India trashes Condoleezza's remarks on NAM

New Delhi, June 29: India today rubbished US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's remark that the non-aligned movement (NAM) had lost its meaning, stating that NAM's ''relevance continues in promoting South-South cooperation and the democratisation of the international system.'' There was no question of India going back on its ''firm and abiding commitment'' to the movement, a foreign office spokesman said today responding to queries on Ms Rice's comments.

NAM played a significant role in ending apartheid and colonialism. Today, its relevance continued in promoting South-South cooperation and the democratization of the international system, he said.

''India remains committed to its ideals,'' the spokesman asserted.

Speaking at a meeting of the US-India Business Council in Washington on Wednesday, Ms Rice had wondered ''at a time when people of every culture, every race, and every religion are embracing political and economic liberty, what is the meaning of non-alignment?'' ''One is aligned not with the interests and power of one bloc or another, but with the values of a common humanity,'' she said and asked, ''How can we not afford to join each other, on a global scale, to support opportunity and prosperity and justice and dignity and health and education and freedom and democracy? There will be differences; differences of policy, differences of tactics, from time to time, differences of strategy,'' she said.

''But with India, a good and strong emerging multiethnic democracy, there will not be differences about what we are trying to achieve: a world that is freer, a world that is more prosperous, and a world that is more just.'' ''We can do this not just bilaterally, but multilaterally as well, working with other free nations like Japan and Australia and Korea and our allies in Europe, working with other large multiethnic, multi-religious democracies like Brazil and Indonesia and South Africa,'' she added.

UNI

Related Stories