OF THE POLITICS NON-ALIGNED AND MOVEMENT:HISTORY... PASSING THE MANTLE

A defeated people are rarely given opportunity to write their own history.

T AO DEFEATED stand in the people centre of are a battlefield rarely given without opporweapons tunity and to yet write use the their authority of your voice to silence own history. The privilege the loud violence of oppression, to record, shape or distort

of guns and injustice, takes historical something beyond events courage. is typically reserved It is not for just the victor. preparedness

to Expectedly, die for the principle those of justice who write and equality, history but the reserve bravery the to most leave a legacy enviable which memories shows that and human titles dignity for themselves has no equal; and their that it kin. cannot Conqueror, be buried master, by bul

lets or nuclear weapons. That merchant, noble, explorer,

the value of life is a comprehensaint, sion beyond are few simple of the and more hurried polite grasp. titles assigned to those titans Such of global was the history uncompromis– as we are ing moral told. backbone of the Non

Aligned A summary Movement of at world a time histhe tory globe tells was of polarised landmark between events written East and for West; future between generathe tions United to States understand of America the (USA) hier

and its allies on the West and the archy nations. Pax Britan

Union of Soviet Socialist Repubnica, lics (USSR), for example, led by Russia refers in to the a time East. when Britain dominated It the was global a political time when econothe my world somewhere knew a nuclear between war was the early imminent 1800s and to early out of 1900s. fear and

self-preservation, Pax Americana most refers nations to the carefully period took of sides, American either domEast

or West. It is difficult now to inance beginning around

imagine palpable tension in the the 1940s and even after. international arena.

To a large extent, the still rattling guns heard in various parts

Such of the world global are dominance due to the fact is other the political financing, South had (military) capacity propelled that the principle by supreme of justice milihas protection to interrupt global or a place trade or at supthe tary not been power respected. ready to As defend we can high ply of table these hard of international and soft comand see, there protect is a the resurgence image of and a organisations. modities. interests polarised of world the as superpower evidenced Such Diamonds international and oil from organAnanywhere by the Russia-Ukraine on the globe war. – This and isations gola, for have example, rules still and flowed reg

East versus West era in world out of that country irrespective usually at short notice, or ulations that each member

history is referred to as the periof the civil war there and the without od of bipolarity. notice at all. nation countless must millions accept that in died. order

Hiroshima, The complexity Vietnam, of global Kuto This be a somewhat respected contrasts member wait, politics Afghanistan, was further compoundAngola, of with the the family current if war states. in Ukraine, These Mozambique, ed by the North-South the list divide, goes rules a single and country, regulations whose war, form it on; which expose was mostly the impact a battle of common is said will likely interests, have global whether military against force oppression by global whether suforced, impact on accepted the supply or of both. basic perpowers through continued and how colonialism, far they necessities These (see, common among others inter

apartheid or wanton disregard https://www.bloomberg.com/ go to protect their interests ests like democracy, human

for the rights of those considnews/features/2022-04-05/ around the world. rights, religion, history and ered Third World. willrussia-s-war-in-ukraine

It The is not northern surprising half that of the in culture cause-wheat-shortages-raisealso influence reall political the places map, mentioned, North America, hislationships food-prices-more; between https:// and tory Western records Europe the and superpowers some parts among www.reuters.com/business/ given nations away as of Asia, crusaders was considered and protectors wealthy. from russiaukraine-conflict-highorganisations. of shared The southern freedoms part, and South vallights-wheat-supply-vulnerabilFor instance, the Unitues, America not and the aggressors. most of Africa and ed ity-2022-03-03/). Kingdom (UK) and the Asia were considered the poor In those old days, governSouth; colonised and dominatments and rebel groups in vared by the North. ious nations were sponsored by

Third World countries beeither the East or the West, thus came The experiments history written of the Eastfor Africa causing artificially combustible begins conflict

at slavery and proudly strolls slowly through the

West ideologies which resulted and endless civil wars. in dangerous consequences for In Angola, for example, Rus

colonial era while brushing past the freedom

nations. An example was the sia (the East) supported Agostassassination struggles of respective Democratic African inho Neto nations who became quickly the Republic enough of Congo to paint (DRC)’s African first leaders country’s after first President; indepenwhile Prime Minister Patrice LumumAmerica (in the West) supported

dence as inept and unsophisticated, most of all,

ba and then Secretary General Jonas Savimbi, the opposition

cruel and corrupt.

of the United Nations (UN) Dag and later rebel leader. Hammarskjöld, who died in It is in this environment that search of peace. bold leaders of two nations, the

Paradoxically, the so-called former Yugoslavia and India, poor This South power happened to influence to be enUnites conceived States the Non-Aligned of Ameriglobal dowed with opinion vast natural and percepwealth, ca Movement (USA) in mostly the 1950s. seem The to tion from is oil done to diamonds, by either force copper or share basic idea a similar was that world they would view,

and many other raw materials reward. Rewards can take the in align the with same neither way Russia that China in the

that fed the economies of the East, nor the USA in the West deform of budgetary support, and Russia seem to share North. spite the pressure to do so.

Surprisingly, neither war, civThis was unprecedented beil unrest or any catastrophy in cause Yugoslavia and India were their on continents own world where view. choosing These shared a side would interests have cause been easier nations than to confronting enter political, superpowers financial with or nuclear military weapons. alliances to defend, Cuba, protect Egypt, Algeria, and speak Colomfor one bia and another. over 100 The other fact is nations there

became members of this moveare ideological, religious, cul

ment which was unlike other tural organisations and more formed importantly for trade, economic security or finance. interests.

This At a is broad why level, the Organisathe movetion ment of confronted African Unity two volatile (OAU) was issues so both important with multiple because global it expressed consequences. a common The first interchalest lenge among was about Africans the East-West to have

divide and the real possibility of political independence in

a nuclear Third World War. The each colony at that time. In

problem was that nations with other advanced words, weaponry our first shared common these expressed weapons with interest their allies was restoring either directly, our or political by setting freeup dom military because bases land in partner was taken naby tions a foreign and indeed imposed through poliorcy ganisations and polity intended which to largely defend (re-)wrote each other’s’ our borders. history. The North This

Atlantic Treaty Organisation should never escape the Afri

(NATO) is a product of that cold can and mind. uncomfortable era, as was

the The Warsaw history Pact. written for Africa The artificially major challenge begins here at slavery was nuclear and disarmament proudly strolls and slowly the engagement through of the the colonial two suera perpowers while brushing which inevitably past the freedom would slow struggles down or of end respectheir

proxy wars fought in the polititive African nations quickly

cal South. enough to paint African lead

Overtime, leaders of the two ers superpowers after independence were prodded as at inept various and fora, unsophisticated, including by the most Non-Aligned of all, cruel Movement and corrupt. to end

the So, global the tension OAU was and also seek meant peace for to the be sake corrective of mankind. in narrating To their credit, the African they gradually story

did. so that once we were able to

A repeat of Hiroshima and make our own laws and govNagasaki was not necessary. This is partly why the Russia-Ukraine war must be viewed in a wider context to include the USA and NATO than just aggressor and victim.

The second broad challenge was the battle for the emancipation of the South and was not, by any means, less important at all.

In a balanced world, apartheid alone, should have been enough to converge the world against that extreme injustice and discard of basic rights, but it was not so. To this day, atrocities committed in the colonies, the so-called political South have not received just recompense.

The assassination of Patrice Lumumba with full consent and participation of the colonial entity and its partners, again refers.

Zambia joined the movement upon independence and chaired it in 1970 until 1973. The country gained its global reputation Even here, now as the a leader call by in the the great fight for Kwame the emancipation Nkrumah in 1963 of not for just the Africa peoples to Unite of Africa, rings loud. but those oppressed in the world. ern We our did sovereign so with the space, pre-empthe next tive notion step was and to value take of control non-viof olence. our capital We spoke across forcefully, the continent. unapologetically, fearlessly and

authoritatively, Therefore, but, the again, African withUnion out the (AU) aid or became threat of violence. the second Even expression with the of change shared of

government in 1991, that single interest of Africans for

noble mantle was passed on continent-wide seamlessly to the credit economic of the emancipation. first and second presidents The battle who for understood continental the value economic of speakindependence ing for others. is even harder The because open the borders budget for freefor the dom AU fighters is largely during financed the liberaby

tion years, 1960 -1990, remained non-Africans. The first thing,

so for refugees in the 1990s. therefore, is to finance our

The anti-war template of the 1960s was enough for the country to continue to speak for own peace organisation with authority – on our the own coninterests. tinent; something that should

have Zambia been easy sat at to continue the high even table to this of both day. the OAU and AU in their Dr Frederick formation, Chiluba advancefor inment. stance transformation championed multiple and

peace initiatives in Angola, the contribution to free the Afri

DRC and the Great Lakes region, can continent, politically and

a mantle that was passed on to economically. him, and from him to future

presidents That’s why and leaders. Zambia reasoned Of course, to liberalise the Non-Aligned its economy Movement and allow could local have and lost indigsome enous of its old ownership shine because of capital the from emancipation 1991 partly of the to South re-write was

largely and widely achieved. Nuthe story of our country and

clear disbarment in the North empower future generations.

between the then two superSomehow, powers was one achieved wonders somewhy we what; have and failed the to collapse protect of our the own USSR history ended bipolarity. and place on the African In other continent. words, globalisation

and Will the we permeating be remembered influence as of that finance titan and of international African history, trade or brought a political new challenges. experiment for

Even so, it is not difficult to external interests? observe the reduced influence Zambia Even now has on the the call continent by the great due mainly Kwame to internal Nkrumah disparin 1963 aging for and Africa re-writing to unite of our rings own loud. history Another to fit persons African instead icon of Dr the Julius nation. Nyerere echoed in 1997 It that must the be new borne generation in our of minds African that leaders we are not must a small lead

nation, we are not a people to the torch of unity that his

be ignored; we are not without generation started. a glorious history; we have no shortage That new of leadership, generation nor are of African we ill-equipped leaders to rise began again in to 1992 levels at known the and OAU shown when in our Dr Frederick history. Chiluba said in his inaugural We were speech one of that the first those to who lead political come to independence power through doviolence mestically must and externally be rejected (1960s at

- 1990) and still, one of the first continental level. to lead economic independence at continental level (1991 to current). We are Zambia.