This
twentieth century has been a period of terrific dynamism. Perhaps the last
fifty years have seen more developments and more material progress than the
previous five hundred years. Man has learned to control many of the scourges,
which once threatened him. He has learned to consumed distance. He has learned
to project his voice and his picture across oceans and continents. He has
learned how to make the desert bloom and the plants of the earth increase their
bounty. He has learned how to release the immense forces locked in the smallest
particles of matter.
But has
man's political skill marched hand-in-hand with his technical and scientific
skill? The answer is No! The political skill of man has been far outstripped by
technical skill. The result of this is fear. And man gasps for safety and
morality.
Perhaps
now more than at any other moment in the history of the world, society,
government and statesmanship needs to be based upon the highest code of
morality and ethics. And in political terms, what is the highest code of
morality? It is the subordination of everything to the well being of mankind.
But today we are faced with a situation where the well being of mankind is not
always the primary consideration. Many who are in places of high power think,
rather, of controlling the world.
Yes, we
are living in a world of fear. The life of man today is corroded and made
bitter by fear. Fear of future, fear of hydrogen bomb, fear of ideologies.
Perhaps this fear is a greater danger than the danger itself, because it is
fear, which drives men to ac foolishly, to act thoughtlessly, to act
dangerously.
All of
us, I am certain, are united by more important things than those, which
superficially divide us. We are united, for instance, by a common detestation
of colonialism in whatever form it appears. We are united by a common
detestation of racialism. And we are united by a common determination to
preserve and stabilize peace in the world.
We are
often told, "Colonialism is dead." Let us not be deceived or even
soothed by that. I say to you, colonialism is not yet dead. How can we say it
is dead, so long as vast areas of Asia and Africa are unfree.
And, I
beg of you do not think of colonialism only in the classic form, which we of
Indonesia, and our brothers in different parts of Asia and Africa, knew.
Colonialism has also its modern dress, in the form of economic control,
intellectual control, and actual physical control by a small but alien
community within a nation. It is a skillful and determined enemy, and it
appears in many guises. It does not give up its loot easily. Wherever, whenever
and however it appears, colonialism is an evil thing, and one which must be
eradicated from the earth. . .
Source: Excerpt taken from Africa-Asia Speaks from Bandung,
(Djakarta Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1995, 19-29)
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