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Caesar Zvayi Editor

PRESIDENT Mugabe has left Harare for Jakarta, Indonesia where he joins other world leaders for the Asia -Africa Summit that coincides with celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the historic Bandung conference that laid the groundwork for the Non-Aligned Movement.

In April, 1955, representatives from 29 governments drawn from Asia and Africa gathered in Bandung, Indonesia to deliberate on peace and the role of the developing world in the Cold War, economic development, and decolonisation.

The core principles of the Bandung Conference were political self-determination, mutual respect for sovereignty, non-aggression, non-interference in internal affairs, and equality of nations.

These principles were integral for all participants, most of whom had just emerged from colonial rule where many of their people were treated as second class citizens in their own polities.

The governments of Burma, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka co-sponsored the Bandung Conference, and they brought together an additional 24 nations from Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

The Non-Aligned Movement has, however, struggled to remain relevant in the increasingly uni-polar, post-Cold War era as member states forged new alliances and gained economic clout.

More to follow…