Buttressed by its landslide victory, Angola's ruling party must act now with a new mandate to bolster confidence among the country's youth, contends Gamal Nkrumah Despite the West's deliberate inattention to and willful disregard for the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit in Tehran, there is no denying the fact that the summit has occasioned extreme chagrin in Washington and Israel and that dialogue among civilisations in achieving global peace is still a powerful feasibility. Just a day prior to the inauguration of the NAM summit, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin 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 Mahmoud Ahmadinejad expressed support for Iran's nuclear energy programme, 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 programme or underrates such as the Palestinian issue and the unauthorised 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 that 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". He also said that Washington "armed the 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 colonise their countries by creating "global enemies" and ruthlessly mobilising 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 that 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 that 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 initiative. 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 impossible. 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. The writer is an Iranian academic, Middle East expert, Iranologist and lexicographer.
