JP\/18\/EXPO<\/p>\n
Photo Expo of 1955 Asia-Africa Conference Golden Jubilee
\nExposing Tidbits about the Celebration Attended by World Leaders
\nYuli Tri Suwarni
\nBandung<\/p>\n
Photo expo shows Asia-Afrika tidbits<\/p>\n
Yuli Tri Suwarni
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Bandung<\/p>\n
Suhendar, 28, could not help smiling upon seeing a large picture
\nin a 50 centimeter by 60 cm wooden frame depicting hundreds of
\nBandung residents rushing into the Merdeka Building.<\/p>\n
It occurred moments after the delegations attending the golden
\njubilee of the 1955 Asian-Africa Conference left the building on
\nApril 24, 2005.<\/p>\n
A woman, dragging her child, tries hard to get to this
\nhistoric building as fast as she can, hoping to see what is left
\nof the grand commemoration of this historic event which was
\nattended by a number of world leaders, including UN secretary-
\ngeneral Kofi Annan.<\/p>\n
In another photograph, there is a crowd of people vying to
\nhave themselves photographed in front of the Gong of Peace placed
\nin front of the front door leading to the Merdeka Building. The
\ncrowd spills onto the road, causing traffic congestion in
\ndowntown Bandung.<\/p>\n
\"I was among the hundreds of people who rushed into the
\nMerdeka Building. I could see Annan from a distance. It feels
\nsomewhat eerie now, as I have never expected that the situation
\ncould be caught on camera so well,\" said Suhendar, a sidewalk
\nvendor who lives somewhere in Maleber, Gatot Subroto, Bandung.<\/p>\n
He was viewing pictures exhibited in the \"Fifty Years of the
\nAsia-Africa Conference Within Frames,\" a photo expo held from
\nJuly 27 through 31 at the Indonesian Association of Journalists
\n(PWI) Building in Jl. Asia-Afrika, Bandung.<\/p>\n
The two photographs are among 99 taken by Bandung Photo
\nJournalists (WFB) and exhibited at this exhibition. All the
\npictures reveal the preparations for the golden jubilee, the
\nevent itself and what happened afterward.<\/p>\n
Many funny moments recorded in these photographs will make
\nvisitors smile broadly. In one picture, for example, two
\npolicemen, a soldier and two presidential bodyguards join
\ntogether to lift a motorcycle parked somewhere in the \"ring-1\"
\nsecurity area in front of the Savoy Homann Hotel, Jl. Asia-
\nAfrika, an area that should have been cleared of all vehicles
\nwhen the rehearsal for the golden jubilee took place.<\/p>\n
Gelora Sapta, a photographer working for a local newspaper,
\nPikiran Rakyat, took the picture a day before the commemoration.<\/p>\n
In another photograph taken by Dwi Setiadi, a correspondent
\nfrom the Suara Merdeka newspaper in Bandung, dozens of foreign
\nand domestic journalists are seen shoving and elbowing as they
\ntry to put their tape recorders in front of a wide-screen
\ntelevision set in the press room of the PWI Building, which is
\nonly 20 meters away from the Merdeka Building.<\/p>\n
A Japanese journalist is shouting, asking the people around
\nhim to keep quiet as he is recording the welcoming address given
\nby the Indonesian president.<\/p>\n
The picture that depicts hundreds of journalists covering the
\ngolden jubilee lining up in front of the Sarinah store in Jl.
\nBraga, reportedly since 6 a.m., is also very interesting to see.<\/p>\n
A gun-toting soldier is on the alert, watching the
\njournalists, who cannot easily enter the ring-1 area, despite
\ntheir press cards from the organizing committee of the golden
\njubilee.<\/p>\n
In a related picture, two soldiers carefully examine the ID
\ncard of a long-haired journalist holding a cigarette in one hand
\nand forcing his way into the press center of the PWI Building.
\nThe picture shows just how tight the security was during the
\nevent.<\/p>\n
The public were not allowed to witness the historical walk
\nfrom Savoy Homann to the Merdeka Building. Only liaison officers,
\nsecurity officers and reporters could do so.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, this situation was very different to what you
\ncan see in the picture taken by Paul Tedja Surya, a photographer
\nwho took pictures of the original 1955 Asian-African Conference,
\nand also exhibited at this expo.<\/p>\n
Paul's picture shows that security was not very tight then.
\nThere was a crowd of people standing on the sidewalk, witnessing
\nfrom a close distance world leaders attending the conference.<\/p>\n
In another photo, Paul shows how the public could, without
\nrestriction, push paper and pen toward foreign delegates in order
\nto get their autographs. Clearly, that did not happen this time
\naround.<\/p>\n
\"These are the moments that we would like to show to the
\npublic. Many things happened in the ring-1 area and also in other
\nparts of the city that were not known to the public owing to very
\ntight security.<\/p>\n
\"These moments do not belong only to the world leaders but,
\nchiefly, to the taxpayers and to the public who paid for the
\nsuccess of the golden jubilee,\" Gelora Sapta said.<\/p>\n
While the commemoration was broadcast live on TV, Gelora
\nbelieved that pictures could \"speak more loudly\" than TV
\nbroadcasts, which cannot be replayed at any time.<\/p>\n
The photo expo was opened on July 27, 2005 by West Java deputy
\ngovernor Abdul Hakim, Bandung municipality chief Dada Rosada and
\ndirector general of public diplomacy from the foreign ministry,
\nMangasi Sihombing.<\/p>\n
The opening ceremony was unique in that these officials, who
\nare usually the object of photojournalists, were asked to take
\npictures of an extract of a play titled Ozon and performed by
\neight members of Ledeng Cultural Center (CCL) on a mini-stage set
\nup in the exhibition arena.<\/p>\n
On this occasion, the high-ranking officials bought some of
\nthe photographs put up for auction. The proceeds of the auction,
\ntotaling Rp 45.5 million, will be donated to children of less
\nwell-off families for schooling.<\/p>\n
The expo is the first held by Bandung Photo Journalists (WFB),
\nan organization set up four years ago as a means for its members,
\nnow numbering over 20, to exchange ideas.<\/p>\n
The pictures put on display have been selected, not on the
\nbasis of any photographic technique or the type of camera used,
\nbut for the memorable moments they present.<\/p>\n
But for the photographs, these highly interesting moments
\nwould have been lost forever.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jp18expo-1447899208",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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