Hasto: Indonesia Now Hesitant in Championing Oppressed Nations
Secretary General of PDI Perjuangan, Hasto Kristiyanto, stated that Indonesia is experiencing a historical disconnection from the 1955 Bandung Conference on Asia-Africa (KAA). This disconnection has made the government hesitant in championing oppressed nations.
“We have become a nation that is so hesitant in our free and active foreign policy in advocating for oppressed nations,” he said while delivering a speech at the seminar commemorating the 71st anniversary of KAA with the theme ‘The Relevance of the Asia-Africa Movement in the Current Geopolitical Crisis’ at the Party School in Lenteng Agung, South Jakarta, on Saturday, 18 April 2026.
During President Soekarno’s era, high school students received material from the book “Man and the New Indonesian Society: Civics”. This book contained knowledge of geopolitics and the existence of the Republic of Indonesia with a narrative of liberation. The teaching was supplemented by the book “The Redness of Soekarno’s Teachings” by Airlangga Pribadi Kusman.
That book contained the outcomes of the KAA in various fields. In the political field, Hasto claimed that Pancasila is relevant in the international system. “Pancasila becomes the answer to the anarchic international system,” he said.
In addition, that textbook also explained Indonesia’s mission in economic cooperation. “How to build a self-reliant nation, about how to restore the exploitative economic structure resulting from colonialism,” he stated.
In the cultural field, the KAA outcomes contained efforts to free humans from colonialism. According to him, the New Order government distanced Indonesian society from the history of Indonesia’s independence.
In this seminar, PDI Perjuangan General Chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri is scheduled to deliver the keynote speech at the 71st KAA commemoration seminar. PDI Perjuangan Secretary General Hasto Kristiyanto said Megawati will deliver her speech at 13:30 WIB.
Attendees at the event included PDI Perjuangan DPP Chairman Ahmad Basarah, Head of the PDI Perjuangan Indonesian History Agency Bonnie Triyana, as well as speakers such as Prof Hikmahanto (International Relations Expert), Dr Dina Sulaeman (Middle East Expert), Andi Widjayanto (Former Lemhanas Governor), and Heri Akhmadi (former Ambassador to Japan). The event was also attended by members of the DPR PDI Perjuangan Faction and several activists, including Director of Amnesty International Indonesia Usman Hamid.