International Journal of Indonesian Studies Volume 1, Issue 2 | Page 8

International Journal of Indonesian Studies

Autumn 2015

conformity with the Charter of the United Nations.
6. a. Abstention from the use of arrangements of collective defence to serve the
particular interests of any of the big powers.
b. Abstention by any country from exerting pressures on other countries.
7. Refraining from acts or threats of aggression or the use of force against the
territorial integrity or political independence of any country.
8. Settlement of all international disputes by peaceful means, such as negotiation,
conciliation, arbitration or judicial settlement as well as other peaceful means of
the parties’ own choice, in conformity with the Charter of the United Nations.
9. Promotion of mutual interests and co-operation.
10. Respect for justice and international obligations.
Through the Bandung Conference 1955, the prestige of Indonesia had increased,
especially in the sphere of foreign politics. The ability to embrace Asian-African nations was
seen as sign of a coming era of liberation by nations that had not yet gained their
independence. The idea of the unification of coloured nations challenged the Western
press’ opinion of the Bandung conference, which it cast as a Communist or Leftist
provocation against the West. According to Richard Wright (1956,14), an Afro-America
writer who reported the conference, the call for the meeting had not been named in terms
of ideology yet. The participants could not be categorised as proletarians; they comprised
princes and paupers, Communists and Christians, Leftists and Rightists, Buddhists and
Democrats, in short, just about anybody who lived in Asia and Africa.
The impact of the Bandung Conference, according to Podeh (2004,184), was first
discernible in Africa. The Suez Canal Nationalisation in 1956 in Egypt marked the beginning
of Nasser’s aggressive campaign against the Baghdad Pact. His participation at the historic
meeting at Bandung, the Czech arms deal, the nationalisation of the Suez Canal Company,
and the end of the Anglo-French-Israeli joint offensive, out of which Nasser emerged as a
hero-victor, all signaled defiance of the foreigner whether be it Western Imperialism or not.

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Those conditions led African nations to see the Bandung Conference as an
opportunity to gain their independence. The joint statement in the Final Communique from
the Asian-African Conference on April, 18-24th 1955 also talked about economic, political,
and cultural processes between the two continents, emphasising a respect for nationalsovereignty, the exchange of specialists to help advance both continents, inter-continental
commodities stabilisation, and the development of political systems based on selfdetermination and human-rights. According to discuss