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The rise of the Third World
Clockwise from bottom left: Zhou Enlai, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Jawaharlal Nehru, John Kotelawala, Sukarno, U Nu, Muhammad Ali BograâBecause at the end this ignored, exploited,scorned Third World[â¦]wants to become something tooâ
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Clockwise from bottom left: Zhou Enlai, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Jawaharlal Nehru, John Kotelawala, Sukarno, U Nu, Muhammad Ali Bogra
'Because at the end this ignored, exploited,
scorned Third World['¦]wants to become something too'.
' Alfred Sauvy
Sixty years ago today, leaders of 29 nations representing the grandchildren of centuries of colonial subjugation in Asia and Africa came together in the obscure town of Bandung to snub their noses at established world powers.
It was theater at its most regal of people once oppressed and considered 'of color'. A diplomatic soap opera tinged with egos and histrionics. The tangibles of the Bandung Conference may be questionable, yet the symbolism of the historical gathering was undeniable.
Irrespective of the romanticized propaganda fed to naïve school children, the 1955 gathering did represent a bold diplomatic maneuver feeding the fervor of non-alignment and marked the rise of the Third World.
Ironically, the term 'Third World' was made popular three years earlier in France ' a country notorious for its fare share of bitter colonial conquests. It was demographer Alfred Sauvy who did so in a magazine to describe emerging nations and peoples who wanted economic and political clout.
Ultimately, the Bandung meeting was all about clout and identity politics ' internationally and personally.
The personalities (read: egos) of the day were the driving force that led to this gathering. In a post-war age where chauvinism was the norm of politics, the fortitude of these men was catalyst in their nation's rise from the manacles of imperialism. Without their self-righteous veneration, the 1955 conference would have never been realized.
The people of the Third World idolized their leaders, creating cults of personalities that glossed over the autocratic and chauvinistic nature of the rule. Tragically, many of the ''stars' of 1955 would be banished by their own histories in the next decade, leaving a legacy of failed promise and myth.
Prime minister Ali Sastroamidjojo's government, which organized the Bandung Conference, would lose power just four months later. Sri Lanka's Sir John Kotelawala was defeated in elections the following year, never to reach the same political heights again.
Kwame Nkrumah of the Gold Coast (Ghana) declared himself president for life in 1964 only to be deposed in a coup two years later.
Indonesia's president Sukarno was removed in a power play and placed under house arrest in 1967.
Ultimately, it was the controversial legacies of several key protagonists of 1955 that also led to the Bandung Spirit itself losing vigor in the wake of their demise.
It was also ironic that while the name 'Africa' was featured as prominently as 'Asia' in the conference's moniker, the meeting was by in large dominated by Asia.
Only six could be defined as from the African continent of which two -- Egypt and Libya -- identified themselves more with the Arab world. The four other African states were Ethiopia, Liberia, the Gold Coast (Ghana) and Sudan. The latter two were not even independent at the time.
It is thus commendable that 60 years later so much emphasis is now being placed in forging a bridge to Africa. A continent that many in Asia, not least Indonesia, has tended to neglect.
In 2009, World Bank president Robert Zoellick declared the end of the Third World.
'It is time we put old concepts of First and Third Worlds, leader and led, donor and supplicant behind us,' he said. 'We are now in a new, fast-evolving, multipolar world economy, in which some developing countries are emerging as economic powers; others are moving toward becoming additional poles of growth.'
The significance of his remark today is to underline that Asia and Africa, while still in the 'developing nations' category, need not perceive themselves as a 'third-rate' category in the classification of nations.
This was the same nuanced message conveyed in 1955. The difference being that now Asia and Africa can elevate themselves given the growing economic prowess and development initiatives emerging in the two regions.
Countries, such as China, India, Japan, South Africa and Indonesia, among many others, can all become point leaders of initiatives and economic cooperation in revitalizing the Bandung Spirit to truly raise people from third-rate prosperity.
The echoes of this idea abound within the narrative of this commemorative summit. It will not be an easy task. Technical issues and the language of diplomacy will become impediments to realizing practical cooperation. Yet the challenges faced by the gathering of modern day Asia-Africa are paltry compared with the trials of six decades ago.
Records of the 1955 conference showed that deliberations were not as smooth. While the spirit of non-alignment and anti-imperial unity was a theme, the approaching winds of the Cold War could be felt in both the rhetoric and personal dynamics of the leaders involved.
Kotelawala, for example, was derided in his own press as 'Bandung booruwa' (Bandung donkey) for insinuating a somewhat pro Western view. Meanwhile, a conference committee chaired by Nasser became deadlocked on wording issues.
Yet their ability to finally compromise and put egos aside to declare the Bandung Principles on April 24, 1955, was a study in statesmanship. A bond among people driven not out of fear but the hope of building a future together.
This week's gathering must go beyond a symbolic nexus rhetoric and ceremony, and move to become a convergence of hopes and economic plans. If our leaders could do it 1955, then certainly we can do the same in 2015.
