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P.R:
7/ Intern.S/27-4-2005 Dr. Morad Ghaleb, President of AAPSO
DocNo.3/4/2005 issued the
following press release
in
the name of the Permanent Secretariat
From
Bandung to Jakarta
Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Bandung Conference; held in
Indonesia in 1955; which proclaimed the ten famous principles which
served as compass by which African and Asian countries; even Latin
American ones, were guided in their struggles for liberation in 1950s;
1960s and 1970s, in Jakarta, Indonesia's capital, on April 22 and 23
2005, a conference comprising more than one hundred African and Asian
countries( roughly 73% of the world population), 42 of them were
represented by their heads of states, was held to mark the occasion.
The
Bandung Conference gave birth to the establishment of the Afro-Asian
Peoples' Solidarity Organization(AAPSO) as the popular and
nongovernmental face of the Conference on 1 January 1958. the
Organization was established and raised with the full support of
liberation powers at then, both popular and ruling, to carry the flame
of Bandung and play a distinctive and pioneering role in supporting
movement of the emancipation of African and Asian peoples. Then,
sprouted from Bandung also, the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) was created
in 1961 as a governmental movement comprising all South non-member
states in any of the military alliances, be that Western or Eastern
ones.
50 years
dragged on, which are not very much in the life of peoples, but with the
welter of events crowded in them are of profound effects upon the
history of the whole world.
The
celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Bandung Conference comes
amidst grave and cruel circumstances encircling the South-countries on
the whole and the African and Asian countries in particular.
The
colonialism returned again, the imperialist military invasion came back
and one dominating power took charge of the destiny of the world and its
inhabitants. The two continents have been facing the challenges of
domestic and border disputes, unemployment, poverty, social injustice,
deadly diseases, burdens of debts, pernicious rules of the world trade,
the stumble of development, water problems, the lack of democracy and
freedoms, the reign of oppressive and dictatorial regimes, terrorist
activity which is proliferating in density and aggravation,
transnational crimes, cultures' tremble, and strident demands for
backwardness.
Commemoration of Bandung anniversary comes to stress important point
that reflects the dire need to the has-been Bandung Principles and the
rise to restore the approach and spirit of the past. Undoubtedly, the
world of today is not the world of the past, but the principles are
still true, the necessity to enhance practical cooperation between the
two continents in various fields such as trade, industry, investment,
finance, tourism, information, communications technology, energy,
health, transport, agriculture, water and fisheries is of an urgent
need. The South-South cooperation, especially between the two
neighbouring continents, is crucial and important. The need to
solidarity now is pressing more than it was 50 years ago. This need is
not dictated by geography alone, but by the virtual existence in the
current time and the future. It is a necessity of life or then the
inevitable collapse.
Hence
comes the great importance of the Jakarta Conference which is not a mere
celebratory gathering, rather, with its weight by which it was held and
with its vision which it produced, represents an important leap in the
time in which we live.
The
participants agreed unanimously on the necessity of the existence of a
new Afro-Asian strategic partnership that can reaffirm the commitment to
the values laid down by the original Bandung Conference and its spirit.
A strategy that should be based on broad array of agreed-upon
principles, in which African and Asian countries believe, and were
embodied in the Bandung 10th Principles.
The
partnership between the two continents defines a futuristic frame with a
view to lay the foundation of bridges of understanding and mutual
support covering three broad areas of relations to reach a more firm
political solidarity, greater economic cooperation, and more developed
social , cultural and civilisational relations.
The
Afro-Asian Peoples' Solidarity Organization wholeheartedly greets the
Jakarta Conference, but it sees that the continuity of the Bandung's
values and spirits and the historic and constructive important call of
the Jakarta Conference, will prove real togetherness only when the
peoples of Africa and Asia, along with the governments concerned with
interconnection and partnership, catch hold of the task.
The
Organization, for its part, declares that it will continue to adhere to
the spirit of Bandung and enkindle its spark and remain faithful to the
historic Jakarta's call, hoping that a new rise will be achieved in the
real world, carrying the aspirations and hopes of the peoples of Africa
and Asia for a better future. |
