the sand? Do we really want not to see what is happening around us?"

"We should resolutely uphold the right of our peoples to choose an independent path of development and jointly oppose the dictation of external forces," the Belarusian leader said. According to him, the NAM should not allow the diversity of cultures, historic development and progress to be replaced by standards imposed from outside. "They are imposing a very uniform model of development on us," he said. "Western leaders our convinced that only their countries have the right to write modern history. They use their power to readjust the planet to their needs, pursuing the sole purpose of subordinating all nations to their interests and ensuring their well-being at our expense."

Mr. Lukashenko pointed out that the United Nations should serve the interests of all states, not only the USA. "Being together we are able to prevent this organization from being used as a tool in crackdowns on countries that implement an independent policy," he said, warning that some of the NAM member states might become the next target.

Mr. Lukashenko stressed that unity and active efforts would help the Movement establish a new, more just, world system. "This is our main goal," he said. "To achieve it, we should have a clear program of actions to create gradually but irreversibly a multi-polar world." //BelaPAN