AWAJI ISLAND, Hyogo Pref. -- The InterAction Council, a group of former heads of state and government, opened its 19th plenary session Sunday at the Awaji Yumebutai International Conference Center by criticizing the United States for turning its back on a number of global issues.
In the keynote address, former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, who cochairs the council with former Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa, attacked the U.S. for its growing refusal to seek solutions to global problems through multilateral organs like the United Nations.
Fraser called on council members to support international issues ranging from the Kyoto Protocol, an international effort to tackle global warming, to South Korean President Kim Dae Jung's policy of reconciliation with North Korea. Such issues have been opposed or downplayed by the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush.