Nuclear weapons are 'a great and unforgivable sin': Ayatollah Khamenei
This posting has 10 items on the non-aligned movement summit, Palestine and Israel:
1) Palestine Chronicle Stranglehold of power;
2) Ma’an news Non-aligned nations to confirms Palestinian refugee rights;
3) WAFA Non-Aligned Movement affirms support for Palestine;
4) Foreign Policy Taking Nonalignment Seriously;
5) Ha’aretz Abbas declined invitation by Ahmadinejad for formal Tehran visit ;
6) Ha’aretz Why did Hamas cancel participation in Iran’s NAM summit? ;
7) AFP Netanyahu slams ‘disgrace’ of Tehran summit ;
8- Khourosh Ziabari A tragic failure for Israel ;
9) Ha’aretz Ahmadinejad ends NAM Summit with call for world peace ;
10) Iran Review Ayatollah Khamenei’s Inaugural Address ;
NAM: Towards Breaking Western Stranglehold of Power
By Ismail Salami, Palestine Chronicle
September 03, 2012
TEHRAN–Despite the West’s deliberate inattention to and willful disregard for Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Tehran, there is no denying the fact that the summit has occasioned extreme chagrin in Washington and Israel and that dialogue among civilizations in achieving global peace is still a powerful feasibility.
Just a day prior to the inauguration of the NAM summit, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his typical cynicism and slammed the attendance of high-profile representatives from more than 120 countries at the summit, saying it was “a stain on humanity.” The cause of Netanyahu’s desperate anger is however quite perceptible.
The 16th NAM Summit which was officially wrapped up in Tehran on Friday concluded a resolution including over 700 clauses. The final resolution which was read out by Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad expressed support for Iran’s nuclear energy program, rejected the US unilateral sanctions against the Islamic Republic, and called for greater efforts to champion the Palestinian cause and stop racial discrimination across the world.
The NAM summit addressed a number of thorny issues which the West misrepresents such as Iran’s nuclear energy program or underrates such as the Palestinian issue and the unauthorized US drone attacks which have so far claimed the lives of many civilians in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia and Yemen.
As an opportunity for the attendees to voice their grievances which have already gripped their nations by the neck, Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar expressed her country’s concern over the illegal drone attacks in Pakistan and urged Washington to immediately put an end to their killing machine in Pakistan.
“You see Pakistan’s position is clear today and has been clear in the past. Our position is that this is something which is counter-productive. It is unlawful. It is illegal, and therefore they must cease. This is what the parliament of Pakistan has clearly said,” Rabbani Khar said on Wednesday.
However, central to the summit was a speech delivered by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution in which he clearly reiterated the official stance of the Islamic Republic on some key issues including nuclear weapons and clarified that Iran has never sought to produce nuclear weapons, will never tread on such a horrendous path and that the pursuance, use and production of such weapons is an unforgivable sin. His deep analysis of Washington’s paradoxical policy deserves due attention. Pointing to “a bitter irony of our era”, Ayatollah Khamenei reinforced the fact that the US government “possesses the largest and deadliest stockpiles of nuclear arms and other weapons of mass destruction and the only country guilty of its use, is today eager to carry the banner of opposition to nuclear proliferation” and that the same regime has armed the usurping Zionist regime with nuclear weapons and created a major threat for this sensitive region.”
In fact, Washington and Tel Aviv are playing in the hands of the devil in their efforts to divide nations and colonize their countries by creating ‘global enemies’ and ruthlessly mobilizing others against them.
In this regard, the NAM Summit can play a vital role in diverting the destructive role of the US government and other bullying powers in pushing ahead with their globalist agendas to a constructive role under the aegis of the NAM members. In countering the effects of a summit of such substantial significance, western media blacked out on truth and refrained from reporting the facts which in one way or another showed their hidden agenda. The media blackout in the West concerning the Summit in Tehran is well tantamount to the blackout of truth and faith, a morbid sign which clearly indicates why global efforts in achieving peace and harmony are eventually pushed into the abyss of failure. In order to shatter the stranglehold of media mafia, head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) Ezzatollah Zarghami has suggested the Non-Aligned Movement set up an alternative media bloc. Such an initiative is indeed commendable and is to be considered an efficacious means to counterbalance the media blind bias.
With full conviction, one can sadly say that there are sabotaging hands at work to thwart efforts in striving for global peace in the light of a united leadership. What actually should top the NAM summit in future is to formulate an effective approach in resolving global crisis and struggle to attain an international consensus to reduce Washington’s political influence and self-acclaimed dictatorial leadership. It is time the US stopped playing the guru, and thinking and making decisions for other countries. As a first step, the NAM member states should make efforts to liberate the UN Security Council from its servile captivity to the US and its allies.
A new world order is taking shape. In this new world order, imperialism starts to vanish and the idea of mounting military expeditions under the banner of combating terrorism or dictating western democracy soon evaporates. This idea may be a far cry from the reality but it is not an impossibility. It can be turned into a reality thanks to the power issuing from the collective efforts of all nations. This is exactly what the US-led West fears most and what the world needs most: a united nations will to fly in the face of the wrong and second the right.
Dr. Ismail Salami is an Iranian writer, Middle East expert, Iranologist and lexicographer. He writes extensively on the US and Middle East issues and his articles have been translated into a number of languages. He contributed this article to PalestineChronicle.com.
Non-aligned nations ‘to confirm Palestinian refugee rights’
By Ma’an news
September 01, 2012
BETHLEHEM — The final statement of the Non-Aligned Movement summit will confirm the rights of Palestinian refugees, President Mahmoud Abbas’ diplomatic adviser said Friday.
The 120-member Non-Aligned Movement is expected to issue a 680-clause statement on Friday.
Majdi al-Khaldi said the closing statement would affirm the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes, as outlined in UN resolution 194 and international law.
The statement will also recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine and urge all countries which have not yet recognized Palestinian statehood to do so, al-Khaldi told Ma’an,
A special statement will be released by the 120-nation movement calling for the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, he added.
President Mahmoud Abbas led a delegation representing Palestine at the summit, which is being held in Tehran. Abbas also met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for the first time on Thursday.
Relations between Iran and the Palestinian Liberation Organization, which Abbas heads, have been strained since the 1980s, when late President Yasser Arafat supported Iraq in its war against Iran. Iran’s support for Abbas’ rivals Hamas further estranged Tehran and the PLO.
No official statement has been released since Abbas’ meeting with Ahmadinejad, but sources close to the president said the talks were positive.
Meanwhile, there were few signs diplomatic ties between Egypt and Iran would be restored at the summit. Egypt-Iran relations broke down after the Iranian revolution over Egypt’s support for the overthrown Shah and over its peace agreement with Israel.
In Tehran, Egyptian President Mohammad Mursi urged Non-Aligned Movement members to back Syrians trying to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad, who is Iran’s closest Arab ally.
Mursi said solidarity with the Syrian people “against an oppressive regime that has lost its legitimacy is an ethical duty” and a strategic necessity, prompting the Syrian delegation to leave the hall.
The NAM summit’s final declaration is set to express deep concern about the violence in Syria and support for efforts by UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi to broker a resolution to the conflict, a delegate at the meeting told Reuters.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Non-Aligned Movement affirms support for Palestine
By WAFA,
September 01, 2012
TEHRAN) – The 16th Non-Aligned movement summit held in the Iranian capital Tehran Friday concluded its agenda with issuing three statements concerning the Palestinian cause.
The first statement affirmed the Palestinian people’s lawful rights, the independence of Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital and refugees rights to return.
The summit adopted the Ramallah statement expected to be issued following the Non-Aligned movement meeting that was canceled after Israel prevented the participating countries from entering Palestine.
The Ramallah statement asserted the sole legitimacy of the PLO over the Palestinian people under the leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas.
It supported the efforts to achieve the Palestinian reconciliation according to the Cairo and Doha agreements.
The third statement, issued for the first time by the movement, expressed solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners and called for their immediate release.
M.H./F.R.
Iran may have hijacked this week’s conference of the Non-Aligned Movement, but America shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss it.
By Rob Rakove, Foreign Policy
August 27, 2012
Last week, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced that he will attend the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), which began Sunday in Tehran. The announcement came in spite of protestations from Washington and openly flouts American efforts to keep the Iranian regime diplomatically isolated. But efforts to dissuade Ban from attending the summit — as well as more general attempts to marginalize the NAM — are actually significant tactical errors by the United States. They are based, moreover, on longstanding American misconceptions about nonalignment itself.
Ever since nonalignment emerged in the 1950s, Americans have struggled to comprehend the phenomenon. At that time, in the early years of the Cold War, nonalignment seemed an ominous new development because of its apparent susceptibility to communist influence. Presidents Dwight Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy, in particular, thought that the nonaligned states, which included pivotal nations such as India, Egypt, and Indonesia, could play a decisive role in the Cold War.
Then, as now, Americans tended to understand nonalignment as something akin to neutrality. Neutrality, however, was not a particularly helpful lens through which to view the movement. Although the NAM has eschewed direct alliances with the major powers, this was never the movement’s sole defining attribute. A broad gap exists between the classical neutrality of a state like Sweden, on the one hand, and the outlook of a nonaligned state on the other. Nonaligned states have historically been defined by several common traits: They were recently decolonized, generally remain mired in poverty, and their economies are overwhelmingly based on the export of raw materials. These common experiences and problems have driven nonaligned states toward an assertive stance on the world stage, rather than the reticent neutrality expected of them. As such, Americans have often found the actions of the NAM baffling or hypocritical. Asked about the direction of the movement in the wake of its September 2006 meeting in Havana, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice mused, “I’ve never quite understood what it is they would be nonaligned against at this point. I mean, you know, the movement came out of the Cold War.”
It was a classic misreading of nonalignment. The Cold War dominates U.S. recollections of the post-war years, making it far more difficult for Americans to understand the outlook behind the NAM. Nonaligned states did not merely declare that they wanted little part of the U.S.-Soviet conflict. Their rhetoric openly questioned whether the Cold War was the most important struggle confronting humanity. Far more relevant to these countries were ongoing battles against underdevelopment, poverty, and racism — as well as lingering questions of empire underscored by events like the Anglo-French invasion of Egypt in 1956.
The nonaligned states posed a profound challenge to the United States. Their shared desire for rapid economic development made them receptive to the alluring promises offered by the Soviets (well before the deficiencies of communism were apparent to all). Their anti-colonial agenda also naturally pitted them against vital NATO allies of the United States. Finally, their rejection of the Cold War — which Americans broadly perceived as a moral struggle — was difficult for the United States to swallow. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles spoke for many in 1956 when he deemed nonalignment in the Cold War to be “immoral.” Since they believed the Cold War could be decided by these states, however, American presidents had to adapt. Over time the Eisenhower administration shifted away from its unease toward nonalignment and began courting some of the movement’s most important states, notably India. As detailed in my forthcoming book, Kennedy, Johnson, and the Nonaligned World, Kennedy built upon Eisenhower’s tentative steps, making a far-reaching effort to engage the nonaligned world. This entailed promises of economic aid, meetings with nonaligned leaders, and real shifts in policy.
The road was not easy, but Kennedy achieved real successes in his short presidency. He obtained critical Indian assistance in stabilizing the fragmenting Belgian Congo, and the 1962 Sino-Indian War raised the possibility of establishing lasting military ties with New Delhi. Kennedy’s meetings with nonaligned leaders forged helpful bonds that served to limit disagreements. Agricultural and developmental assistance programs were well received across Africa and Asia, as was the dispatch of Peace Corps volunteers. The response of the nonaligned world to the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis gratified and encouraged the New Frontiersmen. The Kennedy administration entered its final year with a sense of having made broad strides throughout the nonaligned world.
Upon his death in November 1963, Kennedy was widely mourned in places such as India, Algeria, Egypt, Indonesia, and Ghana. But for a variety of reasons, including the Vietnam War, the policy of engagement came apart during the presidency of Lyndon Johnson. In subsequent decades, as nonaligned states grew increasingly critical of the United States, it became easy to forget that relations with the nonaligned world had once been more cordial.
What lessons does the early American encounter with nonalignment offer today as the Obama administration struggles to contain Iran? First, this history cautions against writing the movement off: Nonalignment is not a passing fancy and its summits are not trivial events. Both Eisenhower and Kennedy, faced with conferences in Bandung and Belgrade, concluded that they could not oppose these meetings without incurring the wrath of their attendees. Broad U.S. opposition to the summit in Tehran risks the charge of attacking nonalignment itself.
Second, the White House should consider a program of outreach. Both Eisenhower and Kennedy acted in advance of nonaligned gatherings to furnish moderate attendees with information. Kennedy even issued a friendly statement to the Belgrade meeting. Constructive diplomacy of this sort kept unfriendly states from dominating the conferences. Obama can draw encouragement from the core principles behind the establishment of the NAM. Some of the movement’s founders, notably India’s Jawaharlal Nehru, sought to advance the values of nonviolence and toleration. These tenets can be powerful weapons against an Iranian regime that spews noxious, threatening statements toward Israel with reckless abandon.
Finally, Americans must remember that this is a diverse movement. While it shares some common principles, it brings together a remarkably wide range of states. Understanding the NAM requires not characterizing it by the most hostile states in its midst, or treating it as a kind of grand “Axis of Evil.” If it has represented anything across the last 50 years, it has expressed the desire of the world’s newer states to retain their political independence in an often threatening world. This should be a readily comprehensible motivation to Americans who remember the words of George Washington’s farewell address. Nonalignment, in sum, cannot be wished away, and the Obama administration will repeat the errors of the past if it strays down that road again.
Rob Rakove is a lecturer in International Relations at Stanford University. His first book, Kennedy, Johnson, and the Nonaligned World, will be published by Cambridge University Press in October.
Abbas declined invitation by Ahmadinejad for formal visit to Tehran
Iranian president suggested that reconciliation talks between Fatah and Hamas be held in Tehran; Abbas said he would consider such a visit in the future.
By Avi Issacharoff, Ha’aretz
September 01, 2012
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas declined an invitation to pay a formal visit to Tehran, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki revealed on Saturday.
Speaking to Palestinian media, al-Maliki said that Abbas was invited to visit Iran by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. While Abbas declined the invitation, he said he would consider such a visit in the future.
Al-Maliki also noted that Ahmadinejad did not invite Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh to take part in the Non-Aligned Movement’s summit in Tehran last week.
The Hamas government spokesman announced last week that Ahmadinejad had invited Haniyeh to attend the Non-Aligned Movement summit. It was reported that Haniyeh intended to go, however Palestinian officials close to Abbas said that if Haniyeh goes to Tehran, the Palestinian president will boycott the summit..
While Iranian Foreign Ministry said Haniyeh was invited as a “special guest,” Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad called on Haniyeh not to attend the summit, saying that the fact that he was invited reinforces the rift between Gaza’s Hamas and Abbas’ Fattah movement.
Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat also said that Abbas had declined an invitation by Ahmadinejad to host reconciliation talks between Fatah and Hamas in Tehran.
Speaking to Iranian TV, Erekat said that statements made in the past by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei about a future Palestinian state were unrealistic, explaining that the Palestinian Authority seeks a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders.
Why did Hamas cancel participation in Iran’s Non-Aligned Movement summit?
Palestinian unity was a factor, but the bloodshed in Syria is really straining the relations between Gaza and Iran.
By Avi Issacharoff, Ha’aretz
August 29, 2012
A fierce storm briefly raged in the Palestinian political arena over the weekend. A few hours after the Hamas government spokesman announced in Gaza on Saturday that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had invited to attend the Non-Aligned Movement conference and that Haniyeh intended to go, officials close to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said that if Haniyeh goes to Tehran, Abbas would not.
Officials close to Abbas charged that Iran was trying to widen the wedge within the Palestinian nation and perpetuate the split between Gaza and the West Bank. A few hours later, Hamas responded that Haniyeh would not be going to the summit to avoid “worsening the split.” At the same time, the conference organizers in Iran announced that Hamas representatives had never been invited to the summit. The storm quieted down, and Abbas said he would attend the conference.
But now more details are surfacing that could destabilize the already unsound relations between Gaza and Teheran. Hamas, according to senior officials in the organization, did consider the issue of the Palestinian split and the danger of being seen as responsible for perpetuating it, but the most decisive factor in the decision was the fact that Hamas wanted to avoid giving the perception that they are supporting Iran, especially in light of the support Tehran is giving to Bashar Assad in Syria.
Hamas was concerned that their arrival in Iran would be seen by the Palestinian and Arab public as their rejoining the “Shiite axis” and supporting Assad’s regime. Hamas officials held intensive meetings in the hours following the report of the Iranian invitation, ultimately concluding that going to Iran would cause more political harm than good.
This move exemplifies the extent of the rift between Iran and Hamas, despite Hamas’ attempts to mask the differences between them. Hamas takes a negative view of Iran’s support for Assad’s regime, which is massacring the people of Syria – some of whom are Palestinians or members of the Muslim Brotherhood. The organization avoided publicly criticizing Tehran out of concern that the funding and assistance that Iran provides Hamas would dry up. For the time being, Hamas is presenting a united front with Iran regarding Israel to ensure that the cash keeps right on flowing.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday slammed the wide international participation at a Non-Aligned summit in Tehran as a “stain on humanity” following Iran’s denial of Israel’s right to exist.
“Today, over 120 countries are in Tehran, saluting a regime that not only denies the Holocaust but pledges to annihilate the Jewish state, brutalises its own people, colludes in the murder of thousands of innocent Syrians and leads millions in chanting ‘Death to America, death to Israel’,” he said.
“So many in the international community appear to have learned nothing. I think this is a disgrace and a stain on humanity,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon, in Tehran for the summit of the 120-member Non-Aligned Movement that opens on Thursday, told Iranian leaders on Wednesday that their anti-Israel comments were “offensive and inflammatory,” a UN spokesman said.
Ban “strongly objected” to the remarks in talks with supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has called Israel a “cancerous tumor,” and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has doubted its right to exist, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters from Tehran.
Ban travelled to the summit despite US and Israeli criticism of his attendance, along with 36 heads of state or government who Iran says have confirmed they will take part.
Tehran NAM summit: A tragic failure for Israel
By Khourosh Ziabari, The Nation (Pakistan)
August 28, 2012
The 16th summit of the Non-Aligned Movement kicked off in the Iranian capital of Tehran on August 25 and the heads of state and government of the 120-member organisation are slated to meet on August 30 and 31 to discuss the most important international developments ranging from the violence and crisis in Syria and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to Iran’s nuclear programme. During the summit, the rotating presidency of NAM will be conferred to Iran by Egypt which had been assuming the movement’s presidency since 2009.
Consisted of nearly two third of the United Nations body, Non-Aligned Movement is the second largest international organisation and its members are said to be politically independent of the world’s great powers, namely the United States and its European allies. As said by the Cuban revolutionary President Fidel Castro, the ultimate objective of the movement is to foster “the national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of non-aligned countries” in their “struggle against imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism, and all forms of foreign aggression, occupation, domination, interference or hegemony as well as against great power and bloc politics.”
The United States and Israel have been intensively trying to dissuade the world leaders and politicians from attending the summit through running an all-out media campaign aimed at derailing and undermining the largest diplomatic gathering in Iran’s contemporary history; however, as said by Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, more than 100 countries will be sending delegations to the summit of which 51 countries will take part in the level of president, Prime Minister and vice president.
This year’s summit is important for Iran from different viewpoints. First of all, Iran can form regional and international alliances within the framework of the NAM to circumvent the biting economic sanctions which the United States and European Union have imposed on it over its nuclear programme. Moreover, the summit will ostensibly foil the plots to isolate Iran and make it a secluded, unpopular country. And most importantly, by the virtue of the NAM summit, leaders will be visiting Iran who mostly shunned Iran over the past years as a result of the rigorous anti-Iranian propaganda of the mainstream, corporate media.
Bolivian President Evo Morales, Cuban President Raul Castro, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Emir of Kuwait Sabah Al-Ahmad, Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, Sultan of Oman Qaboos bin Said al Said, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Senegalese President Macky Sall, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Turkish President Abdullah Gul are among the high-ranking guests of the 16th NAM summit in Tehran.
In an excruciating defiance of the calls by Israel and the United States, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will also attend the summit.
Since several weeks ago, the US mainstream media have been spreading falsehood and misinformation about Iran, decrying the fact that Iran has been selected to chair such an enormous international organisation. The American journalists and political commentators didn’t spare any effort to portray Iran an isolated and hated country, even resorting to offensive and insulting adjectives in describing Iran and its people.
“Do any of the Non-Aligned Movement member states recognise the infuriating irony that an organisation seeking to solve the world’s problems and enhance its own stature in the international arena is choosing to hold its summit in one of the world’s most dangerous and problematic nations, not to mention the most blatantly anti-Semitic one, while simultaneously honouring the meeting’s hosts who regularly commit egregious human-rights abuses?” wrote Laura Kam, the Executive Director of Global Affairs at The Israel Project, a supposedly “non-profit educational organisation headquartered in Washington.”
Ignoring the glorious civilization, rich culture and ancient past of Iran, the executive director of this pro-Israeli lobby has recklessly called Iran “one of the world’s most dangerous and problematic nations.” However, such descriptions and attributions are not unprecedented. The pro-war, neo-conservative commentators and journalists have frequently talked of Iran in such a pejorative and derogatory way. In an October 12, 2011 article published on Foreign Policy titled “A History of Violence,” Matthew Levitt, an American expert on “Islamist terrorism” posed the question that “Is there anyone who still doubts that Iran is a terrorist state?” and wrote, “Iran’s willingness to use brutal means to achieve its foreign-policy goals is nothing new. Since the creation of the Islamic Republic, US intelligence agencies have repeatedly identified terrorism as one of the regime’s signature calling cards.”
Writing for The Daily Mail, British journalist Max Hastings pointed out on March 7, 2012 that “bombing Iran may appear justified,” adding that “ few of us doubt that Iran is a rogue state led by dangerous fanatics. The world would be a safer place if Iran’s nuclear facilities disappeared beneath a heap of rubble.”
Jonathan S. Tobin, the senior online editor of the Commentary Magazine wrote in a July 20, 2012 article after the deadly attack on the Israeli tourists in Bulgaria that Iran should be held responsible, given its long history of “promoting terrorism”: “Iran is a terrorist state, infused with Jew-hatred and determined to achieve its nuclear goal. Until the administration starts talking – and acting – as if it understands this, its Iran policy will remain a muddle of half-hearted and ineffective measures.”
Such statements are frequently heard from the Western political commentators and officials. They tend to consider Iran a threat to world peace and don’t refrain from calling for a military strike against Iran to eliminate this threat.
The NAM summit in Tehran, however, will demonstrate that the term “international community” cannot be exclusively used to refer to the United States and its allies. There are other countries in the world that are entitled to the right of self-determination and maybe are not willing to be entrapped in the neo-conservative war propaganda against Iran.
The gathering of some 51 heads of state and delegations from international organisations and observing members of the Non-Aligned Movement is surely disappointing for those who want to find Iran isolated, packed down, whether it’s the United States, Israel or the European powers.
Ahmadinejad ends Non-Aligned Movement Summit with call for world peace
In his closing speech as new NAM chairman, Iran’s president says “all NAM member states approved the need for a new world management upon the basis of freedom, justice and friendship.”
By DPA, Ha’aretz
August 31, 2012
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in Tehran ended late Friday with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad pledging global peace.
“The important political message by NAM to the international community is the message of friendship and peace and its readiness to tackle global challenges,” said Ahmadinejad in his closing speech as new NAM chairman.
The NAM summit approved the final statement, which includes support for Palestine, release of all Palestinian prisoners, the fight against discrimination, rejection of unilateral sanctions and electing Venezuela as the next NAM chair in 2015.
The NAM members also expressed their support for Iran’s right to pursue a peaceful nuclear program.
“All NAM member states approved the need for a new world management upon the basis of freedom, justice and friendship and with the final aim of achieving stable global peace,” Ahmadinejad said.
Iran: Ayatollah Khamenei’s Inaugural Address At Non-Aligned Movement Summit – Speech
The following is the full text of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei’s inaugural address delivered at the 16th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit in Tehran on August 30, 2012
By Iran Review
September 2, 2012
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful,
All praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the Two Worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon the greatest and trustworthy Messenger and on his pure progeny, his select companions, and all the prophets and divine envoys.
I welcome you honorable guests, the leaders and delegations representing the member states of the Non-Aligned Movement, and all the other participants of this great international summit.
We have gathered here to continue a movement with God’s guidance and assistance and to give it new life and momentum on the basis of the current conditions and needs in the world. The movement was founded almost six decades ago thanks to the intelligence, time awareness, and courage of a few caring and responsible political leaders who were aware of the conditions and circumstances of their time.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful,
All praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the Two Worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon the greatest and trustworthy Messenger and on his pure progeny, his select companions, and all the prophets and divine envoys.
I welcome you honorable guests, the leaders and delegations representing the member states of the Non-Aligned Movement, and all the other participants of this great international summit.
We have gathered here to continue a movement with God’s guidance and assistance and to give it new life and momentum on the basis of the current conditions and needs in the world. The movement was founded almost six decades ago thanks to the intelligence, time awareness, and courage of a few caring and responsible political leaders who were aware of the conditions and circumstances of their time.
Our guests have gathered here from different geographical locations, far and near, and they belong to different nationalities and races with different ideological, cultural, historical and inherited characteristics, but just as Ahmad Sukarno, one of the founders of this movement said in the famous Bandung Conference in the year 1956, the basis of establishing the Non-Aligned Movement is not geographical or racial and religious unity, but rather unity of needs. At that time, the member states of the Non-Aligned Movement were in need of a bond that could safeguard them against authoritarian, arrogant and insatiable networks and today with the progress and spread of the instruments of hegemony, this need still exists.
I would like to point out another truth. Islam has taught us that in spite of their racial, linguistic and cultural differences, human beings share the same nature, which calls them to purity, justice, benevolence, compassion and cooperation. It is this universal human nature which – if it can safely steer away from misleading motives – guides human beings to monotheism and understanding of God’s transcendent essence.
This brilliant truth has such potential that can form the foundation of societies which are free and proud and at the same time enjoy progress and justice. It can extend the light of spirituality to all material and worldly endeavors of humankind and can create a paradise on earth for human beings in advance of the other-worldly paradise, which has been promised by divine religions. And it is this common and universal truth that can form the foundation of brotherly cooperation among the nations that do not share any similarities in terms of outward structures, historical background and geographical location.
Whenever international cooperation is based on such a foundation, governments will build their relations with each other not on the basis of fear and threats, or greed and unilateral interests, or mediation of treacherous and venal individuals, but on the basis of wholesome and shared interests and more importantly, the interests of humanity. In this way, governments can relieve their awakened consciences and put the minds of their peoples at ease.
This ideal order is the exact opposite of the hegemonic order, which has been upheld, propagandized and led by hegemonic Western powers in the recent centuries and by the domineering and aggressive government of America today.
Dear guests, today after the passage of nearly six decades, the main ideals of the Non-Aligned Movement remain alive and steady: ideals such as anti-colonialism, political, economic and cultural independence, non-alignment with any power blocs, and improving solidarity and cooperation among the member states. The realities of today’s world fall short of those values, but the collective will and comprehensive efforts to go beyond the realities and materialize these ideals, though full of challenges, are promising and rewarding.
In the recent past, we have witnessed the failure of the policies of the Cold War era and the unilateralism that followed it. Having learnt lessons from this historical experience, the world is in transition towards a new international order and the Non-Aligned Movement can and should play a new role. This new order should be based on public participation and equal rights for all nations. And as members of this movement, our solidarity is an obvious necessity in the current era for establishing this new order.
Fortunately, the outlook of global developments promises a multifaceted system in which the traditional power blocs are replaced with a group of countries, cultures and civilizations from different economic, social and political origins. The striking events that we have witnessed over the past three decades clearly show that the emergence of new powers has coincided with the decline of the traditional powers. This gradual transition of power provides the non-aligned countries with an opportunity to play a significant and worthy role on the world stage and prepare the ground for a just and truly participatory global management. In spite of varying perspectives and orientations, we member states of this movement have managed to preserve our solidarity and bond over a long period of time within the framework of the shared ideals and this is not a simple and small achievement. This bond can prepare the ground for transitioning to a just and humane order.
Current global conditions provide the Non-Aligned Movement with an opportunity that might never arise again. Our view is that the control room of the world should not be managed by the dictatorial will of a few Western countries. It should be possible to establish and ensure a participatory system for managing international affairs, one that is global and democratic. This is what is needed by all the countries that have been directly or indirectly harmed as a result of the transgression of a few bullying and hegemonic countries.
The UN Security Council has an illogical, unjust and completely undemocratic structure and mechanism. This is a flagrant form of dictatorship, which is antiquated and obsolete and whose expiry date has passed. It is through abusing this improper mechanism that America and its accomplices have managed to disguise their bullying as noble concepts and impose them on the world. They protect the interests of the West in the name of “human rights.” They interfere militarily in other countries in the name of “democracy.” They target defenseless people in villages and cities with their bombs and weapons in the name of “fighting terrorism.” From their perspective, humanity is divided into first-, second- and third-class citizens. Human life is considered cheap in Asia, Africa and Latin America, and expensive in America and Western Europe. The security of America and Europe is considered important, while the security of the rest of humanity is considered unimportant. Torture and assassination are permissible and can be completely overlooked if they are carried out by America, the Zionists and their puppets. It does not trouble their conscience that they have secret prisons in various places on different continents, in which defenseless prisoners who have no legal representation and have not been tried in a court of law are treated in the most hideous and detestable way. Good and evil are defined in a completely one-sided and selective way. They impose their interests on the nations of the world in the name of “international law.” They impose their domineering and illegal words in the name of “international community.” Using their exclusive and organized media network, they disguise their lies as the truth, their falsehood as true, and their oppression as efforts to promote justice. In contrast, they brand as lies every true statement that exposes their deceit and label every legitimate demand as roguish.
Friends, this flawed and harmful situation cannot continue. Everybody has become tired of this faulty international structure. The 99-percent movement of the American people against the centers of wealth and power in America and the popular protests in Western Europe against the economic policies of their governments show that the people are losing their patience with this situation. It is necessary to remedy this irrational situation. Firm, logical and comprehensive bonds between member states of the Non-Aligned Movement can have a profound effect on finding and administering a remedy.
Honorable audience, international peace and security are among the critical issues of today’s world and the elimination of catastrophic weapons of mass destruction is an urgent necessity and a universal demand. In today’s world, security is a shared need where there is no room for discrimination. Those who stockpile their anti-human weapons in their arsenals do not have the right to declare themselves as standard-bearers of global security. Undoubtedly, this will not bring about security for themselves either. It is most unfortunate to see that countries possessing the largest nuclear arsenals have no serious and genuine intention of removing these deadly weapons from their military doctrines and they still consider such weapons as an instrument that dispels threats and as an important standard that defines their political and international position. This conception needs to be completely rejected and condemned.
Nuclear weapons neither ensure security, nor do they consolidate political power; rather they are a threat to both security and political power. The events that took place in the 1990s showed that the possession of such weapons could not even safeguard a regime like the former Soviet Union. And today we see certain countries which are exposed to waves of deadly insecurity despite possessing atomic bombs.
The Islamic Republic of Iran considers the use of nuclear, chemical and similar weapons as a great and unforgivable sin. We proposed the idea of “Middle East free of nuclear weapons” and we are committed to it. This does not mean forgoing our right to peaceful use of nuclear power and production of nuclear fuel. On the basis of international laws, peaceful use of nuclear energy is a right of every country. All should be able to employ this wholesome source of energy for various vital uses of their country and people, without having to depend on others for exercising this right. Some Western countries, themselves possessing nuclear weapons and guilty of this illegal action, want to monopolize the production of nuclear fuel. Surreptitious moves are under way to consolidate a permanent monopoly over production and sale of nuclear fuel in centers carrying an international label but in fact within the control of a few Western countries.
A bitter irony of our era is that the U.S. government, which possesses the largest and deadliest stockpiles of nuclear arms and other weapons of mass destruction and the only country guilty of its use, is today eager to carry the banner of opposition to nuclear proliferation. The U.S. and its Western allies have armed the usurper Zionist regime with nuclear weapons and created a major threat for this sensitive region. Yet the same deceitful group does not tolerate the peaceful use of nuclear energy by independent countries, and even opposes, with all its strength, the production of nuclear fuel for radiopharmaceuticals and other peaceful and humane purposes. Their pretext is fear of production of nuclear weapons. In the case of the Islamic Republic of Iran, they themselves know that they are lying, but lies are sanctioned by the kind of politics that is completely devoid of the slightest trace of spirituality. One who makes nuclear threats in the 21st century and does not feel ashamed, will he feel ashamed of lying?
I stress that the Islamic Republic has never been after nuclear weapons and that it will never give up the right of its people to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. Our motto is: “Nuclear energy for all and nuclear weapons for none.” We will insist on each of these two precepts, and we know that breaking the monopoly of certain Western countries on production of nuclear energy in the framework of the Non-Proliferation Treaty is in the interest of all independent countries, including the members of the Non-Aligned Movement.
The Islamic Republic’s successful experience in resistance against the bullying and comprehensive pressures by America and its allies has firmly convinced it that the resistance of a unified and firmly determined nation can overcome all enmities and hostilities and open a glorious path to its lofty goals. The comprehensive advances made by our country in the last two decades are facts for all to see, as repeatedly attested by official international observers. All this has happened under sanctions, economic pressures and propaganda campaigns by networks affiliated with America and Zionism. The sanctions, which were regarded as paralyzing by nonsensical commentators, not only did not and will not paralyze us, but have made our steps steadier, elevated our resolve and strengthened our confidence in the correctness of our analyses and the inborn capacities of our nation. We have with our own eyes repeatedly witnessed divine assistance in these challenges.
Honored guests, I deem it necessary to speak about a very important issue, which though related to our region has dimensions extending far beyond it and which has influenced global policies for several decades. This issue is the agonizing issue of Palestine. The summary of this matter is that on the basis of a horrible Western plot and under the direction of England in the 1940s, an independent country with a clear historical identity called “Palestine” has been taken away from its people through the use of weapons, killings and deception and has been given to a group of people the majority of whom are immigrants from European countries. This great usurpation – which at the outset was accompanied with massacres of defenseless people in towns and villages and their expulsion from their homes and homeland to bordering countries – has continued for more than six decades with similar crimes and continues to this very day. This is one of the most important issues of the human community.
Political and military leaders of the usurping Zionist regime have not avoided any crimes during this time: from killing the people, destroying their homes and farms and arresting and torturing men and women and even their children, to humiliating and insulting that nation and trying to destroy it in order to digest it in the haraam-eating stomach of the Zionist regime, to attacking their refugee camps in Palestine itself and in the neighboring countries where millions of refugees live. Such names as Sabra and Shatila, Qana and Deir Yasin have been etched in the history of our region with the blood of the oppressed Palestinian people.
Even now after 65 years the same kind of crimes marks the treatment of Palestinians remaining in the occupied territories by the ferocious Zionist wolves. They commit new crimes one after the other and create new crises for the region. Hardly a day passes without reports of murder, injury and arrests of the youth who stand up to defend their homeland and their honor and protest against the destruction of their farms and homes. The Zionist regime, which has carried out assassinations and caused conflicts and crimes for decades by waging disastrous wars, killing people, occupying Arab territories and organizing state-sponsored terrorism in the region and in the world, labels the Palestinian people as “terrorists”, the people who have stood up to fight for their rights. And the media networks which belong to Zionism and many of the Western and mercenary media repeat this great lie in violation of ethical values and journalistic commitment, and the political leaders who claim to defend human rights have closed their eyes on all these crimes and support that criminal regime shamelessly and boldly and assume the role of their advocates.
Our standpoint is that Palestine belongs to the Palestinians and that continuing its occupation is a great and intolerable injustice and a major threat to global peace and security. All solutions suggested and followed up by the Westerners and their affiliates for “resolving the problem of Palestine” have been wrong and unsuccessful, and it will remain so in the future. We have put forth a just and entirely democratic solution. All the Palestinians – both the current citizens of Palestine and those who have been forced to immigrate to other countries but have preserved their Palestinian identity, including Muslims, Christians and Jews – should take part in a carefully supervised and confidence-building referendum and choose the political system of their country, and all the Palestinians who have suffered from years of exile should return to their country and take part in this referendum and then help draft a Constitution and hold elections. Peace will then be established.
Now I would like to give a benevolent piece of advice to American politicians who always stood up to defend and support the Zionist regime. So far, this regime has created countless problems for you. It has presented a hateful image of you to the regional peoples, and it has made you look like an accomplice in the crimes of the usurping Zionists. The material and moral costs borne by the American government and people on account of this are staggering, and if this continues, the costs might become even heavier in the future. Think about the Islamic Republic’s proposal of a referendum and with a courageous decision, rescue yourselves from the current impossible situation. Undoubtedly, the people of the region and all free-thinkers across the world will welcome this measure.
Honorable guests, now I would like to return to my initial point. Global conditions are sensitive and the world is passing through a crucial historical juncture. It is anticipated that a new order shall be born. The Non-Aligned Movement, which includes almost two-thirds of the world community, can play a major role in shaping that future. The holding of this major conference in Tehran is itself a significant event to be taken into consideration. By pooling our resources and capacities, we members of this movement can create a new historic and lasting role towards rescuing the world from insecurity, war and hegemony.
This goal can be achieved only through our comprehensive cooperation with each other. There are among us quite a few countries that are very wealthy and countries that enjoy international influence. It is completely possible to find solutions for problems through economic and media cooperation and through passing on experiences that help us improve and make progress. We need to strengthen our determination. We need to remain faithful to our goals. We should not fear the bullying powers when they frown at us, nor should we become happy when they smile at us. We should consider the will of God and the laws of creation as our support. We should learn lessons from what happened to the communist camp two decades ago and from the failure of the policies of so-called “Western liberal democracy” at the present time, whose signs can be seen by everybody in the streets of European countries and America and in the insoluble economic problems of these countries. And finally, we should consider the Islamic Awakening in the region and the fall of the dictatorships in North Africa, which were dependent on America and were accomplices to the Zionist regime, as a great opportunity. We can help improve the “political productivity” of the Non-Aligned Movement in global governance. We can prepare a historic document aimed to bring about a change in this governance and to provide for its administrative tools. We can plan for effective economic cooperation and define paradigms for cultural relations among ourselves. Undoubtedly, establishing an active and motivated secretariat for this organization will be a great and significant help in achieving these goals.
Thank you.
Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei is the Supreme Leader of Iran
Here for the full list of 120 NAM member states