| Summit Conference of Heads of State or Government of the Non-Aligned Movement | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Host country |  Cuba |
| Date | 3–6 September 1979 |
| Cities | Havana |
| Chair | Fidel Castro (President of Cuba) |
| Follows | 5th Summit (Colombo, Sri Lanka) |
| Precedes | 7th Summit (New Delhi, India) |
The6th Summit of theNon-Aligned Movement took place on 3–9 September 1979 inHavana, thecapital city ofCuba. 93 countries took part in the summit.[1] It was the first NAM summit which took place in oneIberoamerican country.[2] The event was marked by political and ideological divisions among the non-aligned countries.[3][4] The organizer wanted to use the event to propose "a natural alliance" between the movement and theEastern Bloc causing strong resistance from some members, particularlySFR Yugoslavia.[5] While both Cuba and Yugoslavia were at the time nominallysocialist states, they took substantially different position inworld politics with Cuba perceivingUnited States and Yugoslavia perceivingSoviet Union as the main threat to its independence.[6]
SFR Yugoslavia, then one of the most active members of the movement, accused the Soviet Union and its allies for creation of divisions and efforts to manipulate the movement.[7] Despite the strong hospitality that Yugoslav delegation received in Havana,Budimir Lončar was suspicious about further statements during the summit, as he had received a copy ofFidel Castro's speech in advance viaCuban Minister of Foreign Affairs and his personal friend,Isidoro Malmierca Peoli.[8] Castro's strong words caused representative ofChina Wang Zhanyuan as well as the representative from theUnited States Interests Section in Havana to leave the conference room.[8] The delegation ofSri Lanka, the host country of the previous5th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, perceived the opening speech as deficient in showing appropriate level of statecraft, and the delegation of India described it as completely irresponsible.[8] The Indian minister of foreign affairs warned the President of Cuba that he could not be aligned with one foot and non-aligned with another.[8] The delegation of Indonesia commented that Castro was threatening everyone at the summit.[8]President of ZambiaKenneth Kaunda distanced himself from Castro's comments onSoutheast Asia and underlined that the political left and the center can oppose imperialism.[8] Hostilities and divisions disappointed the delegation ofBurma to the extent that they decided to leave the NAM altogether, which was perceived as one of the strongest gestures of the summit, with some other countries such asArgentina considering the same move.[8]President of PanamaArístides Royo underlinedJosip Broz Tito's support on the process leading to theTorrijos–Carter Treaties, which convinced his country to join the NAM.[8] After the speech by the representative ofEgypt,Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the host decided to give the floor only to critics of the country and theCamp David Accords, with attacks fromMadagascar,Iraq,Ethiopia,Iran,Angola,Vietnam, thePalestine Liberation Organization, thePeople's Republic of the Congo, andBenin following one after the other.[8]
President of Yugoslavia and NAM veteranJosip Broz Tito condemned the Cuban view of "a natural alliance" between the nonaligned movement and the communist bloc underlining that the movement "is not, and cannot be, either a conveyor belt or the reserve of any bloc".[7] The trip to the NAM conference in Havana was the penultimateinternational trip of the President of Yugoslavia, which contributed to the worsening of his health condition andhis death in 1980.[9] At the time, the repudiation of the "natural alliance" led by Yugoslavia was perceived as a success having positive effects onUnited States–Yugoslavia relations.[10] Cuba at the same time believed that Yugoslavia, as a "relatively small, comparatively developed, white, European and Northern," country did not deserve such a prominent place in the movement, yet the effort to marginalize it at the summit was unsuccessful.[11]President of TanzaniaJulius Nyerere responded directly to some of the accusations underlining the original NAM principles and stating that while the movement itself is a progressive movement it is not a grouping only of and for progressive countries.[8] He also refused the idea that the movement can have permanent enemies.[8] President Nyerere strongly rejected requests by some to delete statements by Egyptian delegation.[8] The post-Francoist Spain took part as a guest of the summit for the first time ever.[2]
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