Soeharto warns of new dangers

Soeharto warns of new dangers

By Meidyatama Suryodiningrat

BANDUNG (JP): President Soeharto and United Nations Secretary
General Boutros Boutros-Ghali warned yesterday of the mutation of
old threats into new dangers confronting the world.

"Apartheid is dead, but other, more insidious forms of racism
are still prevalent," Soeharto said at the commemoration of the
40th anniversary of the Asia-Africa Conference here.

"Great numbers of people are being killed or maimed because
disputes are not being settled through negotiations or other
peaceful means," he said, addressing ministers and senior
officials from 97 of 112 members of the Non-Aligned Movement
(NAM).

Boutros-Ghali in his address drew the gathering's attention to
possible threats of a world in limbo because the bipolar, Cold
War structure of international relations had disappeared, while
elements of a new structure were not yet in place.

"Just as the gestation of the old system took place in the
decade following the World War II, a new international system in
the aftermath of the Cold War is now in the making," he said.

Relieved from the bipolar struggle, the world is now
confronted with grave problems of a different nature. "A variety
of ethnic tensions, long suppressed, have come to the surface."

Soeharto expressed regret over the fact that many of the
concerns addressed by the 1955 Asian-Africa Conference remained
unsolved. "The peace that they envisioned has not yet been
attained," he said in his address at the Merdeka Building, the
historic site of the 1955 Conference.

"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," he said.

Soeharto and Boutros-Ghali said that the strategies adopted by
leaders of the 29 nations at the Asia Africa Conference, which
later gave birth to NAM, were still relevant to today's problems.

Soeharto pointed out that at its 1992 summit in Jakarta, the
movement clarified once and for all the course it has to take in
the face of the increasingly complicated problems.

"All doubts about the relevance of the Movement in the post-
Cold War era vanished," he said, adding that efforts had to be
made in order to keep the movement dynamic and able to adapt to
the changing times.

"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 forty years ago."

The commemoration heard from NAM leaders representing Asia,
Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and from the
President of the 49th United Nations General Assembly, Amara
Essy.

Ideals

Colombian foreign minister Rodrigo Pardo asserted the need for
NAM to continue the ideals of Bandung of creating a better world.

"Our goals of justice, development and democracy still clamor
for attention. We cannot allow our determination to waver," said
the minister, whose country will assume the NAM leadership later
this year.

Joseph Cassar of Malta, representing Europe, warned of "a
world of change where the potential of promise and opportunity is
at times surpassed by the threat of conflict, devastation and
inequity."

Ben Mustafa of Tunisia, representing Africa, called for
greater efforts to "eradicate the last spots of domination and
colonization, especially in the Arab and Palestinian lands".

Despite the grandeur of the ceremony, most of the people of
Bandung were not given a chance to witness the proceedings
themselves.

Residents of Bandung were cut-off from the celebrations as
police closed the surrounding area to all cars and pedestrians.

Those wishing to get even a glimpse of the colorful ceremonies
had to be satisfied with observing from a distance of at least
200 meters.

Departing from the previously reported plan, Soeharto did not
participate in the "memory walk" from the Savoy Homman Hotel to
the Merdeka Building which started the day's proceedings.

Instead, Indonesian foreign minister Ali Alatas lead the walk
with Boutros-Ghali.

Following the speeches inside the Merdeka Building, delegates
were treated to a lively cultural program performed by 165
dancers.

The highlight of the afternoon's entertainment was the
angklung music performance by 600 local students.

Though their rendition of the obscure Hymn Asia-Africa met
with a rather stolid response, their next number, Johann Strauss'
waltz Blue Danube, was received with resounding applause. The
celebrations were closed with a joyous Halo-Halo Bandung.