RHETORIC AND PREDICTABILITY MARK NAM MINISTERIAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KUALA LUMPUR 000982 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/31/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL NACB IS IR MY SUBJECT: RHETORIC AND PREDICTABILITY MARK NAM MINISTERIAL REF: KUALA LUMPUR 797 Classified By: Pol/C Thomas F. Daughton for reasons 1.4 (b, d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On May 30 the Non-Aligned Movement's Coordinating Bureau (NAM-CoB) concluded its four-day ministerial conference in Malaysia's administrative capital, Putrajaya. The meeting was replete with the customary NAM rhetoric, and ended with the body of 116 nations issuing five statements, including NAM's position on Iran's nuclear ambitions, a declaration on Palestine, a statement on the value of human capital to developing nations, a condolence statement on the Indonesian earthquake, and a conference summary document. Attendees reported that Singapore was the sole country to argue against Iran's unbridled nuclear ambitions, but other nations quickly isolated the Singaporeans in favor of the finalized text. End Summary. Offended Palestinians Go Home -------------- ¶2. (C) The four-day ministerial meeting of NAM-CoB began and ended in controversy. The shenanigans started on the first day when the Hamas foreign minister, Mahmud Al Zahar, walked out of the meeting in protest. The Malaysian government had invited both Al Zahar and the rival Fatah faction leader, Faruq Qaddumi. Qaddumi appeared at the opening ministerial meeting as the head of the Palestinian delegation, a move that infuriated Al Zahar and prompted his departure under protest. Qaddumi later derided his rival as a "trainee" and claimed that as the leader of the PLO politburo, he outranked any representative of the Palestinian Authority. In the end, both representatives are reported to have left the conference early, and there was widespread speculation that Qaddumi left after his scheduled visit with Prime Minister Abdullah was unexpectedly canceled. Singing That Ol' North-South Tune -------------- ¶3. (U) As host of the conference and current chair of the NAM, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi set the tone for the conference in his opening remarks. He blamed northern countries and globalization for the poverty, backwardness, disease and ignorance of the "countries of the South." Abdullah lamented that the international war against terrorism was not being addressed holistically, but rather in "an arbitrary, selective, and cavalier manner." He derided the continued "brutal occupation of Palestinian territories by Israel" and blamed Israel for the collapse of the peace process. He also called on the world to engage and accept Hamas fully as the choice of the Palestinian people. On Iran, Abdullah's opening remarks foreshadowed the conference's final statement, with him declaring that "NAM has and will continue to defend the basic and inalienable right of all states of the Non Proliferation Treaty to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. They should be allowed to do so without and discrimination, and in conformity with their safeguards agreements as required by the NPT. There should not be any selectivity of double standards. There should only be one set of rules for all." ¶4. (C) In line with Abdullah's opening remarks, the 799 delegates to the conference spent the next few days confirming his statements as positions for the entire Movement. In the end, the conference released a set of statements closely following Abdullah's remarks, including a position paper on Iran, a declaration of support for Palestine and condemnation of Israel, and the Putrajaya Declaration highlighting human capital as the key to economic development. ¶5. (C) Only the statement on Iran's nuclear program appears to have sparked dissent. In the final version, the ministers jointly declared that it is "the basic and inalienable right of all states, to develop research, production and use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes." The ministers also "recognized the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as KUALA LUMP 00000982 002 OF 003 the sole, competent authority for verification of the respective safeguards obligations of member states," and "welcomed the cooperation extended by the Islamic Republic of Iran to the IAEA including those voluntary confidence-building measures undertaken, with a view to resolve the remaining issues." The statement demanded that Israel accede to the NPT and that a nuclear-weapons-free zone be established in the Middle East. It further called for a comprehensive multilateral negotiated instrument prohibiting attack or the threat of attack on nuclear facilities devoted to peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Lonely Fight for the Sings on Iran -------------- ¶6. (C) Singaporean diplomatic sources reported in confidence that despite protracted negotiations, the NAM statement on the Iranian nuclear program (faxed to EAP/MTS and UNVIE) was "still terrible" and that Singapore had been "completely isolated" in its attempts to soften the language. Jamaican had reportedly initially sought softer language but "gave up the fight early," and Singapore said it received practically no support from other NAM states. Singapore entered into late night (until 0230 Sunday morning) negotiations with Iran on the statement, with the Malaysians mediating. In the process, they succeeded in shortening the 4-page draft statement to a page and a half, and were able to insert what they viewed as "balancing language" in paragraph four. Singapore was still not happy with the text, but said it could not continue a "one-man fight." Singaporean diplomats reported that although the final text was unsatisfactory, it represented the "only compromise available." Palestine, Economic Development, Etc., Etc., Etc. -------------- -------------- ¶7. (U) The NAM Committee on Palestine convened a separate meeting during the NAM-CoB conference and produced its own four-page "Declaration on Palestine." The Committee, comprised of Algeria, Colombia, Cuba, Malaysia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Palestine, Senegal, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe, "expressed their deep concern at the intensifying hardships being faced by the Palestinians as a result of the financial and political isolation being imposed on the Palestinian Authority by some members of the international community." It urged Israel ("the Occupying Power") to cease its withholding of tax revenues due to the PA. The Committee's statement also firmly rejected "the collective punishment of the Palestinian people for the democratic election of their representatives." ¶8. (U) Following Abdullah's national focus on developing human capital as the key to achieving developed nation status (a concept Abdullah stressed in his Ninth Malaysia Plan, reftel),the NAM conference unanimously passed the Putrajaya Declaration. The Declaration stated that "high priority must be accorded to human development as a key factor in a country's economic development and underscore the importance of formulating national policies." Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar linked human capital development to the economic development of NAM members, saying it was key to forming strategic partnerships and networks through South-South as well as North-South collaboration. ¶9. (C) The conference's 61-page "Final Document" addressed topics ranging from global, regional and sub-regional political issues to social and human rights issues. It echoed or expanded on many of the issues raised in the statements on Iran and Palestine, and called for a nuclear-weapons-free zone in the Middle East. The document carefully avoided specific discussion of Iranian nuclear interests, but reiterated statements on the right of all NPT countries to research, develop and produce nuclear energy. It condemned "the categorization of countries as good or evil based on unilateral and unjustified criteria, and the adoption of pre-emptive attack, including attack by nuclear weapons by certain States." In the document, the ministers "expressed their strong rejection of attempts by any Member KUALA LUMP 00000982 003 OF 003 State to use the International Atomic Energy Agency's technical co-operation program as a tool for political purposes," and encouraged all NAM countries to participate in Iran's proposed conference on human rights and cultural diversity. ¶10. (U) The document's 20-paragraph statement on terrorism urged all states to accede to UN counter-terrorism conventions, and generally condemned support for terrorism as "the most flagrant violations of international law." It also specified, however, that "terrorism should not be equated with the legitimate struggle of peoples under colonial or alien domination and foreign occupation for self-determination and national liberation." Afghanistan, Iraq -------------- ¶11. (U) On the less rhetorical side, the final document recognized the necessity of continued focus on Afghanistan. It specifically called for continued economic support for the Afghanistan National Development Strategy and for the Afghanistan Compact resulting from the London Conference. In the document, the ministers also confirmed their support for the new Iraqi government and called on all states to provide assistance in meeting Iraq's needs. They welcomed the commitment of the Paris Club to substantially reduce Iraqi debts and urged other creditors to do the same. ¶12. (C) COMMENT: This NAM-CoB ministerial was Malaysia's swan-song as NAM chair -- in September, Cuba will assume the three-year post. After what the Malaysian press hastened to characterize as a spirited contest, Egypt was designated to take the NAM chair in 2009. LAFLEUR