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| Sunday, 2 January 2005 |
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Memoirs of Sirima R.D.Bandaranaike : Non-Alignment & Sri Lanka The greatest event in international politics at the time was the actual formation of the Non-Alignment movement. Though various persons claimed that non aligned was born at Bandung in 1956 and tried to take credit for it, it was really in 1960 that the organisation began to be a reality.
The chief architects of it were Presidents Tito, Nasser and P. M. Jawaharlal Nehru. The first summit was held in 1961 in Belgrade. Sponsors of it were the above mentioned 3 leaders and President Soekarno. To me it was personally a great privilege and a great event in my life to have that opportunity to participate at a conference with such great world leaders like Tito, Nasser, Nehru, Soekarno and N. Krumah. Sri Lanka decided to join it because it was a movement that was suitable for countries like Sri Lanka. It was a keeping with the SLFP policies of SWRD to be free of this bloc and or that bloc while maintaining good friendly relations with all countries. At Belgrade the first summit of non-aligned, 24 heads of States and Governments participated I represented Sri Lanka, Felix (FDB) and officials accompanied me. Our Ambassador at the time there was A. M. A. Azeez was also a member of the delegation. Considering the declarations made by at the Summit two things were clear. The clarity with which the leaders saw the need for complete and genuine non-alignment untrammelled by hostility or allegiance to any bloc whether military or otherwise. President Tito in his opening speech put it this way: "We have not gathered here in order to support blocs but to define clearly and co-ordinate our position on the most important problems which are besetting the world today. And then it will be clear where our stands differ and when they coincide with those of one or the other side. It saw the demanding aspect between nations and for all nations disarmament, freedom from the colonial territories and self determination for the people's and the abolition of apartheid and other forms of racial and other discriminations and common struggle against poverty which beset practically all the countries in the Non-Aligned Movement. He mentioned about the world situation - vis-a-vis the Hydrogen bomb to be tested by 2 blocks. That was the main topic at Belgrade. The immediate threats to world peace. The decision to send Emissaries to Moscow and U.S.A. President N. Krumah of Ghana to U.S.S.R. and President Soekarno to the U.S.A. My appeal at Belgrade and the standing ovation I received from the audience which endorsed protesting the testing of the Hydrogen bomb because of disastrous consequences of it to the world. The fact that NAM which at the 1st summit had only 24 countries participating increased its membership to over 90 full member countries by the 5th summit in Colombo in addition to countries that participated with observer status proved that more and more countries realized the value of the movement. More countries applied to be members but they could not be admitted because of their membership in pacts such as Seato, Nato, Cento and having foreign bases in their territories. That was a policy of N. A. Pakistan was one of them. When P. M. Bhutto paid an official visit to Sri Lanka prior to the 5th Summit in Colombo in 1976, he made an earnest appeal to me to help Pakistan to be a member. He was aware that India was one of the strongest opponents to this move. I told him that Pakistan was a member of Seato. They were not qualified to be a member. I asked him why he doesn't consider leaving the membership of Seato. He should consider whether being a member of Seato was more beneficial them to be a member of NAM. His reply was having been a member of Seato had not benefitted his country. He quoted East Pakistan as an example. When India decided to move troops to East Pakistan and participated in the war, none of the Seato members came to Pakistan's assistance. Pakistan was left to fight alone. At this request I sent an emissary to Delhi while Bhutto was still in Colombo to speak to Mrs. Gandhi. She was adamant and maintained the position that as long as Pakistan was in Seato, India would not agree to Pakistan being admitted to the movement (Though Pakistan could not participate at the Summit in Colombo P. M. Bhutto gave us a lot of material aid for the conference). Though I was aware that Malta which had an American base in her territory was admitted to the movement before Lusaka Conference, that was a period that the SLFP was out of power (1965-70) therefore not in the movement. But when I met President Tito in Algiers and called on him in the Villa he was staying in, I raised this matter of Malta being admitted as a member while still having a foreign base within its territory. His reply was that the PM Mentoff of Malta had given an assurance that the lease of the base to America was about to expire shortly and they will not renew it. On that basis Malta was admitted. In fact I told the President that I did not think it was right. Apparently nobody opposed it unlike in the case of Pakistan. Reproduced with the kind permission of ancl Editorial consultant Malalgoda Bandutilleke custodian of the manuscript and pictures. |
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