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Malaysia should give greater priority to the summoning of a Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) meeting instead of an Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) meeting on Iraq as the former will have greater international representation, legitimacy and weight Media Statement (2) by Lim Kit Siang (Petaling Jaya, Monday): DAP supports the concern expressed by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi over the escalating violence in Iraq and the call for immediate hostilities there. Foreign Minister, Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar has said that Malaysia was considering calling for a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) to discuss the situation in Iraq. As Malaysia is currently chairman not only of OIC but also of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), the largest international organization after the United Nations with 116 member nations, the government should give greater priority to summoning a NAM meeting instead of an OIC meeting on Iraq as an NAM meeting will have greater international representation, legitimacy and weight as compared to OIC. Exactly a year ago in April last year, I had publicly called on Malaysia as Chair of NAM to launch a NAM initiative to convene a special United Nations General Assembly to decide on a central United Nations role in post-Saddam Iraq, not only in humanitarian and economic issues but also in re-building the war-torn nation by setting up a broad-based constitutional Iraqi government to replace the United States forces in Iraq. Iraq is on the brink of general insurrection and becoming ungovernable, degenerating into “Bush’s Vietnam” unless the United Nations can increasingly play a key role to form an effective new Iraqi government, in conformity with the wishes of the Iraqis rather than those of the White House. DAP calls on the Cabinet on Wednesday to give the “green light” for the establishment of an all-party parliamentary committee on Iraq to develop a national consensus and a non-partisan foreign policy approach on Iraq, which can be a forerunner for other all-party parliamentary committees for other important foreign policy issues. * Lim Kit Siang, DAP National Chairman & Member of Parliament for Ipoh Timor |