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Laura Kam

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The UN Secretary General, NAM & Tehran: Really?

Posted: 08/13/2012 1:24 pm

The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), with 118 member states and 21 observer states, is a group of nations who do not consider themselves to be formally aligned with or against any power bloc -- neither East nor West. Their mission is the pursuit of national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security in their 'struggle' against imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism, and all forms of foreign aggression, occupation, domination, interference or hegemony.

Given these noble goals, it's truly astonishing that NAM chose Iran to be the group's chair for the next three years and as a result, Tehran will be the host city for its 16th summit, slated to begin on August 26.

Not only is Tehran hosting the summit, attendees received invitations from non-other than Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinjad. According to the Iranian Foreign Ministry's Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast, the overarching goal of the summit is to "eliminate world problems." Jews may very well be one of them. Just last week Ahmadinejad, in yet another anti-Semitic rant, said,

It has now been some 400 years that a horrendous Zionist clan has been ruling the major world affairs, and behind the scenes of the major power circles, in political, media, monetary and banking organizations in the world, they have been the decision makers...

Do any of the Non-Aligned Movement member states recognize the infuriating irony that an organization 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 honoring the meeting's hosts who regularly commit egregious human-rights abuses?

Even far more serious however, would be the participation of Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary-General, at such an outrageous event, as recent media reports indicate.

Another question: How can the UN Secretary-General go to a country openly disobeying and flouting six UN Security Council Resolutions calling on it to cease its nuclear weapons program and other activities, not the least of which is the continued and widespread supply of weapons to Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas -- without dealing with those issues and only those issues. After all, Iran is the world's primary state sponsor of terror, according to the State Department. And for years, Iran has openly insulted the very essence of the United Nations by thumbing its nose at its own Security Council decisions. What's more, Iran openly declares its wish to annihilate another UN member state.

If the participants at the Non-Aligned Movement conference want to maintain even an ounce of integrity and credibility, they will forcefully deliver the following messages to the Iranian regime during the summit:

  • Iran must cease denigrating the United Nations and abide by numerous UN resolutions to halt uranium enrichment.
  • Iran must stop providing assistance to the corrupt Syrian regime, which is currently slaughtering its own people and destabilizing the region.
  • Tehran must cease supporting its terrorist proxies Hamas and Hezbollah, which continue their murderous campaigns against innocent civilians in Israel and around the globe.
  • Tehran's persistent threats against Israel's very existence and its unrelenting anti-Semitism must end immediately.
  • The Iranian regime must halt its unfathomable human rights violations, such as unjustified executions of Iranian citizens, including but not limited to women and homosexuals.

If the Non-Aligned Movement fails to deliver these messages to the Iranian regime, it will have forfeited the opportunity to meet its goal of "eliminating world problems" before its meeting adjourns.

 
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The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), with 118 member states and 21 observer states, is a group of nations who do not consider themselves to be formally aligned with or against any power bloc -- neither Eas...
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), with 118 member states and 21 observer states, is a group of nations who do not consider themselves to be formally aligned with or against any power bloc -- neither Eas...
 
 
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11:15 PM on 08/28/2012
What a crap. The author thinks everyone visiting the site are stupid. I don't even feel commenting on it as it is full of lies, misinformation, false quotes, ignoring and arrogant style. The conference is for peace, why not give it a chance. Your all article is to be a guard against israel crimes and make it acceptable for the USA citizen, not any more.
02:45 PM on 08/24/2012
"Given these noble goals, it's truly astonishing that" - Well, anyone with a modicum of common sense would conclude that these are not their true goals. There's nothing astonishing about states - and people - talking one talk and walking another walk, is there?
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Davewaybe
Life gives us time only love gives us meaning
06:10 PM on 08/21/2012
What a crock..........

Because one of the...no! .... the oldest country in the world will not bow down to what the US wants...... the author believes they have no right to start their own exclusive club...............

The people of Israel have no fear of Iran, as proven by the fact that Iran has the biggest population of Israeli's of ALL the Arab states............ and they all get along just fine.......

The only ones that have to fear this 'Club' is the US and those who support her!
02:16 PM on 08/19/2012
Appears decision to have Iran host is purely an attempt to prevent Israeli attack on Iran. Better attack before Aug 26. Aug 25 will work fine.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Joseph Ebanks
04:52 PM on 08/18/2012
This was inevitable. The countries of the world will not continue to live in fear of the developed countries who are puppets to te belligerent Isreal. Mr. Colin Powell, a man of war, a general and member of the Bush cabinet was not wrong when he publicly chastised Isreal for being the belligerent party. And he was forced out of the cabinet because of it, that's power. When one small nation, because of the. Intros of the worlds wealth can dictate the cabinet of the most powerful country in the world.
09:13 AM on 08/21/2012
All this "Israel controls the US" is getting sooooooo old.  Please tell your masters that you need some new material.
If that were the case, Israel could have already attacked Iran.
The fact is... no one is going to do anything. 
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Joseph Ebanks
08:54 PM on 08/21/2012
See now, you just don't believe any but you can have an independent point of view. Israel does not need to attack, all it has to do is keep dangling the USA in front of its neighbors and moving the land mark. Having very recently seen the USA invasion of Iraq, can there be any doubt a to it's awesome power?
All I'm saying is that as a sovereign nation, Israel needs to stop being so belligerent an America needs to let the world know that it will not defend Israel. Israel has managed to almost starve the Palestinians. .
02:50 AM on 08/18/2012
Anti semitism and anti zionism are not the same, no matter how hard people like Laura Kam insist that Ahmadinejad is out to get the Jews (then why don't they start with the tens of thousands of Persian Jews peacefully residing in Iran?). And Iran is not a dangerous country. Where did she get that from, may I ask? This is a crappy bit of propaganda.
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08:32 PM on 08/17/2012
The Isarel Project, is a front for the illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine, it is nothing more than a propaganda outfit. As an self-described "executive directore, Ms. Kam, is making mockery of Israel and herself.

"Criticism of TIP includes describing it as "a right-wing media advocacy group" using "pro-settlement fear-mongering talking points" which are "incendiary, dangerous, and counterproductive", by the two-state advocacy group J street[12] and argue that its rhetoric and alliance with figures "far outside the mainstream of American politics" only serves to simultaneously undermine the image of the State of Israel and TIP's stated purpose, by J-Street which is itself far outside the mainstream of American & American Jewish politics."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Project
03:33 PM on 08/15/2012
NEITHER FAIR NOR BALANCED. THIS IS MYOPIC JOURNALISM AT BEST

-AZINDOW
04:44 PM on 08/14/2012
Haven't got the latest. Is it still acceptable to use the term "denigrate" and its derivatives?
10:08 AM on 08/14/2012
Very one sided kind of article.....doesn't seem balanced at all......
09:32 AM on 08/14/2012
This article is really funny... couldn't go through a single paragraph without chuckling at the Chutzpah.
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Quinterius
Accept no dogmas
06:58 PM on 08/14/2012
I didn't even bother reading it except for a few sentences here and there. It seems like a total waste of time. The audacity and arrogance of these people are amazing.
08:16 AM on 08/14/2012
Do you realize the same can be said of the US and most western countries? We don't bat an eyelid for Saudi Arabia and its abuses, or about invading other people's countries with drones - that end up killing innocent bystanders as well, as it cannot be avoided.

Please, call the irony from a moral high ground, but don't aim to compare it to the UN.

The UN is far, far worse in its hipocrisy. After all, it just stood idly by while the US bypassed and steamrolled its way into Iraq. If it were a lesser nation, or if the UN was a self-respecting body, it would have kicked US out a long, long time ago.
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Richard Pearce
Atheistic-agnostic Canadian polymath
09:17 PM on 08/13/2012
So, let's see, one of the original states to break from the paradigm that the only possible routes a nation could choose was to align itself with London/Washington or Moscow/China is going to head the organisation of states that declare themselves to neither align with Washington nor China, and the writer finds that an outrageous proposition, Maybe because without the strict dualities, people might start questioning the highly restrictive narrative that 'the other side is evil, our side is good' that keeps people from asking tough questions about what exactly our 'allies' are doing that we turn a blind eye to (whether that is to declare half their population to be permamently children on the basis of their sex, or to declare half their population to be foreign on the basis of their ethnicity/religion) that would otherwise be seen as evil, and what exactly our 'enemies' did (revolting against foreign rule mediated by brutal dictators) that cause us to seize on every small flaw or difference and declare it a monstorous deformity.
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Quinterius
Accept no dogmas
08:40 PM on 08/13/2012
To have someone from the The Israel Project comment about Iran is hilarious.

Just one question: The article says, "How can the UN Secretary-General go to a country openly disobeying UNSC resolutions." What horrors! Well, let me see, how many UNSC resolutions has Israel "disobeyed" over the years?
03:06 AM on 08/14/2012
Exactly. Israel had ignored two long standing UN resolutions. The number of the resolutions would've increased dramatically hadn't the US vetoed hundreds of draft resolutions.
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Freenation
11:27 AM on 08/14/2012
'how many UNSC resolutions has Israel "disobeyed" over the years'

well that's of-course kosher..
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Baghooli
Immortals!
07:06 PM on 08/13/2012
NAM response should be:
UN can stop denigrating herself by adapting one set of laws applicable for all UN member states, one member state can not be sanctioned for enriching uranium while at the same time being lawfully permitted to enrich uranium by UN Non-Proliferation Treaty!
All UN member state should condemn and prosecute foreign financed terrorists and their state sponsors for waging war against Syria sovereign government and slaughtering Syrian people as a collateral damage!
Overwhelming majority of UN member states consider Hamas and Hezbollah to be indigenous freedom fighters, fighting a apartheid state!
Israel must stop acting childish by forcing herself in to affairs of others, being pro Palestinian does not make one anti-Semitic except by Zionists of course!
All UN members must halt its unfathomable human rights violations, including US for such as unjustified executions of US citizens, including but not limited to underage and mentally challenged!

Since Western camp do not belong to Non-Aligned Movement by virtue of being aligned already, they should stop demanding NAM to become a Aligned Movement, that's ridiculous!