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.
The collapse of the Swiss Birch glacier serves as a chilling warning of the escalating dangers faced by communities worldwide living under the shadow of fragile ice, particularly in Asia, experts said. Footage of the collapse on Wednesday showed a huge cloud of ice and rubble hurtling down the mountainside into the hamlet of Blatten. Swiss Development Cooperation disaster risk reduction adviser Ali Neumann said that while the role of climate change in the case of Blatten “still needs to be investigated,” the wider impacts were clear on the cryosphere — the part of the world covered by frozen water. “Climate change and
Packed crowds in India celebrating their cricket team’s victory ended in a deadly stampede on Wednesday, with 11 mainly young fans crushed to death, the local state’s chief minister said. Joyous cricket fans had come out to celebrate and welcome home their heroes, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, after they beat Punjab Kings in a roller-coaster Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket final on Tuesday night. However, the euphoria of the vast crowds in the southern tech city of Bengaluru ended in disaster, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra calling it “absolutely heartrending.” Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said most of the deceased are young, with 11 dead
Poland is set to hold a presidential runoff election today between two candidates offering starkly different visions for the country’s future. The winner would succeed Polish President Andrzej Duda, a conservative who is finishing his second and final term. The outcome would determine whether Poland embraces a nationalist populist trajectory or pivots more fully toward liberal, pro-European policies. An exit poll by Ipsos would be released when polls close today at 9pm local time, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. Final results are expected tomorrow. Whoever wins can be expected to either help or hinder the
DENIAL: Musk said that the ‘New York Times was lying their ass off,’ after it reported he used so much drugs that he developed bladder problems Elon Musk on Saturday denied a report that he used ketamine and other drugs extensively last year on the US presidential campaign trail. The New York Times on Friday reported that the billionaire adviser to US President Donald Trump used so much ketamine, a powerful anesthetic, that he developed bladder problems. The newspaper said the world’s richest person also took ecstasy and mushrooms, and traveled with a pill box last year, adding that it was not known whether Musk also took drugs while heading the so-called US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after Trump took power in January. In a
RSS