Blog 3

Both Cabral and Sukarno make a similar appeal to unity among the formerly colonized peoples of the world. They both make the argument that even though formal colonization has ended, its aftermath in the form of imperialism remains; the economic and social oppression that existed under colonization still persists, and to permanently rid themselves of it and achieve liberation the formerly colonized people need to work together and present a united front. Underlying this appeal to unity is a sense of urgency to catch up with the rest of the world as the only means to be completely free from the vestiges of colonialism.

 However they make this appeal in different ways; Cabral’s appeal takes us back to the initial discussions we had about cultural domination under colonization. Cultural domination was a tool of the colonizers to rule over people and maintain their control, Cabral writes, “…whatever the material aspects of that rule, it cannot be sustained except by the permanent and organized repression of the cultural life of the people in question.” On the basis of this, Cabral believes that national liberation can be gained by uniting and developing the cultures of colonized people. He views culture as an important “…factor in the resistance to foreign domination” and as a means of “gaining independence” and “bringing about economic and social progress for the masses”.

On the other hand, while Sukarno does believe in cultural unity as an important tool for liberation of the third world, he directs his appeal more towards political unity among the newly independent nations of the world. He puts forward the example of the five prime ministers of the sponsoring countries who had a leading role in reaching a settlement in Indo-China, stating “… Instead they consulted together, discussed the issues, pooled their ideas, added together their individual political skills and came forward with sound and reasoned suggestions which formed the basis for a settlement of the long struggle in Indo-China.” This is an appeal to the collective voice of the formerly colonized people that now that these individual nations are liberated, they can join together and become a political force in the international arena.

How both Sukarno and Cabral view liberation is entrenched in the idea that despite having gained independence, these nations are not completely free still and considering how decades of colonialism has impacted their people and economies etc., it will be very hard for them to maintain this freedom unless they strengthen themselves by uniting. However, they see this strength coming from different types of unity. Cabral believes that cultural development and unity is an import tool of resistance while Sukarno believes that political unity will allow the the third world countries to safeguard their independence.