|
Vision of Bandung
After 50 Years
Facing New
Challenges
*******************************
Fifty years ago, the representatives of 19 African and Asian countries
gathered in Bandung to declare their denunciation of colonialism, adopt
the principles of peaceful existence and expand the peace front in the
struggle against colonialism. This Afro-Asian conference was held from 8
to 24 April 1955 upon the initiative and invitation of Indonesia, Ceylon
(Sri Lanka), India, Pakistan and Burma (Menimar). Most of the African
and Asian countries that attended the meeting were still struggling to
gain independence, especially the African countries. However, they
aspired to create an organization capable of stand between the two
fighting giants- the USA and USSR. This gave rise to the role of Bandung
Conference during the Cold War.
The Conference
is considered a brick in the foundation of Afro-Asian solidarity and
non-aligned movement. The Solidarity Organization was founded in January
1958 to disseminate the inspiring spirit and principles of Bandung.
These principles were to become the basis of international relations.
The Organization still gain the public opinion and supports the
vulnerable and marginalized peoples in the South. Hence, it is a popular
extension of the non-aligned movement. NAM formed in 1961 with the
purpose of the formation of one entity that hosts a number of countries
standing between the capitalist and socialist camps; clearing up the
residues of colonialism and ensuring equality among peoples. This is to
be realized through the eradication of imperialism that practises the
most atrocious forms of political, economic and social suppression.
The starting
point of the non-aligned movement is definitely attributed to the
existence of a bipolar world. The movement emerged to declare its
independence from the two blocs; defy the policy of hegemony and
domination; work for progress and development. The non-aligned movement,
besides being political in nature, enjoyed a moral aspect in the first
place. It is based on the values of right, highlights the interests of
mankind, seeks to administer justice and settle disputes in an amicable
manner, endeavours to stop the armament race and keep peace. In fact,
the movement witnessed a tremendous success in the 1960s and 1970s.
Several African countries managed to gain independence. Furthermore, the
movement gained the support of peace- lovers in the North and South who
called for disarmament. Its membership increased gradually.
In the 1980s,
the Movement started to weaken due to the intervention of the super
powers in its affairs, trying to impose their visions and stances. This
weakened the movement’s unity and created blocs inside its lines. In the
1990s, the USSR, one of the two poles, collapsed. The new world order
became unipolar. This does not mean one world with one pole expressive
of the interests of the peoples of the World and based on values and
morals as it claims. It is one pole that enjoys hegemony and has
imperialistic aspirations. The USA became the dominating super power in
the world. It is a system based on a hegemonistic stand.
With the change
in the political map of the world, globalization became the universal
framework to identify the economic, political and social position of the
different countries. In the Third World, this generated patterns of
racial and social discrimination. Globalization, essentially, aims to
ensure sharing among countries in resources, wealth and production. The
non-aligned movement was more marginalized and without any weight as
regards decision-making, even if it relates to its members.
The developing
countries were fettered by the agreements of the World Trade
Organization (WTO), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World
Bank. The trans-national companies fully dominated the global economy.
These companies constituted the new form of colonialism. The gap between
the North and South widened .The Movement failed to manage its economic
affairs. These global economic conditions made the rich richer and the
poor poorer. Furthermore, the instability and lack of security worldwide
increased the spending on armament and development of nuclear weapons
.Terrorism became rampant and cards were mixed up.
It is unfair to
claim that the failure of the Movement may be attributed solely to the
collapse of the bipolar world. Several inside causes led to this result.
Some regimes of the member states were repressive, violating human
rights and international covenants and norms. Further, they do not apply
the spirit and principles of Bandung in their dealings. Corruption
governed such regimes. Normally, we cannot request other foreign regimes
to respect us and ensure democracy while we abandon democracy on dealing
with our peoples. Hence, the Movement weakened.
This is manifest
in the inability to settle regional conflicts and other conflicts within
the member states as the Iraq-Iran war, the Arab-Israeli conflict, Gulf
war and the like. These conflicts were left to the two super powers
(before the collapse of the USSR) to resolve. With the spread of poverty
and unemployment, the destruction of the environment and the
deterioration of the living conditions, relentless efforts mounted to
set up a bank for the non-aligned countries to defy the large blocs. The
Movement failed to realize this. Some member states concluded bilateral
agreements with the USA to promote their own interests regardless of the
joint interests. The Movement failed in this attempt.
Many questioned
the role and the purpose of the Movement. Can it survive amidst the
national and international changes? What are the means to revive the
Movement that waned? To answer these questions, one has to refer to the
primary purpose of its establishment. It was a response to the African
and Asian countries to gain independence and liberation from imperialism
and colonialism, and improve their economic conditions.
With the end of
the Cold War, the emergence of the new world order and the accelerating
speed of economic, social and cultural globalization , compliance with
the Movement’s values and objectives still exists with adjustment of
these values and objectives according to the new conditions. We are
still in dire need to the Movement, especially in the light of the new
economic and political risks and challenges. It is of vital importance
to know how the Movement can, through its adherence to these principles,
present convincing and decisive solutions to the current problems.
First: The Movement
has to be restructured as regards its institutions, membership and
duties. The Movement is still governmental. It has to be popular, based
on the movement of the peoples in the South and North, who suffer from
suppression and oppression due to the coercive economic and political
policies.
Second: Internal
reforms. This can be realized through adoption of the path that leads to
development, democracy and good governance.
Third: Sharing
resources and wealth among the member states through the conclusion of
agreements, international and non-governmental organizations. This is
meant to reach a joint outlet of interests and benefits for these
countries.
Fourth: Formation of
the developing countries’ union as a league amid the oppressive
globalization. This shall enable the countries to take decisions and
negotiate with WTO and other international organizations. This shall be
of benefit to the member states.
Fifth: The Movement
shall rely on negotiations as a method of dealing as wars and disputes
constitute time-fused bombs detrimental to the interests of countries
and peoples.
Sixth: Partnership
with the United Nations (UN), founded in 1945, to raise the banner of
defence of the crushed peoples in the South. The UN is in need of reform
as regards the Security Council and the General Assembly. The Movement,
through its solidarity, has to remain effective in the decision-making
process in the UN.
In conclusion,
the non-aligned movement has to play its role within an inter-dependent
world order based on interdependence and globalization. Hence, the
Movement shall present a just world order based on its strength and
organization.
More than two
decades ago, a trend emerged in the international arena that questioned
the importance and significance of the non-aligned movement. The
inquiries mounted on the importance and historical role of the Movement.
What are the future prospects of the Movement amidst the recent
developments, especially after the end of the Cold War and the collapse
of the bipolar system?
Three summits,
held in Jakarta(1992),Columbia (1995) and Durban, South Africa(1998),
determined the importance of the Movement and the need to enhance and
support it to proceed along the new world conditions. The Kula Lambur
summit in 2003 supported this trend. It furthermore emphasized the
importance of activating the mechanisms of the Movement; strengthen its
Secretariat and the other agencies.
These summits
managed to diagnose the new global conditions, manifest in the
accelerating speed of globalization, the mounting role of capital, the
great evolution in the scientific and technological revolution,
associated with the information and communications revolution that
changed the face of mankind and influenced the minds of millions of
people worldwide. Furthermore, the industrial countries tightened their
grip on the global economy, with acquisition of 80% of the world
production, leaving only 20% to the South.
Within this
framework, many concepts changed in the Movement, and consequently the
parent movement-Bandung-as its fundamental principles may constitute the
framework for the international relations and the enhancement of the
universal peaceful policies. However, the member states are unable to
form a homogeneous bloc in the broad sense of the word. The different
countries within the Movement became under the control of the
international capitalist institutions like the World Bank, IMF and WTO.
The economic relations of these countries, individually or collectively,
with these institutions become more entrenched than their relations with
one another.
The regional
economic blocs, that aim at a certain stage to realize growth in south
east Asia, Africa and the Arab world, failed to enhance popular
inter-trade but managed to enhance their economic relations with the
capitalist countries. Hence, the multinationals played a mounting role
in the formation of the economies of these countries .Furthermore, the
economy of these countries became more dependent on these multinational
companies .We can conclude by emphasizing that the rich countries became
richer and the poor poorer!
We do not want
to repeat statements that are now self-evident in the light of our
movement’s historical experience. However, we cannot ignore the fact
that important countries in the movement have managed to improve their
economies and be influential in the world partnership side by side with
the major industrial countries. We have the Malaysian and the Indian
experiments as well as the gigantic Chinese renaissance and the other
economic developments in south east Asian countries. Besides, there are
the economic and political developments in Latin American countries.
That is why the call by Brazilian President Lula da Silva for an
alliance of the countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America has echoed
far and wide in international and popular circles.
Objectively and
historically speaking, the non-alignment movement cannot revert to
patterns of past conflicts. Today’s world is totally unlike
yesterday’s, and we always need to activate our movement’s role. The
fundamental problem that has weakened our movement lies in the
movement’s countries’ systems that were in many, if not most, cases,
totalitarian, opposed to democracy and human rights principles, coupled
with corruption, these processes benefited the elite interests. This is
a common feature of many of the movements’ countries. I do not want to
enter into more details.
The declining
growth rates in these countries have been accompanied with the emergence
of diverse social ailments, like organized crime, lethal diseases that
had formerly disappeared from the world, like malaria, tuberculosis and,
more ominously, the AIDS that plaguing Africa and many Asian countries.
Also, despite World Heath Organization’s attempts and the discussions
that took place in the World Trader Organization on property rights, on
medicine prices, the giant companies have prevented other countries,
like India, China, and others, from producing alternative medicines that
would help eliminate these diseases.
Particularly
terrorism assumed a high profile in international and national politics
after the 11th September 2001. The steps which were taken after
September 11th doesn't lead to a final victory over terrorism, but it
may lead to a protracted war with unknown results. The US and other
countries who are engaged in his fight should have tackled the real
causes and have to dry the swamps of poverty and misery in which hate
and vengeance live on it, as a better alternative strategy.
The 11th
September belongs to the sad and tormented details of our contemporary
world, were the free use of technology and mass communications with the
rapid transfer of capital and people in an interdependent world with
total control of TNC=B9s makes the poor poorer and rich richer.
The world today
is characterized by greater aggressiveness on the developed countries’
part, especially the United States.
Globalization
has also entered its militarized stage. Social patterns are now being
imposed and regimes changed by pressure and aggression. After the advent
of President Bush with his New Conservatives the US administration
adopted a more aggressive, heavy-handed and unilateral world policy. It
acts unilaterally instead of resorting to the United Nations or
international pluralism. It adopts the Anticipatory attack as a system,
believing that the historical moment for undisputed hegemony over the
world has come. Despite the world’s protests, it disregards
international legitimacy and the norms and laws that the world has
observed since the end of world war 11. It has seized control of many
countries’ energy resources in total disregard of international
legitimacy, as in the case of Iraq. It also unilaterally pressurized
many countries such as Iran and Syria, encourages Israel to breach all
international legitimacy resolutions, and backtracks on all ideas and
proposals it formerly proposed for a solution to the Arab Israeli
conflict, under the pressure of Israeli extremist rightist forces. The
United States also interfered in the former Soviet Union’s republic’s
internal affairs, managing to change them via pressures on Russia. This
trend, however, is a temporary one despite its ferocity. The European
groupings, the resurgence of Russia, developments in China and India,
the popular upsurge in Latin America, the African countries’ attempt to
resolve their own problems independently and the economic grouping that
our movement’s countries have initiated, are all seeds that will
hopefully yield fruit in a better world.
The NAM
countries have to activate the popular movement as its effective weapon.
The Bandung experience fifty years ago has not assumed its historic
importance from the countries that shared it alone. It also drew
inspiration from the major popular uprising that swept across Asia and
Africa and crystallized, through delegations and institutions, in the
formation of our popular Afro-Asian organization which is now
celebrating the golden anniversary of the Bandung experience.
Responding to
the call by Brazil’s president can be through the formation of an
Asian-African-Latin American alliance and the activation of a popular
movement in the three continents. This can be through perseverant work
with institutions, parties and movements according to a comprehensive
and flexible program in which these movements express their aadherence
to peace, democracy, non-aggression, maintenance of national
independence according to modern international criteria and developing
economies on scientific bases and through popular participation.
The 21-countries
formed at the World Trade Organization’s recent ministerial meeting in
Cancun can serve as a nucleus marking the birth of such a movement.
In this context,
our organization has backed and contributed to support the formation of
several social fora, particularly the Arab, African and Asian Social
Forum and the World Forum in each of Bombay and Puerto Allegro. It
announces its support for these movements, attempting to lay for them
foundations that yield clear results.
We would like to
explain that the AAPSO has experienced difficult times and faced greater
challenges by reason of these developments. We might also say that
nonetheless we managed to pass the throttle and are keen to engage in
the debate over the prospects and the future of the non-alignment
movement and of African-Asian-Latin American solidarity movement.
We are keen to
hear objective and bold opinions and proposals that activate our
movement’s role. We also like to stress that it is difficult for the
non-aligned countries to remain isolated from their own people. The
masses are the biggest challenge to the world policies of hegemony,
arrogance and economic plunder.
Introducing
reform in our movement's countries is a big basic task because it will
serve as the basis for democracy, respect for human rights, achievement
of sustainable development , elimination of illiteracy, upgrading
educational systems, encouraging research centres and liberating the
masses from superstition and ideas leading to backwardness and the
absence of public awareness by adopting a media policy for this
purpose.
The diversity of
thought, respect for the other, transparency and marching together
through diversity are indispensable for the advancement of our
movement..
In conclusion,
we would like to say that we hope that you enrich these remarks by
your thoughts and ideas.
***********************************
Nouri Abdul Razzak
Secretary General, AAPSO
| 
