70 Years After Bandung, the 'Global South' Seeks Leadership, Direction

The world now, as in 1955, is primed for fundamental changes in power relations.

- Ravi Velloor

Seventy years ago this week, in the afterglow of Asian decolonization, 29 Asian and African nations came together in the Indonesian city of Bandung, seeking to give the developing world a new and positive direction.

South-South cooperation was embodied in the final communique's call for economic cooperation and technical assistance at the conclusion of the conference held from April 18 to 24, 1955. But it went beyond that. As Mr. Roeslan Abdulgani, the Indonesian secretary-general of the conference, saw it, animating the gathering of these diverse post-colonial nations was a "spirit of love for peace, anti-violence, anti-discrimination and development for all without trying to intervene for one another wrongly."

Distilled into what has come to be known as the Bandung Spirit, that shining moment in world history would lead to the formation of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) six years later.

Fast forward to the present, it is a great pity that Indonesia is passing up the opportunity to rustle up the spirit of Bandung amid a world in trouble.

The reasons are unclear. Some believe President Prabowo Subianto's self-image of being the steward of a major power makes him want to soar above South-South issues. More likely, though, a budget crunch is the reason.

And so, it appears that Bandung will be commemorated with just a low-key function to be held later in April at the presidential palace. Diplomatic sources tell me that leaders of the nations that participated at Bandung in 1955 have been requested to send video messages.

Who knows what new thinking might likely have emerged had Mr. Prabowo done more with the chance to revisit the groundbreaking conference hosted by then President Sukarno all those years ago.

THROES OF CHANGE