The Press MONDAY, JANUARY 6, 1958. African-Asian Conference

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28477, 6 January 1958, Page 6

The Press MONDAY, JANUARY 6, 1958. African-Asian Conference

Observers in a position to follow the manoeuvring in preparation for the AfricanAsian conference which has just ended in Cairo thought both Egypt and Russia were planning to use the conference for their own purposes, which did not necessarily coincide. Russia was thought to see the conference as a way of edging into the African-Asian bloc, from which it was excluded at the Asian-African conference of 1955, and as a means of . fostering anti-Western emotions in an area where it is trying to extend its influence. Egypt was thought to see the conference as a way of taking from India leadership of the Asian-African “ neutral ” nations. Reports now suggest that if President Nasser did consent to have the conference in Cairo with the idea of achieving purposes different from those of Russia, then he adopted the role of the lady who went for a ride on a tiger. It is necessary to remember, of course, that at this stage the story of the conference is very far from being fully told. It may be significant that not even the official reports claim that the resolutions of the conference were passed unanimously. This may give a clue to the true tone of a motley gathering. There were delegates present who would not be expected (if they intended to return to their own countries) to put their names to blatant pro-Communist resolutions. The idea of a second AfricanAsian conference is attributed to Dr. Anup Singh, a left-wing member of the Indian Parliament He is secretary-general of the Asian Solidarity Committee, a Communist-front organisation which has its headquarters in Delhi. Anup Singh visited Cairo early this year and persuaded President Nasser of the advantages of having what could be called a second Bandung conference in Cairo. The term was misleading because the Cairo conference would differ fundamentally from Bandung. It was not, as Bandung was, a conference of governments, but of “ peoples ”. This enabled the sponsors to exercise a high degree of selection of delegates and to be reasonably sure that the delegates to Cairo would be for the most part Communists and fellow-travellers. At Bandung the Communists met strong competition from such govern-

ments as Turkey and Ceylon. A strong anti-Communist leader in Sir John Kotelawala was the chief delegate from Ceylon. Russia was not at Bandung, for one reason because it was not regarded as an Asian State—according to a polite fiction sponsored by Mr Nehru. Russia was at Cairo; and in the most barefaced manner was represented at a Conference which condemned “ imperialism ” and “ colonialism ” by delegations from Russia’s colonial empire in Asia.

The intention of the sponsors to prevent anti-Communist voices being raised at Cairo was helped, no doubt, when about 10 of the 50 Asian or African nations invited refused to participate. But even under these favourable auspices the conference was expected to have difficulty in formulating resolutions that would satisfy both communism and Arab nationalism. The difficulty seems to have been overcome by the delegates joining together in what Mr Hammarskjold terms “ anti-Westernism ”. The United Nations Secretary-General, who was in the Middle East while the conference was assembling, does not believe that the attitude of the African and Asian delegates should be “ interpreted as a sign that we “ live in a world which must “come to clashes”, He may well be right in <o Watering down the resolution* ot- the conference denrtndtng this of the West, and' condensing that in the West. But these resolutions are obviously less important to the sponsors of the conference than the key reMtatioa, which is the decision to establish an “ African-Asian People** “ Solidarity Council ” and a secretariat, with Russia as a member and the headquarters in Cairo. This decision further dissociates the . Cairo meeting from the original Asian-African conference at Bandung, because the permanent secretariat of the Bandung conference is still functioning at Jakarta. This matters little, however, to the sponsors of the “ pseudo Ban- “ dung ” which has given Russia and communism a firmer footing in Cairo in the form of a Communist-front organisation to disseminate propaganda in the name of African-Asian interests. One other prophecy can be made safely. President Nasser will have great difficulty if he tries to dismount from the tiger he invited to Cairo.