Fifty years ago, Asian and African leaders launched a movement that aimed to give weaker countries a unified voice in a world becoming dominated by Cold War giants.
As their successors gather this week to commemorate that mission, they face a new reality: some of their number are now among the world's most powerful nations -- and they have spats of their own.
The escalating row between China and Japan is threatening to overshadow a four-day meeting of Asian and African countries in Indonesia to celebrate a similar historic meeting in 1955 that led to the formation of the Non-Aligned Movement.
PHOTO: AFP
The meeting also comes as nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan inch forward in their attempts to resolve their decades-old dispute over Kashmir, as Asian countries struggle to bring North Korea back to negotiations on its nuclear programs, and as Southeast Asian countries press Myanmar for greater democratization.
Indonesia and South Africa, co-hosts of the meeting which starts with senior officials' talks today, say it aims to forge a new strategic partnership between the continents, and that disputes between individual nations will not be discussed.
But officials say Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Chinese President Hu Jintao (
Although neither China nor Japan became a member of the non-aligned movement, representatives of both nations participated in the original Bandung meeting and their leaders have been invited to the commemorative summit.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan was expected to give a speech to the summit tomorrow before holding bilateral talks with several leaders.
More than 80 countries representing more than half the world's population have confirmed their participation at the conference, Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa said. Nearly 50 heads of state or government will lead delegations, including kings, presidents and prime ministers.
In addition to Koizumi and Hu, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Myanmar's General Than Shwe are expected to attend.
The military government of Myanmar, also know as Burma, is under increasing international pressure to release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest and grant greater political freedom.
The event will conclude with a ceremonial visit to the city of Bandung, 150km southwest of Jakarta, where the conference that gave rise to non-alignment was held in 1955.
"At Bandung ... we fought against colonialism to be independent. It was about justice," Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Tuesday while greeting his South African counterpart, Thabo Mbeki. "Now we are facing the same challenges, it is about global justice, poverty and underdevelopment."
Another significant meeting that could be held on the summit's sidelines is that between North Korea's No. 2 leader, Kim Yong-nam and South Korean Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan.
Although the South Korean prime minister's office said there were no plans for a meeting, intense diplomatic efforts have been under way to restart international talks seeking to convince North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions.
Annan is expected to brief participants of the Jakarta conference on his plan to overhaul the UN and bring more transparency in what would be the biggest changes in its 60-year history.
Participants representing 4.6 billion people on the two continents are expected to reaffirm the principles enshrined by the 29 signatories of the 1955 Bandung Declaration -- including non-use of force in international relations, sovereignty of nations and self-determination.
The original Asian-African format was later expanded to include European and South American nations, giving rise to the non-aligned movement.
The movement still has 116 members.
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
Hundreds of people in rainbow colors gathered on Saturday in South Africa’s tourist magnet Cape Town to honor the world’s first openly gay imam, who was killed last month. Muhsin Hendricks, who ran a mosque for marginalized Muslims, was shot dead last month near the southern city of Gqeberha. “I was heartbroken. I think it’s sad especially how far we’ve come, considering how progressive South Africa has been,” attendee Keisha Jensen said. Led by motorcycle riders, the mostly young crowd walked through the streets of the coastal city, some waving placards emblazoned with Hendricks’s image and reading: “#JUSTICEFORMUHSIN.” No arrest
RSS