The Asian-African Summit -- a postscript

Meidyatama Suryodiningrat, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

The 'true' Bandung Spirit came alive on Sunday. But only after the leaders and delegates of the Commemorative Summit had already left the West Java provincial capital.

Locals were barred from approaching the vicinity of the commemoration throughout the weekend. However, an hour after the conference closed on Sunday afternoon, the floodgates opened.

Thousands flocked the fabled Merdeka Building - the venue of the 1955 and 2005 summits - as if reclaiming something that had been taken from them. The throngs continued till late evening. The old reminisced. Parents recounted to their young the stories of the conference they read in the morning newspaper, while women picked flowers from bouquets left from the morning's proceedings. Flash bulbs popped as visitors incessantly posed for pictures.

After the pomp and ceremony of the morning's procession, the outburst of enthusiasm in the evening was refreshing. Their passion a reflection of what the Bandung Spirit really meant -- a sense of belonging and togetherness among peoples.

It was a natural feeling that seemed deficient during the formal summit meetings.

Delegates, particularly officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, should be commended for their hard work in drafting thorough documents that were adopted by the leaders. But a 'spirit' cannot be manufactured, nor live within the contained space of a highbrow declaration.

The Asian-African Summit seemed to neglect the participation of the very people the leaders were supposed to be so concerned about. The people who embodied the soul of the spirit leaders so grandly toasted.

Security these days dictates higher vigilance. But shunning the people, as happened in this Bandung summit, defeats the contemplative nature of the event.

There are other examples of how an elitist outlook prevailed during summit events, both in Bandung and Jakarta.

There were few channels in which civil society -- the true stakeholders of the Asian-African spirit of cooperation -- were allowed to channel their aspirations. The Indonesian government, as usual, encouraged business interactions but little else.

A group of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) - such as the Institute for Global Justice, Infid and the Christian Conference of Asia - which held week-long gatherings with international counterparts in conjunction with the summit received, according to them, the cold shoulder from the government when trying to in some way correlate their activities with official proceedings.

While the nature of the summit tried to be inclusive by inviting developing countries from outside Asia and Africa, and giving their representatives a podium to speak on, the obsolete outlook of officials who consider that they have a monopoly over the people's voice continues to prevail.

These experiences typify the dogmatic characteristics of many regimes in Asia and Africa that are still reluctant, or simply just don't bother, to listen to their subjects. Not surprisingly, this gathering of Asian and African leaders is regarded by some civil society groups as simply a means to propagate neo-liberal doctrines.

With designs afoot to institutionalize Asia-Africa cooperation, it is well worth suggesting that a parallel second and third track of engagement be encouraged to complement future meetings between the two continent's leaders and ministers.

The second track would consist of leading think tanks and opinion makers (including the media) in Asia and Africa with the aim of providing alternative policy recommendations and visions for officials. The third track would consist of civil society groups that can forward general proposals and papers that correspond to grassroots sentiments.

It is the second and third track who are the real heirs of the Bandung Spirit. In the long run the network established through these two alternative tracks will be the strongest component of Asian-African cooperation.

The development of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations's (ASEAN) second track - through a network of regional think tanks known as ASEAN-ISIS - and its eventual acceptance by ASEAN leaders, is a model that could be emulated. During ASEAN meetings, second track representatives are often allotted time to present their proposals.

While still in the formative stages, a third track within ASEAN is also being developed by gathering independent NGOs from the 10 member states.

It is important to note that the state should not sponsor these alternative tracks. Doing so would be tantamount to exercising control over their activities. The state, by its very nature, cannot prevent itself from censoring participation and discussion.

What is important is for governments to acknowledge these alternative tracks as partners in their endeavor to widen cross- continent cooperation. To allocate time to hear their pleas, and accept with sincerity both criticism and recommendations.

They say that the business of government is too important to be left to government alone. For the past 50 years the governments of Asia and Africa have had mixed results in consolidating the Bandung spirit. Without the direct participation of its peoples there can only be, at best, another 50 years of continental lethargy.