Asia-Africa Memories
Asia-Africa relations today need to be better than in the past.
Linda Christanty
The sky of Rabat was bright blue. It was hot and windy in June. The taxi driver drove his old Peugeot to Kasbah Oudaya, a 12th-century fortress overlooking the Bou Regreg River and the North Atlantic Ocean. His name was Mohammed, the Amazigh, a native Moroccan tribe. He knew a bit of English.
When I mentioned my country of origin, he exclaimed, "Sukarno!"
As the car entered an area, he pointed to a street sign: Rue Soukarno, in Arabic and Latin. He said there should be an Asia-Africa Street in commemoration of the historic conference. He shared his memories with pride about the legacy of the event.
Morocco was still occupied by France when it sent observers to the Asia-Africa Conference in 1955. It became independent a year later.
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While President Soekarno\'s role was often talked about, Ali Sastroamidjojo was instrumental in initiating, pioneering and organizing the Asia-Africa Conference. He was a visionary and accomplished diplomat forged out of experience.
His engagement with intellectuals and anti-colonial Asian-African activists during his law school days in the Netherlands raised his awareness and sense of responsibility about the importance of building solidarity between nations to break free from colonialism and oppression.
His vision coming across that of world leaders, while he was serving as ambassador and prime minister, shaped up his resolve.
Dream fulfillment would require strategy as the world entered the Cold War era. Ali discussed his idea with visionary prime ministers, namely Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru of India, Mohammad Ali Bogra of Pakistan, Sir John Kotelawala of Sri Lanka and U Nu of Burma, while proposing Indonesia to host the inaugural political consolidation meeting.
Wildan Sena Utama, a historian from Gadjah Mada University, wrote a book about the conference that was published in 2017, Konferensi Asia-Afrika 1955: Asal-usul Intelektual dan Warisannya bagi Gerakan Global Antiimperialisme [Asia-Africa Conference 1955: intellectual origins and its legacy for global anti-imperialism movement]. In an interview with the Indonesian International Relations website, he said: "historical phenomena showing that the network forged by anti-imperial / anti-colonial activists in Asia and Africa culminated in an important postcolonial moment in the middle of the 20th century, namely the Asia-Africa Conference".
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Last year, before the pandemic, I visited the Museum of the Asia-Africa Conference in Bandung to reflect. The art deco building in the Braga area was formerly known as Gedung Merdeka. On April 24, 1980, President Soeharto inaugurated it as the museum.
The conference lasted from April 18 to April 24, 1955, attended by delegates from 29 countries and observers.
The Indonesian delegation was led by Ali, who was also the conference’s chairman with Ruslan Abdulgani as general secretary.
The delegation was made up of 33 members, including foreign minister Sunario, Silas Papare, Maria Ulfah Santoso and Ahmad Subardjo, who was Indonesia\'s first foreign minister.
Video mapping performance by the creative studio Sembilan Matahari in commemoration of the 60th Asia-Africa Conference at Gedung Merdeka Bandung.
Domestic and foreign newspapers cutouts on the museum walls show documented speeches or reactions in a number of countries. Sri Lanka\'s largest newspaper, Ceylon Daily News, ran a news editorial about Bandung being in support of regional conferences on the condition that colonialism was condemned in all its manifestations. Newspaper headlines in the United States tried to brush aside the whites’ cautiousness, associated with Western colonialism practices. It said that the danger of the anti-white crusade due to the Bandung conference was considered too excessive.
Sinpo had an optimistic tone by saying that Asian-African nations had turned over a new historic page in Bandung.
Colonialism was displayed in black-and-white photos. African slaves lined up, necks chained to one another. A man with face covered in keffiyeh -- a typical Middle Eastern head covering, only his eyes visible -- carried a boy in hug.
I said colonialism is gone and we have succeeded in dealing with it, but communism is next colonialism to come, and more dangerous.
On April 11, 1955, a week prior to the conference, a tragic air accident took place. Indian airline Khasmir Princess, which flew from Hong Kong to Jakarta, exploded and crashed into the waters of the Natuna Islands, killing eight members of the Chinese delegation, as well as two Austrian and Polish journalists. The Chinese government suspected the involvement of US secret agent and Taiwanese leader Chiang Kai Shek.
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The presence of Chinese prime minister and foreign minister Chou En Lai had been preceded with opposition.
Nehru was inclined to invite China. U Nu agreed. Mohammad Ali and Kotelawala voiced their objection, worried it would affect a number of countries’ decision to attended, those which tended to side with the United States or the Western Bloc. The Iraqi envoy, Mohammad Fadhil El Jamali, feared communism. In an interview with the journal Impact: International Fortnightly, the November 24 - December 7, 1972 edition, El Jamali, who was once prime minister and foreign minister of Iraq, recalled his closed-door debate with Nehru in Bandung.
"I said colonialism is gone and we have succeeded in dealing with it, but communism is next colonialism to come, and more dangerous."
Four years after the Bandung conference, Nehru visited China and he questioned India\'s territorial borders being breached. However, Chou stated that China did not recognize the border demarcated during the time of the British colonial rule. The border dispute is not over yet. Post-U Nu Burma has been thrown into low period of human rights. Iraq has experienced repeated turbulence involving major world powers. So has Iran. Pakistani and Indian relations are straying lukewarmly. The situation in Indonesia is marred with the ups and downs of democracy.
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The Ten Principles of Bandung were agreed upon at the end of the gathering.
However, the implementation of its important points, which include upholding basic human rights in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations, resolving disputes in a peaceful manner and respecting international law, faces huge challenges.
My meeting with the taxi driver in Rabat several years ago often crosses my mind. Asia-Africa relations today need to be better than in the past.
LINDA CHRISTANTY, Writer and Cultural Activist
This article was translated by Musthofid.
