Conference Statement: NATO & ITS POLICIES IN ASIA

Stop Nato publishes conference statement

The conference on ‘NATO & Its Policies in Asia’ that was held on the 5th^h of May 2009 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia was a successful event by many standards. The conference was jointly organized by the World Futures Online (an online political Islam portal) and the Future Global Network Foundation (a Malaysian based NGO).

The response was excellent with more than 120 participants, comprising foreign diplomats based in Kuala Lumpur, NGO activists, scholars and students from local institution of higher learning.

The organizers feel that the conference was extremely successful in creating awareness and making it known to the world that NATO is turning into a global entity.  NATO was supposed to be an Atlantic military defense force aimed  at protecting Europe against the expansion of communism from the 1950s to 1980s, but it is now becoming the policemen of the world.

After the fall of the former Soviet Union, NATO seems to have adopted the political slogan “the clash of civilizations” and seems to have identified the Muslim world as an enemy of the West.  This has been reflected particularly in the publications by NATO supported “think-tanks.” Participants take this development as a serious threat to world peace.

The general view of the speakers was that NATO was in the wrong place in Afghanistan and in Pakistan. There was also the strong view that NATO should not interfere in Southeast Asia. The speaker, Mr. Zakaria Abdullah, who represented Prof. Natsir Matlee from the University of Philippines, said ‘No’ to NATO intervention in Mindanao and NATO has no legitimate right to control the Straits of Malacca, which should remain the territorial concern of the region.  This explains the sentiment of most of the speakers in the evening.

Mr. S. M. Mohamed Idris, the President of Citizens International (an NGO based in Penang, Malaysia) exposed NATO’s expansionism into a transnational military force with a global span.  He said NATO is threatening world peace and security as well as the independence and sovereignty of smaller nations.  NATO’s theatre of operation was meant to be the North Atlantic area as the US had formed military blocs in other parts of the world - CENTO, SEATO, and ANZUS (and not Asia or Southeast Asia.)

Professor Abdullah al-Ahsan from the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM) explained the weaknesses of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) by stating that the OIC was not established as a defense institution, and it has never developed mechanisms to encounter NATO’s disruptive motives toward the Muslim world. Turkey, the only common member of NATO and OIC, does not seem to be in any position to safeguard Muslim interests inside NATO. He also expressed concerns about the growth of islamophobia in the writings of NATO supported “think-tanks.”

Mr. IM Mohsin who hails from Pakistan said that Afghans have a long standing tradition of tribal vindictiveness, righteousness and pride that will ultimately ensure their triumphant stand over foreign forces, as attested to in her history of victory in successively defeating the British and Russian forces.

Acting as discussant, Mr. Hishammuddin Ubaidullah, the President of the Remember Dier Yassin Malaysia, agreed with the first two speakers on the salient points raised by them. He was particularly impressed with S.M Mohamed Idris’s explanation of the dangers that NATO represents with its expansionist policies and strategies to control the world.  He also indicated that NATO’s expansionism was possible due to the weaknesses in the Muslim world.  He did mention that Muslims are still struggling with poverty, lacking in education and politically divided.

The other discussant, Professor Mohammad Abu Bakar, a historian from the University of Malaya, gave a very detailed explanation on the reasons that brought NATO into being. He was of the opinion that multilateralism is the best long term solution to the existing impasse.  This was echoed by Mr. Ahmad Azam Abdul Rahman in his concluding speech.  He added that such multilateralism, however, will not be effective if the Muslim world is not one of the pillars of the multi-polar world.

Arising from these statements, World Futures Online (wfol.tv) and Future Global Network Foundation (FGN) state their full agreement with the speakers and the discussants.

The World Futures Onlines (wfol.tv) and Future Global Network Foundation (FGN) hereby wish to make the following declaration:

1. That NATO is a dangerous institution which has perpetuated the scourge of war, and conflict through its very existence and its expansionist policies;

2. That NATO makes a collective admission of its budget amounting to some 70% of the current USD 1.473 trillion allocated for the military expenditure

3. That NATO has condoned the possession of nuclear weapons by "friendly states”, but has been willing to entertain strikes on the nuclear facilities of "NATO-designed rogue states" and risk the release of radiation

4. That NATO, through its engagement in numerous military interventions and occupations such as in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan, has contributed to and condoned, rather than prevented, the scourge of war in defiance of the principal objectives of the Charter of the United Nations

5. That NATO has violated the Geneva Protocols on prohibited weapons in Afghanistan (and presently in Pakistan);

6. That NATO has violated the Convention Against Torture in Afghanistan in particular;

7. That NATO has, in contravention of the Geneva Convention, been responsible for the death of thousands of civilians in Afghanistan and Pakistan;

8. That NATO should not interfere in Asia especially in Southeast Asia and should leave Afghanistan and Pakistan immediately;

Ultimately, FGN and Wfol.tv hope that the Western leaders –who are affiliated to NATO – respond positively to our appeals by ending the scourge of war in Afghanistan and Pakistan by unconditionally pulling out their troops,  disbanding NATO and by working in collaboration with the Muslim world towards peaceful resolution of conflicts in the world.

War is a harbinger of death, pain and miseries. They are not always conducted on the legal platform, but rather with pre-emptive strikes and invasions as now practiced by western forces, including the NATO.

All these should change because humanity as a big family should be given the chance to live in peace and harmony for the sake of our future generations.

Signed by:

Kazi Mahmood                                         Ahmad Azam Abdul Rahman

President                                                  Chairman

World Futures Online (wfol.tv)         Future Global Network Foundation (FGN)

11 May 2009

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