THE ASIAN SOLIDARITY COMMITTEE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78-00915R000700150017-0
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 30
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 2, 1997
• Sequence Number: 17
• Content Type: REPORT

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THE ASIAN SOLIDARITY COMMITTEE Lg=
ORIGIN
[`; ~f_t1 "~~ art
ThASC'A'-originated in April 1955 in N,?Delhi, India, at a con-
A
ference which called 11The Asian Conference for Relaxation of Inter-
0.
national Tension) btu. later changed to *rhe Conference of Asian Countries",
s vh from its actual sponsor, the Communist World Peace
.~r to dissociate it f
Council (WPC). Tie.--cc pt-i-a _==h a-body-was--l-nherent in plans fomulated
f&r-a---ee o niz dele World Conference for
the Relaxation of Internationa] I nsion held in Stockholm in June 1954i awd A
Asian meeting was discussed again at a WPC meeting in November of that year in
the same city.
d f`. Historical Background
The historical background-tila the Conference of Asian
Countriewhich., in turn, created the Asian Solidarity Committee, is
best covered in descriptions
of two preceding WPC events, the orl
Conference for the Relaxation
June 1954 and a plenary session of the World Peace Council in November
of the same year. To these will be added an account of the Con
of Asia Countries in April 1955.
(1) World Conference for the Relaxation of International Tensions
The relaxation of international tension was a prominent subject
at a WPC meeting in Budapest in June 1953 andj\continued to be
featured in WPC propaganda_up to and since the Stockho].mAJune 1954,
Tkt's
TJw' World Conference for the Relaxation
I I/
of International Tension was a noticeable departure from previous
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(-
"peace" meetings which openly fulfilled their role as propaganda
events. It was obvious that the Communist policy for this con-
ference was to make no direct propaganda out of it and to conceal
the WPC sponsorship, although care was taken to insure WPC control,
mittee for the event, five were from Communist-controlled
countries, and seven more had connections with Communist front
organizations. The meeting was reportedly first proposed by
WPC Vice President Petro Nenni at a WPC session in Vienna in
Of the twenty individuals chosen to act as the official com-
I-
November 1953,but the first organizational steps for the gathering
were ~+ ri utci a meeting lof representatives of various French
A l Tr
s -l&
c f
i
r w-0' e
political parties in May 1954,E taken up by representatives
of pacifist forces in many countries.' Invitees were promised
nothing would be published concerning the meeting except by un-
wjjkPr
visitors, and issued none of the usual strident Communistes'.
Jones, former secretary of the British peace committee but QQW
a full time WPC emptoye X w red no phone calls, received no
anirnous consent of the delegates. Headquarters, set up in Stock-
5'5 t d ho s'I'ctlaw"aN'f6-
holm prior to the meeting, Mr. Duncan
I &.A
Speeches at the conference were much more restrained than at
previous "peace" meetings. Although nothing was said in any way
critical of the Soviet Union, an attempt was made to appear im-
partial and to avoid blatant abuse of the West except in a few
cases. Actually, the proceedings seem9dgip,"je1'the first re-,
~
t. . L'vr y a ?v.L
flection of a warning Pierre Cot~had given the near-failure
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to believe it would be. It was clear that, although the gathering was
termed a "Conference of Asian Countries", only delegates from Communist
states were officially appointed and entitled to speak for their countries'
the others had no ,official status and could only profess to do so. This
latter groupe--mse.lylrank-and-file Communists or prominent fellow
travelers. Leading figures of the Indian CP came to New Delhi but
stayed in the background. One Indian paper reported that "the Conference
irritated the Government, disappointed its sponsors, and embarrassed the
people associated with it" because of the increasingly obvious Com-
munist domination and guidance.
After this inauspicious start, the Conference, with Mrs. Nehru
presiding, proceeded in the luxurious surroundings of one of New Delhi's
finest hotels. It launched into effusions of praise for Panch Shila,
Asian solidarity, and peace; denunciation of foreign irate rvention ."the
"bellicose French and interventionist Americans", aggression, military
alliances formed "under the aegis of Western Powers"
L_eQ4E1Q1" come
ray-ef ;Ftu83~aa
people's =0Nr
declarations of the Asian desire to be saved from riself-
styled friends."
-r R~nd
rrotadsed
Capitant French Itguest1t,nthat headquarters of the United Nations be
moved to Geneva
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moved to Geneva to escape-%4. dominatiOn$,,Dr. Dawalib *~ Peaking for
the combined Arab delegations, marked the conference as the unifica