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http://www.hinduonnet.com/stories/2002100701141500.htm The Hindu October 7, 2002 Malaysia hits out at U.S. By P. S. Suryanarayana -``The right to dissent is as much a right in the international arena as it is in the domestic domain. It must be respected. Dissent does not make you a foe'', Mr. Abdullah said in a clear reference to the U.S. In a further direct comment on the current U.S.-Iraq stand-off, he said: "U.N. resolutions must be respected and fully implemented by all, not just a few, or just one. Here in East Asia, we must also resolutely defend the democratic right of nations to form their own groupings for (any) legitimate common cause''. SINGAPORE Oct. 6. Political dissent in East Asia over America's current plans to disarm Iraq and change its leadership has gained new momentum. Malaysia today articulated this evolving sentiment by voicing dissent over the perceived U.S. tendency to treat might as right. The Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, raised the stakes to a new pitch through a paper distributed to the "young leaders" attending a two-day "East Asia economic summit" that began in Kuala Lumpur today under the auspices of the World Economic Forum. The summit was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra. The Malaysian action follows yesterday's completion of a sensitive diplomatic essay by a ranking U.S. official, James Kelly, who held talks with North Korea's officials for three days as part of what is seen in some sections of East Asia as America's differential strategies to break the alleged "axis of evil'' that brackets North Korea with Iraq and Iran. Mr. Kelly's parleys in Pyongyang signified an approach that was different in its diplomatic nuances from the current U.S. strategy of presenting Iraq with the Hobson's choice of compliance with a set of demands. It is against this background that Malaysia today launched a scathing attack on the U.S. policy. According to Mr. Abdullah Badawi, "values and norms matter as much as institutions and laws''. He underlined that "might cannot be right, for that is the law of the jungle (and) not the ethics of a civilised world''. His punch line was "one nation cannot demand that another nation change its Government ... or else''. No nation possessed the right to wage war on another without the authorisation of the United Nations Security Council, he emphasised. Moreover, individual nations should not permit themselves conduct, which they condemned in others. ``The right to dissent is as much a right in the international arena as it is in the domestic domain. It must be respected. Dissent does not make you a foe'', Mr. Abdullah said in a clear reference to the U.S. In a further direct comment on the current U.S.-Iraq stand-off, he said: "U.N. resolutions must be respected and fully implemented by all, not just a few, or just one. Here in East Asia, we must also resolutely defend the democratic right of nations to form their own groupings for (any) legitimate common cause''. Defending East Asian regionalism, which encompasses the 10 members of the Association of South East Asian Nations plus China and Japan as also South Korea, Mr. Abdullah called upon these states to "work together for a better international political order'' and to reflect "the dispersal of power among (the) nations of today''. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Faith Hill - Exclusive Performances, Videos & More http://faith.yahoo.com --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
