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NAM is Back to its Birthplace for Crucial Summit

Stephen Carr writes from Bandung
IN 1965 Dr Ahmed Su karno, first president of Indonesia, made a name for himself as a firebrand and scourge of the Western powers, who withdrew hie country from the United Nations, threatened to invade Malaysia and skirmished militarily with the British tn North Borneo.
Ten years earlier. in a much more conciliatory mood he and his Third World allies had embarked on a more peaceful enterprise, the founding of the Non-Aligned- Movement (NAM)
The prime movers were Aslan — India. Indonesia. Pak istan. Sri Lanka and Burma. Their leaders met in
1954 and invltr . represents Uves of 29 newiy independent African and Aslan states to gather without an agenda in Bandung. When the conference convened in Indonesia and the NAM was inaugurated it was the first time Asian and African leaders had met without the patronage of their former colonial rulers.
The meeting place, a fine 19th Century Dutch colonial building on Asia-Africa Road, has been renamed Freedom Building. Movement flags fly outside. NAM now has 104 member countries.
Today Freedom Building houses displays of the 1950s technology used to transmit the 280.000 words of news dally to the outside world dur-. Ing the six-day meeting. There is a movie camera, a telex machine and typewriter.
There are roped off tables and chairs where the 340 delegates sat. wall photos of them arriving on foot from the nearby Savoy Homan Hotel, a beautifully preserved 1930s building (today one of the finest examples of art deco tn Asia).
Third World luminaries of the time. Nehru. Nasser. Chou en-Lal, Ho Chi Minh. King Faisal. Prince Norodom Sihanouk and a young Indira Gandhi, look animated In large black and white blow-ups. The only one still alive and active la
Sihanouk
A huge map of the world showing the locaUons of the 29 founding nations takes up an entire wall. On its other side is an imposing floor-to-celling proclamation, in letters of burnished brass, of the Movement's ten principles of non-alignment and peaceful co-existence.
The Bandung meeting caused much worldwide press comment, hostile and encouraging The Christian Science Monitor said: "At long last the destiny of Asia is being determined tn Asia and not in Geneva or Parts, or London or Washington.
"Colonialism Is out. Hands off is the byword. Asia is free. This is perhaps the greatest historic occasion of our century."
But France's right wing Le Figaro said that in Bandung were "assembled many nations hostile to our European civilisation." One Western diplomat said: "We will turn this Asia Africa conference into an afternoon tea meeting"
The attitude of l Ite Western
governments was to "wuit and watch* without making congratulatory nor disapproving noises.
Hie rhetoric from some of the delegates was strong. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru of India said: "Bandung has been the focal centre — perhaps 1 might even say the capita] of Asia and Africa dur ing this period."
He said Bandung stood for a new spirit In Asia, allowing people to have faith In each other without regard for accidents of birth. As a respected elder statesman. Nehru took a prominent role. India also footed most of the £2 million bill for the meeting.
Nehru was at pains to allay fears that Bandung was a ganging up of Asian and African countries against the West. India stressed that there was no question of forming a third bloc, the meeting was not anti-Western.
Nehru said the new movement was made up of "nations which object to the lining up for war purposes of military blocs, military alliances and
the like
"We keep away from this and we want to throw our weight, such as it is. in favour of peace."
Chou en-Lal caused a stir. He reassured smaller Asian nations and the world at large that China had no aggressive territorial ambitions. He Invited all African and Asian nations to have diplomatic re la tions with China. The Chinese brought a large trade and economic delegation to Bandung.
They drafted a seven-point plan for Asian understanding and made an offer to the US that they were willing to negotiate over Formosa (now Taiwan).
This candid offer made, news around the world. Frankfurter Allegmeine Zei-tung commented: "With a few sentences spoken during an interval in the Bandung Conference. the Chinese Prime Minister has changed the world political picture."
At the time there were no US-China diplomatic links. American airmen were being held by China on spying
charges.
Chou said the Chinese had no plans to subvert neighbour Ing governments. He had not come to discuss Ideologies, rather to find common ground with otlki nations
China was not a UN mem ber (in those days Formosa sal as China), but It pledged Its commitment to the UN Char ter. It also settled a matter that had bothered Indonesia for some time: the dual na t tonality of the two and a half mtlUpn Chinese living in In donesta was revoked
The Southeast Aslan Treaty Organisation (SEATO). a de fence pact to resist communism. now defunct, which consisted of the US. Britain, France. Australia New Zea land. Pakistan, the Philippines and Thailand, had met in Bangkok three months before
Accusations of intrigue flew about — inevitable in a gathering the size of Bandung. Pravda said the Thais and Filipinos, puppets of the Americans, had been sent to wreck the conference agenda.
Other rumours were that dozens of specially trained prostitutes had been sent by Sukarno to spy on the delegates. Generally, though, the tone remained upbeat. Sukarno said the purpose of the confer ence was to inject a voice of reason into world affairs because now more than ever "society, government and statesmanship need to be based on the highest code of morality and ethics."
Greater African and Aslan representation at the Security Council was asked for. It was felt the body was dominated by the US and Europe. Asian and African countries had no part to play in the sub-committees that discussed disarmament and nuclear weapons prohibition.
Strong feelings about nuclear weapons were voiced Vt Bandung. Universal disarmament and a ban on atomic weapons was called for.
Another proposal was for a chain of atomic testing stations across Africa and Asia Ip anal-
yse the harmful effects of nu clear testing.
Bandung started with no agenda, and produced a 5.000 word declaration One call was for France to divest itself of its remaining colonies. Algeria. Morocco and Tunisia; for Bn tain to leave Aden: the Dutch to accede to Indonesia's claims over West New Gunea; and for Israel to give back Palestinian land
Other resolutions urged a special UN fund for economic development, the establish rgent of an International Atomic Energy Agency, the setUng up of regional banks, more International bank funds for Asia and Africa.
Specific economic problems were addressed, such as the need to reduce high shipping freight rates between members and enlarging the scope of multilateral trade payments. Establishment of an International Finance Corpora tion was urged to encourage investment and Joint ventures between Asian and African countries.
The 29 agreed to appoint liaison officers to exchange information and ideas of mutual Importance. It was thought for instance, that if information was exchanged on tax and remittance of profits, it might lead to a common fiscal policy. Burma suggested a plan for overall economic co-operation.
Some plans came to fruition, others did not But a clear signal had been sent to the older established countries that 29 new nations, soon to be Joined by many others, had decided that they wanted a say In how the world was run.
No longer content to have decisions made on their behalf by distant powers, the Asian and African leaders assembled at Bandung brought a sea change in global affairs whose effects are being felt to this **
STEPHEN CARR hat reported, broadcast and edited tn Thailand, Hong Kong. Singapore and Australia, and is now Gemini Correspondent in Indonesia.