Bung Karno’s Diplomacy Struggle Photos Exhibited

​As  part of  the program “100-Photo Exhibit of Bung Karno’s Diplomacy Struggle” (June 21-30, 2013), a talkshow on the theme “Reflection on 112 Years Bung Karno: Understanding the Thoughts of the Nation’s Founding Father,”   successfully took place at the Permanent Exhibition Hall of the Bandung Asian-African Conference (KAA) Museum  on Friday, June 21, 2013. The event was inaugurated by Foreign Affairs Ministry Secretary of Directorate General of Information and  Public Diplomacy (IDP), Diah Wulandari M. Rubianto, and present were Foreign Affairs Ministry Director of Information and Media  (Infomed), P.L.E. Priatna, and Head of PNI Marhaenis,  West Java.

Around 200 visitors  thronged at  the talkshow, which featured three resource persons: Tito Zeni Asmarahadi (adopted grandchild of Ibu Inggit Ganarsih), Alfathri Adlin (CEO  of Pustaka Matahari), and Tobing Jr. (Head of  Layar Kita Film Community). 

“Reflection on 112 Years Bung Karno” exposes a time-frame connecting  collective memories of the nation’s son with the struggle’s inspirational message   in the past,” said  Dian Wulandari M. Rubianto in her speech.

Head of  the Asian-African Conference  Museum, Thomas Ardian Siregar, said that the talkshow and the exhibit  could become both an interesting and motivational  factor   for the young generation in improving their knowledge of Indonesia’s history of struggle.

Introducing the talkshow was a  performance by Ferry Curtis, who sang two songs “Sahabat Cahaya” (Friend of Radiance) and “Kepada Putra Sang Fajar” (To the Son of Dawn).

I dedicate the song “Kepada Putra Sang Fajar”  to Bung Karno. I admire him. This song was inspired by Bung Karno’s book “Di Bawah Bendera Revolusi” (Under the Flag of the Revolution), said Ferry.

In the very lively talkshow, which lasted about three hours, Tito Zeni Asmarahadi explained  chronologically the story of Ibu Inggit Ganarsih from the beginning of Bung Karno’s struggle  in Bandung until his excile in Ende, Flores.

 “Ibu Inggit had a big influence on the character of Bung Karno’s future leadership,” said Tito.

Marhaenism (Proletarianism)  as a concept for struggle to realize Indonesia’s  aspiration for independence matured in Ende. Socio-Nationalism, Socio-Democracy, and Belief in One God are the main pillars of Pancasila (Five basic principles of the Republic of Indonesia)), and became the spirit of Bung Karno’s  diplomacy struggle.” 

Alfathri Adlin focused on   democracy   threatened by low  literacy culture; whereas established democracy is based on  people’s  literacy  competence.

“Whether we want to or not, the theoretical hypothesis of Historical Lobotomy is proven. It gradually uproots  our collective memory of Pancasila Democracy,  verging  towards  the threat  of  “history amnesia,” he continued.

“To understand the thoughts of our founding fathers, we have to understand the contextual historicism of their concepts. Pancasila Democracy was Bung Karno’s principle of diplomacy struggle,” underscored Alfathri, who in his daily life  is  absorbed in  philosophical studies in Pustaka Matahari, Bandung. 

On another scope, Tobing Jr. featured   Bung Karno’s  personality as  being continuously humanistic and confident. According to him, this leadership characteristic is what greatly impacted Bung karno’s image as the leader of the Asian-African people’s resurgence.

“The four founding fathers, Soekarno, M. Hatta, Sutan Syahrir, and Tan Malaka are the everlasting inspiration for the nation’s struggle,” said Tobing.

In the question-answer session, a  philosophy studies enthusiast, Jefri Raditiyo, S. IP, seriously responded to the concept of internationalism in the second pillar of Pancasila.

“Indonesia’s free and active concept of foreign politics, which was embraced  in the 1955 Asian-African Conference as the core  ideology of the Non-block Movement is, in essence,  the materialization  of Indonesia’s  spirit of  internationalism,” he said.

The talkshow closed with the presenting of  Certificates of Appreciation by  Foreign Affairs Ministry Secretary of Directorate General  Information and Public Diplomacy, Diah Wulandari M. Rubianto to Tito Zeni Asmarahadi, Alfathri Adlin, Tobing Jr, and Ferry Curtis.

After the talkshow, the guests viewed the “100-Photo Exhibit of  Bung Karno’s Diplomacy Struggle”  in Gallery I of the Asian-African Conference Museum. (Source: Museum KAA sppn/dsa)