Africa Day in Jakarta brings honor and pride
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
In an effort to revive the spirit of Bandung and Afro-Asian solidarity, Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda and two of his predecessors, Ali Alatas and Alwi Shihab, attended on Wednesday a ceremony to mark the 41st anniversary of Africa Day in Jakarta.
The ceremony -- which was hosted by the dean of African diplomats Algerian Ambassador to Indonesia Soufiane Mimouni and attended by African and Asian diplomats, high-ranking officials and public figures -- conjured up memories of the Asian-African Conference held in the West Java capital city, Bandung, in 1955.
Indonesia -- under the leadership of then president Sukarno and with the cooperation of other Asian countries -- hosted the Banding conference at that time to demonstrate solidarity with the African people in their struggle for independence.
"The presence of so many dignitaries ... is a source of honor and pride. It is a clear illustration of the longstanding friendship existing between Africa and Indonesia," Ambassador Mimouni said in his inaugural address.
African Union chairman Joaquim Albert Chissano's Africa Day speech was read by Mozambique's Ambassador to Indonesia Geraldo Antonio Chirinza at the ceremony. Chissano is also the president of Mozambique.
Africa Day, according to Mimouni, enshrines the symbol of the struggle waged by Africa to achieve independence, freedom and emancipation of its peoples. It is also a testimony of a major political achievement that was embodied in the adoption of the May 25, 1963 of the charter of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) that led to the creation of the pan-African organization.
This year's commemoration came when heads of African Union officially launched on Tuesday its Peace and Security Council, the cornerstone of the continental body's ambitions to be a robust guarantor of stability in Africa.
Hassan said at the meeting that Indonesia would host the Asian-African meeting in April 2005 in Jakarta and celebrate 50 years of the first Asian-African conference.