United Nations Security Council Imposes Resolution 1803 on IranMarch 11 2008
Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is in Tehran this week, enhancing Iran-Indonesia bilateral relations, particularly in the economic and energy fields. Yet in light of Indonesia's historic vote of abstention on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1803, which imposed a third round of sanctions on Iran, his trip has a symbolic importance that transcends Tehran-Jakarta ties: it touches directly on the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).
As the head of the largest Muslim nation in the world which traditionally has played an important role in the formation and evolution of the NAM, Yudhoyono has already jolted Western nations opposed to Iran's nuclear program by ending the consensus on Iran at the Security Council and thus putting South Africa, Vietnam and Libya, who voted for the sanctions resolutions irrespective of this initial objection, on the defensive.
Since the adoption of Resolution 1803, South African leaders and their press have agonized over how to justify the country's vote at the Security Council, given the fact that South Africa's representative at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Abdul Minty, has criticized the resolution for failing to take into account progress made in resolving questions about Iran's nuclear program. Minty is worth quoting at length:
“South Africa furthermore regrets that the adoption of the new resolution could apparently not be postponed until the [IAEA] board had the opportunity to consider the matter ... This creates the impression that the verification work of the agency and the important progress that has been made is virtually irrelevant to the co-sponsors of the resolution“.More >>>
