Malaysia rebukes US: "One nation cannot demand that another change its government -- or else," said Abdullah, whose government's views reflect wider Muslim anger with U.S. policy toward Iraq and Israel
Reuters, 10.06.02, 3:06 AM ET
By Simon Cameron-Moore
forbes.com
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Malaysia rebuked the United States over Iraq on Sunday and rapped the West in general for pushing a globalisation agenda damaging to developing nations.
Opening the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum East Asia, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi lambasted Washington's goal of a change of regime in Baghdad.
"One nation cannot demand that another change its government -- or else," said Abdullah, whose government's views reflect wider Muslim anger with U.S. policy toward Iraq and Israel.
"No nation has the right to wage war on another without the authorisation of the United Nations' Security Council," he said in a paper delivered at the outset of the three-day meeting.
Abdullah labelled as "totally undemocratic" the United Nation's veto system, which allows any of the five permanent members of the Security Council to block a resolutions.
"It places the fate of world peace and global justice sometimes in the hand of one solitary nation, acting in defiance of the wishes of the vast majority," he said.
In February Malaysia takes over chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement, grouping 114 developing nations, and hopes to rekindle some fire in an organisation which lost its spark after the Cold War ended more than a decade ago.
Abdullah, who will succeed Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in late 2003, branded the West's domination of the world's financial and trading systems "the dark side of globalisation".
He said trade and investment rules were skewed in favour of Western industrial nations, in remarks that echoed Mahathir's frequent tirades against Western hegemony.
With Europe and North America having already formed trade blocs, Asian countries are slowly coming closer together, with the ten members of the Association of South East Asian Nations seeking stronger trade ties with China, Japan and Korea.
They are also exploring the possibility of setting up an Asian International Monetary Fund and and have agreed a network to lend each other foreign exchange in times of crisis.
CRISES LURKING
Abdullah warned that under the current global system more developing nations could follow Argentina into crisis. "On the basis now of what is happening in South America that certainly gives us some concern," he told a news conference.
"We are worried because the situation is volatile."
Abdullah's attack of the "Washington consensus" and global institutions will strike a chord with protesters who have demonstrated at IMF, World Bank, World Trade Organisation and World Economic Forum events.
Just last month, police arrested around 650 protesters trying to disrupt and IMF and World Bank meeting in Washington, while 2,500 marched in protest at the Forum's European Summit in the Austrian city of Salzburg.
Malaysia blamed the 1997-98 Asian currency crisis on the global financial system and shunned IMF prescriptions, while its neighbours suffered more because of ill-suited IMF policies.
Abdullah said those mistakes were now being repeated with Latin America.
"Country after country, the latest being Argentina, is becoming victim of the excesses of globalisation," he said.
"The financial institutions themselves have admitted their mistakes, but little has been done to remedy the fundamental flaws in the Washington consensus.
"It is highly likely that another financial crisis lurks around the corner, waiting to pounce on another hapless victim."
Copyright 2002, Reuters News Service |
