Redressing imbalances

Redressing imbalances

There can be no denying that the first ever Asia-Africa Conference, which was held in 1955 in the West Java city of Bandung, pushed colonialism into a corner and inspired many more countries to strive for independence.

It is worth noting that at the time the conference opened there were only four independent countries in Africa -- Egypt, Libya, Ethiopia and Sudan. The Bandung Conference had the effect of a rolling snowball. After the Bandung example, new independent countries emerged not only in Africa and Asia, but throughout what is now known as the Third World.

The Bandung spirit further led Asian and African countries towards the creation of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) six years later. As most observers will admit, the NAM did much to prevent the Cold War from deteriorating into a conflagration. Although the NAM membership embraced only developing countries, its voice was heard by the superpowers because it represented the majority of the world's population.

The Bandung spirit also made many countries realize that by joining military pacts with either the countries of the West or those of the Socialist bloc they would only cause themselves to be used as pawns in the global political forum.

Unfortunately it must be noted that in spite of those achievements the condition of many of the world's developing countries have remained deplorable. In a number of cases the situation is even worse than before independence was attained. Some of those countries have become enmeshed in poverty. Others are strangled by foreign debts or are involved in wars with neighboring countries. Worse still, some of them have become embroiled in civil strife within their own borders which have taken the lives of thousands of people.

It is for this reason that we believe the words of advice spoken by President Soeharto during the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Asia-Africa Conference in Bandung on Monday deserve the attention of leaders in the developing world. Expressing regret over the fact that so many of the concerns addressed by the 1955 Conference have remained unresolved, President Soeharto reminded the leaders that great numbers of people are being killed or maimed because disputes are not being settled through negotiation or other peaceful means.

Furthermore, the current international situation in the wake of the Cold War still deserves attention. In President Soeharto's words: "Teeming millions in the developing world still languish in the grip of poverty, ignorance and backwardness because of the inequities and imbalances in international economic relationships," Soeharto said. Therefore, he advised, "our movement must continue evolving and growing in enlightenment, but always within the framework of the principles and ideals that the Asia-Africa Conference spelled out for all time 40 years ago."

In other words, solidarity and cooperation remain badly needed in this shrinking world in order to improve social and economic conditions in many of Asia's and Africa's relatively newly independent countries. The global imbalances must be redressed in order that the last say in world political and economic affairs does not always belong to the industrial countries of the world.