Nonaligned

G.H. Jansen’s indictment of the nonaligned movement (“Save Nonalignment From Its Cumbrous Movement,” Opinion, Sept. 17) is unwarranted. It is irrelevant that the movement’s present-day concerns may have departed from those of founder Jawaharlal Nehru. There is an overwhelming need for a Third World movement at this time, whether such an association be called nonaligned or something else.

The wind-down of the Cold War and the spread of free market forces does not relieve the deepening economic distress in most of the Third World, from which billions of dollars have been transferred in the 1980s to the industrial countries, mostly in the form of debt repayment. Now, more than ever, the Third World countries need a political movement, not just bilateral relations with wealthier countries.

DONALD W. BRAY

Professor of Political Science

Cal State Los Angeles