Museveni message to the West as NAM chairperson
Friday January 19 2024
Uganda President Yoweri Museveni, the new chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), delivers his remarks during the 19th Summit of Heads of State and Government in Kampala on January 19, 2024. PHOTO | AFP
Uganda President Yoweri Museveni has lashed out at the West for what he calls oppression of the third world and imposed ideologies.
“We are, therefore, not impressed and cannot be part of the morbid bigotry of uni-ideological thinking of this or that type. The universe has been here for the last 30 billion years and human society has been here for the last four and a half million years. You, therefore, should not have the audacity to impose on the society you live in, let alone the world, your narrow uni-ideological orientation,” he said.
The President was addressing the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in Kampala after taking over the chairmanship of the 120-country grouping from Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliye for three years.
Read: Kampala hosts key global summit
NAM is the second biggest grouping of countries after the United Nations, founded in 1961 at the height of the Cold War between the West and East by countries opposed to joining either side.
The membership consists of 120 countries — 53 from Africa, 39 from Asia, 26 from Latin America and the Caribbean, and two from Europe.
The veteran leader, in power since 1986, noted that NAM had more than 4.4 billion people and its strength should be to exercise considerable influence, particularly at the UN.
Mr Museveni, who has been criticised by Western powers for assenting to homosexuality law in May 2023, called for concerted effort in defining clear “priorities that favour developing countries by maintaining unity, solidarity, and collective coordination among our member states” ahead of the United Nations Summit of the Future to be held in New York in September 2024.
Read: Uganda to lead Non-Aligned Movement
The head of State, who described himself as a member of the 3rd generation of freedom fighters, said Western countries should respect the freedom of others.
“We are flabbergasted and look down with contempt, at the philosophical, ideological, and strategic shallowness of some of the actors in the world. Why not respect the freedom of everybody, if you say you are a democrat?” he said.
“Our stand is that the world should concentrate on the common human problems ─ prosperity through trade, the advance of science and technology to deal with human problems, the environment, crime, and terrorism,” he added.