Tanzania needs to adhere to its NAM policy

Wamanyaki · 2024-09-02T09:14:41+00:00

Tanzania needs to adhere to its non-alignment principles to maintain its sovereignty, integrity Delivering his speech at the inauguration of the Non-Aligned Inter-Regional Programme of Cooperation in respect of trade, industry and transport in Georgetown, Guyana:13thSeptember 1974, Tanzania’s former President Mwl Julius Kambarage Nyerere said “We can cooperate together as poor nations. We can accept the fact that the only partner of the poor are other poor.” He further noted that when non-alignment movement [NAM] was first adopted as a policy, and when the non-aligned nations, Tanzania inclusive, first met in the conference in 1961, the states concerned were thinking in political terms. They were asserting to stay outside the Cold War, which until then overshadowed all international relations. In so doing they were challenging a conventional assumption of the place of small or poor nations in the world. For non-alignment says nothing about socialism, or capitalism, or communism, or any other economic and social philosophy. It is simply a statement by a particular country, that it will determine its policies, for itself, according to its own judgement about its needs and the merits of a case. It is thus a refusal to be a party to any permanent diplomatic or military identification with the great powers. It is a refusal to take part in any alliance, or to allow any military bases by the great powers of the world. Thus, Tanzania as a member of the NAM, as Mwl Nyerere said, needs to refuse to take part in China’s growing influence on Tanzanian sovereignty and its non-aligned principles. Literature has indicated that previously China’s place on the world stage as a similar developing nation initially coincided with the global principles of sovereignity, neutrality, and self determination supported by members of the NAM. However, China’s rise in prominence, alongside growing Chinese authoriatarianism and its ambitious and assertive foreign policy, have raised concerns about the potential impact on the sovereignty of NAM members and the developing nations such as Tanzania, Kenya and other East African nations. Continued rising of China’s influence, and Tanzania’s dependence on China, threatens to push Tanzania off its non-aligned footing. Similarly, China’s growing image of power projection in the developing world -often is viewed as a form of neo-colonialism in the developing world-this move conflicts with Tanzania’s own image as a neutral and non-aligned partner to many globally and regionally in East Africa. China’s movement away from the principles consistent with the NAM and towards authoritarianism can undermine the sovereignty of other developing countries and partners-including those in the NAM through economic dependence, political influence, military presence, disregard for international law, and human rights violations. Ends.

Thread starter Wamanyaki
Start date Sep 2, 2024
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policy tanzania

Wamanyaki

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Tanzania needs to adhere to its NAM policy

Wamanyaki

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