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110-559: In 1965, Algerian revolutionary Ahmed Ben Bella attempted to hold an Afro-Asian solidarity conference in Algiers. This, however, was prevented due to his overthrow and the bombing of the meeting hall. The attempt was fulfilled in 1965 when Mehdi Ben Barka , an exiled Moroccan opposition leader, brought together both legal and illegal revolutionary organizations from all over the world to partake in this conference, which took place in Havana at

220-563: A New International Economic Order (NIEO). The NIEO was proposed after the Tricontinental Conference with the intention of nation-building in the Global South separate from Western influence. It sought to increase the price of raw materials exported out of developing countries, such that the neocolonial practices of former Western colonizers were thwarted. This suggestion for economic reform was not explicitly tied to

330-522: A Palestinian nationalist in 1951, the vision of Greater Syria was dropped from the Jordanian agenda. Although pan-Arabism began at the time of World War I , Egypt (the most populous and arguably most important Arab country) was not interested in pan-Arabism prior to the 1950s. Thus, in the 1930s and 1940s, Egyptian nationalism – not pan-Arabism – was the dominant mode of expression of Egyptian political activists. James Jankowski wrote about Egypt at

440-589: A conflict with the United States that worried Latin American political activists about possible American retaliatory intervention. The impact of the Tricontinental conference on anti-imperialist revolution is difficult to ascertain. The Tricontinental was unsuccessful in revolutionizing the world against imperialism; its foremost influence manifested in the increased energy for liberation struggle in

550-609: A crucial component of their cause. In addition to national liberation and anti-imperialist struggles as being main issues on the agenda, delegates also discussed and debated models of economic development. During the conference, economic planning that prioritized nation development was emphasized, in order to minimize economic ties to the West. Delegates agreed that such nation building projects would be focused on accomplishing equality and social justice through radical measures, particularly through agrarian reform. In addition, delegates at

660-571: A health mission to Algeria, with doctors and medical help, and later sent weapons and soldiers as aid during the Sand War against Morocco. He was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union on 30 April 1964. During his tenure, Ben Bella encountered political struggles with former leaders of the FLN, including Mohammed Khider, Ferhat Abbas, Mohammed Boudiaf and Hocine Aït Ahmed . Ahmed founded

770-465: A history of anti-Communist intervention , the Tricontinental was seen as a collective reaction from former colonies, unmatched in history, that seemed to require more radical methods of repression. The United States undertook this challenge, allegedly calling upon the CIA to clandestinely assassinate potential dissidents. These included, most notably, Che Guevara in 1967. Because the solidarity demonstrated by

880-723: A loaf of bread, making his way to Tunisia and then to Egypt , reaching Cairo by 1952 where he was granted sanctuary by the president Gamal Abdel Nasser . At the outbreak of the Algerian War in 1954, Ben Bella was based in Cairo, where he had become one of the nine members of the Revolutionary Committee of Unity and Action that headed the Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN), founded in November that year during

990-531: A plan to this effect to the United Kingdom , which controlled Palestine at that time. The plan was not popular among the majority of Arabs and fostered distrust among the leaders of the other Middle Eastern countries against Abdullah. The distrust of Abdullah's expansionist aspirations was one of the principal reasons for the founding of the Arab League in 1945. Once Abdullah was assassinated by

1100-492: A report circulated that he had died, but this was denied by his family. Ben Bella died on 11 April 2012 at his family home in Algiers. Though the reasons of his death were unknown, he had been treated for respiratory illnesses twice at Ain Naadja. His body lay in state on 12 April before the funeral at El Alia Cemetery on 13 April. Algeria declared eight days of national mourning . Aussaresses, General Paul, The Battle of

1210-473: A second Tricontinental conference in Cairo in 1968. By the end of the conference, delegates adopted the following resolutions: The revolutionary nature of the three continents gathered to confront American imperialism cemented the Tricontinental Conference’s place in the history of global independence struggle. Several countries achieved independence as a result of the solidarity demonstrated at

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1320-619: A secret meeting of Algerian leaders in Switzerland. The FLN soon began armed insurrection against the French colonists, which became a guerilla war in Algeria. Ben Bella played an important role during the war, leading the FLN, organizing the shipment of foreign weapons and coordinating political strategy. Although he was not present in Algeria, assassination attempts against him by French authorities persisted. After national independence, he

1430-644: A secular understanding of Arab history encompassing the pre-Islamic and Islamic periods into a shared history that all Arabs could claim as their own. As a political project, pan-Arabism was first pressed by Sharif Hussein ibn Ali , the Sharif of Mecca , who sought independence for the Mashreq Arabs from the Ottoman Empire , and the establishment of a unified Arab state in the Mashreq. In 1915 and 1916,

1540-637: A short crisis , and Ben Bella became prime minister of Algeria with Ferhat Abbas as acting president. Ben Bella succeeded Ferhat Abbas on 15 September 1963 after rapidly sidelining him, and was elected president after winning an election with 99.6 per cent of the votes. Ben Bella pursued Arab socialist and Pan-Arabist policies and came to describe himself as a Nasserist . He nationalized several industries and established good relations with other anti-Zionist Arab states and left-wing states such as Gamal Abdel Nasser's Egypt and Fidel Castro's Cuba . He encountered political conflict during his presidency, and

1650-549: A single organization but with its headquarters in Cairo . However, the Chinese delegation threatened dissention if Cairo became the headquarters. In the end, the Chinese delegation emerged victorious as the delegates agreed to AAPSO as a separate organization and instead constructed a new Tricontinental organization, headquartered provisionally in Havana. The final decision made was that the final structure of OSPAAAL would be decided at

1760-525: A small country being annexed by a larger one. It lasted until 1961, when Syrian army officers carried out a coup d'état and withdrew from the union. As politicians felt pressured by the wide public to espouse the idea of unity, Egypt, Syria and Iraq entered into an abortive agreement in 1963 to form the United Arab Republic, which was to be "federal in structure, leaving each member state its identity and institutions." By 1961, Egypt had become

1870-465: A state policy and a means with which to define Egypt's position in the Middle East and the world, usually articulated vis-à-vis Zionism in the neighboring state of Israel. There have been several attempts to bring about a pan-Arab state by many well-known Arab leaders, all of which ultimately resulted in failure. British Foreign Minister Anthony Eden called for Arab unity during the 1940s, and

1980-520: A system of camps in both countries for training men and sending them into Algeria. Ben Bella felt excluded from the Soummam conference on 20 August 1956, and thus rejected it for its "secularism", the decision to integrate the European minority in independent Algeria, and the misrepresentation of delegates. According to Abane Ramdane , Ben Bella's rejection of the charter was due to the fact that it

2090-664: The Arab Maghreb Union was formed in 1989. Aside from the forcible unification of much of the Arabian Peninsula by the Saudi rulers of Najd during the 1920s, the unity of seven Arab emirates that form the United Arab Emirates and the unification of North Yemen and South Yemen stand today as rare examples of actual unification. The current Syrian government is, and the former government of Iraq

2200-724: The Atlantic Ocean to the Arabian Sea , which is referred to as the Arab world . It is closely connected to Arab nationalism , which asserts the view that the Arabs constitute a single nation . It originated in the late 19th century among the Arab regions of the Ottoman Empire , and its popularity reached its height during the 1950s and 1960s. Advocates of pan-Arabism have often espoused Arab socialist principles and strongly opposed

2310-857: The Hussein-McMahon Correspondence resulted in an agreement between the United Kingdom and the Sharif that if the Mashreq Arabs revolted successfully against the Ottomans, the United Kingdom would support claims for Mashreq Arab independence. In 1916, however, the Sykes-Picot Agreement between the United Kingdom and France determined that parts of the Mashreq would be divided between those powers rather than forming part of an independent Arab state. When

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2420-564: The Saudites and forcefully incorporated into the newly created Kingdom of Saudi Arabia . A more formalized pan-Arab ideology than that of Hussein was first espoused in the 1930s, notably by Syrian thinkers such as Constantin Zureiq , Sati' al-Husri , Zaki al-Arsuzi , and Michel Aflaq . Aflaq and al-Arsuzi were key figures in the establishment of the Arab Ba’ath (Renaissance) Party , and

2530-479: The Sétif and Guelma massacre in 1945, Ben Bella returned to Algeria, becoming politically active in the opposition movement against the French regime. French authorities sent assailants with the intention of assassinating him on his farm. The attempt against his life failed, but the farm was confiscated and he went into hiding. After the nationalist parties had achieved great success in local elections in 1947, by this

2640-800: The United Arab States , existed as a confederation between the United Arab Republic and the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen , but it dissolved in 1961. Two later attempts represented the enthusiasm of Libya 's Muammar Gaddafi , the Federation of Arab Republics , which lasted five years, and the Arab Islamic Republic with Tunisia , which also aimed to include Algeria and Morocco but never emerged in practice. Muammar Gaddafi had talks with Chadli Bendjedid in 1988 about forming an Algeria-Libya union. Instead

2750-498: The 1967 Six-Day War and the inability of Egypt and Syria to generate economic growth in some form, also damaged pan-Arabism's credibility. "By the mid-1970s," according to The Continuum Political Encyclopedia of the Middle East , "the idea of Arab unity became less and less apparent in Arab politics, though it remained a wishful goal among the masses." By the late 1980s, pan-Arabism began to be eclipsed by both nationalist and Islamist ideologies. Although pan-Arabism lost appeal by

2860-747: The 1980s. The debt crisis that began in the 1980s and affected developing countries, particularly in Latin America, provoked the dissolution of the Tricontinental solidarity that had previously united those countries. Liberation movements grew less necessary with the achievement of independence and the leftist superpower that was the USSR drew closer to collapse, leaving former Tricontinental delegates purposeless and without global support. Ahmed Ben Bella Ahmed Ben Bella ( Arabic : أحمد بن بلّة Aḥmad bin Billah ; 25 December 1916 – 11 April 2012)

2970-663: The African continent saw revitalized liberation struggles as a result of the Tricontinental Conference that were more successful. Of these, the Angolan Civil War and the closely connected South African Border War , in which thousands of Cuban soldiers contributed to eventual Namibian independence, was most influenced by Tricontinental commitments. In Southern Africa, the Tricontinental financial pledges toward global liberation struggles came to fruition (Barcia 213). Cuba contributed thousands of soldiers and military resources to

3080-543: The Algerian Ulema claimed that the "state Islam" that Ben Bella wanted to achieve was not an application of true Muslim values, but rather an attempt to please the population. His government was overthrown in June 1965 while he was planning to host an Afro-Asian international meeting, in a bloodless coup led by his defense minister Houari Boumédiène . He was held for eight months in an underground prison, then for

3190-468: The Algerian people: the constitution was approved and, on 15 September 1963, Ben Bella was elected president of the country, unopposed and with an immense majority. During his presidency, Ben Bella was confronted with the challenge of building a postcolonial state infrastructure from the ground up; the country had no independent state traditions and its senior civil servants had always been staffed by

3300-641: The Americans. Tran Danh Tuyen, the North Vietnamese representative also proposed a resolution that the US end its war in South Vietnam unconditionally, stop bombing North Vietnam, withdraw American troops and arms from South Vietnam, dismantle military bases in South Vietnam, and respect Vietnamese sovereignty. The support and solidarity that Vietnamese resistance against US imperialism garnered during

3410-406: The Arab and Islamic worlds. Such competition sporadically resulted in friction between the leaders of these Arab countries. The United Arab Republic , which was formulated by Egypt ’s Gamal Abdel Nasser and Syria ’s Shukri al-Quwatli , was promoted to be the collective voice for the Arab world and the spearhead of pan-Arabism. Being the only physical incarnation of pan-Arabism, it did not receive

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3520-503: The Arab regions of the Ottoman Empire in the late 19th century. A prominent figure was Jurji Zaydan (1861–1914), who played a key role in laying the intellectual foundation for Pan-Arabism. Zaydan had critical influence on acceptance of a modernized version of the Quranic Arabic language ( Modern Standard Arabic ) as the universal written and official language throughout the Arab world, instead of adoption of local dialects in

3630-628: The Arab world following the Suez Crisis , the United Arab Republic (UAR) in 1958 was the first case of the actual merger of two previously-independent Arab countries. Hastily formed under President Nasser's leadership but on the initiative of Syrian leaders who feared a takeover by communists or "reactionaries" and hoped to lead the new entity, the UAR was a unitary state, not a federal union, with its critics seeing this as hardly more than

3740-492: The Casbah: Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism in Algeria, 1955–1957 . New York: Enigma Books, 2010. 978-1-929631-30-8. Pan-Arabism Pan-Arabism ( Arabic : الوحدة العربية , romanized :  al-wiḥda al-ʿarabiyyah ) is a pan-nationalist ideology that espouses the unification of all Arab people in a single nation-state , consisting of all Arab countries of West Asia and North Africa from

3850-602: The Chaplin Theatre. The Tricontinental Conference was an extension of both the Bandung Conference (1955) and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (1964). Bandung marked the emergence of a non-aligned movement and the building of a Third World anti-imperialist project , but the Tricontinental revolutionized liberation struggles by emphasizing violent action over non-violent action. Ben Barka

3960-652: The French Army offered the best opportunity for non-discriminatory treatment of Algerians. Fighting for France during the Second World War , he was decorated twice, receiving the Croix de Guerre after manning an anti-aircraft post during the Nazi invasion in 1940. He was demobilised after the fall of France, but joined a Free French regiment of Moroccan tirailleurs (infantry) with whom he saw service throughout

4070-464: The French and their allies. Ben Bella also traveled on a Pakistani diplomatic passport during the years of his exile from Algeria in the 1980s. After Algeria's independence, Ben Bella quickly became a popular leader. In June 1962, he challenged the leadership of the premier, Benyoucef Benkhedda. This led to several disputes among his rivals in the FLN, which were quickly suppressed by Ben Bella's rapidly growing number of supporters, most notably within

4180-408: The French. Despite a predisposition toward an egalitarian way of governing and a lifestyle lacking in extravagance (he did not live in the governor's palace, and maintained an open-door policy with Algerian citizens), Ben Bella's actions in government did not always match his intentions. After stabilizing the country, he embarked on a series of initially popular but chaotically handled land reforms for

4290-622: The Front des Forces Socialistes ( Socialist Forces Front ) (FFS) to confront Ben Bella, and the others joined after being alienated by Ben Bella's dictatorial leadership. In 1963, the FFS called for an armed revolt against the regime. However, it had force only in the Kabylia region, and by the summer of 1964 the revolt was controlled and FFS leaders were arrested. In addition to political resistance, Ben Bella faced religious opposition. The Association of

4400-675: The Global South. The American intervention in the Vietnam War was a major topic during the conference. All participants condemned the American war in Vietnam as imperialist and aggressive, and further emphasized their support and solidarity with the Vietnamese. Nguyen Van Tien, the representative of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, requested support at the conference for the Vietnamese people against

4510-714: The Islamic world as having developed from an incorrect and faulty interpretation of Islam. Despite controversies, he was respected for his role in the anti-colonial struggle and was seen by many Arab intellectuals as one of the last original Arab nationalists . He was also the chairperson of the African Union Panel of the Wise , which is mandated to advise the AU Commission on issues relevant to conflict prevention, management and resolution. The other members of

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4620-645: The Italian campaign. In Italy, he was decorated for bravery demonstrated at the Battle of Monte Cassino , during which he dragged a wounded commissioned officer to safety, assuming control of his battalion. For this, he was promoted to the rank of warrant officer and received the Médaille militaire , the highest decoration of the Free French forces, directly from Charles de Gaulle . On 8 May 1945, while France

4730-493: The Moroccan Minister of Interior and Intelligence, General Oufkir. Details of his imprisonment and death are unclear, since he was never heard from again and did not attend the conference. Following Barka’s abduction, the location of the conference was moved to Havana. The goal of the Tricontinental Conference was to merge Afro-Asian solidarity with Latin American solidarity and to develop a communist organization with

4840-547: The Ottoman Empire surrendered in 1918, the United Kingdom refused to keep to the letter of its arrangements with Hussein, and the two nations assumed guardianship of Mesopotamia, Lebanon , Palestine and what became modern Syria. Ultimately, Hussein became King of only Hijaz , in the then less strategically valuable south, but lost his Caliphate throne when the kingdom was sacked by the Najdi Ikhwan forces of

4950-456: The Third World, but with varying results. In Latin American countries, such as Peru , Venezuela , Guatemala , and Nicaragua , the Tricontinental Conference and its message sparked revolutionary activity, but these were often initially unfulfilled in the 1970s. Latin American countries such as these would achieve peace in later decades when they could not claim to have been influenced by the Tricontinental Conference In contrast to Latin America,

5060-477: The Tricontinental Conference between former colonies, notably as a result of the Cuban commitment to anti-imperialist struggle. The organization known as OSPAAAL emerged after the conclusion of the conference with the intent to extend its influence into the future. OSPAAAL was a manifestation of the values established by the Tricontinental, namely anti-imperialism. It supported liberation and human rights struggles worldwide, including those that found themselves within

5170-402: The Tricontinental Conference, emerging instead out of the 1973 Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit, but it built on values and priorities established during the conference. It was campaigned for by Cuba and involved many of the same countries present at the conference. During the 1980s debt crisis that affected many of the Tricontinenal delegate countries, NIEO lost the momentum it had gathered after

5280-420: The United Nations on 8 October 1962. As prime minister, Ben Bella arranged to legalize the seizures of autogestion spontaneously undertaken by Algerian workers. In March 1963, he drew up (with his circle of advisers) a set of decrees to nationalize all previously European-owned land. In his words, the "Tripoli program remained a dead letter, and independence and revolution made no sense, as long as Algerian soil

5390-429: The United States and in developing nations were important issues discussed by delegates, with a focus on the South African apartheid regime. Edward Ndlovu of the Zimbabwe African Peoples Union accused Britain of supporting the illegal government of Rhodesia. Che Guevara, who was not present at the conference, sent a message condemning British colonialism in Rhodesia and the white minority in southern Africa, and denouncing

5500-443: The United States in its anticolonial rhetoric. The conference took place during the international political turmoil of the Cold War – four years after the Cuban Missile Crisis and several months after the first American foot soldiers invaded Vietnam in 1965. The United States was sensitive to countries that adopted Communist policies and sought to prevent what it perceived as the spread of Soviet influence. The Tricontinental Conference

5610-432: The animus against Muslims expressed by his European teacher, he began chafing against imperialism and colonialism and criticized the domination of French cultural influence over Algeria. During this period, he joined the nationalist movement . Ben Bella first volunteered for service in the French Army in 1936. The Army was one of the few avenues of advancement for Algerians under colonial rule and voluntary enlistment

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5720-428: The apartheid regime. Delegates at the Tricontinental Conference not only condemned colonialism and imperialism, they also broadened the scope of their movement by explicitly stating their unity with movements within the United States, such as the Civil Rights movement . For the Tricontinental delegates, the United States was the prime instigator of imperialist aggression, and they believed the Civil Rights movement to be

5830-402: The armed forces, whose chief was Houari Boumédiènne . Boumédiènne marched his supporter troops to Algiers and Ben Bella seized power on 4 August in a coup d'état . By September 1962, Bella was in control of Algeria in all but name. He was elected premier in a one-sided election on 20 September, which was recognized by the United States on 29 September. Algeria was admitted as the 109th member of

5940-452: The benefit of landless farmers, and increasingly turned to socialist rhetoric. His policy of autogestion, or self-management, was adopted after Algerian peasants seized former French lands and was inspired by Marxist Yugoslavian leader Josip Broz Tito . He also worked on the development of his country, instituting reforms, undertaking campaigns for national literacy , and nationalizing several industries and calling for socialization of

6050-505: The close bounding of all Islamic communities to maintain and promote an essence of one family, one cause. The philosophy of pan-Arabism placed itself in contradiction to the philosophy of pan-Islamism as was clarified by religious scholars and Sheikhs within the various Arab countries, especially the Persian gulf. The belief held by critics emphasized that pan-Arabism separated itself from the Ummah in that it only promoted Arab unity and ideals, not Islamic ones. The religious conservatism within

6160-483: The common goals of resistance to colonialism and imperialism, in addition to the establishment of an alliance across colonial national boundaries. Ideological formations, namely pan-Africanism and pan-Arabism , were further established at the conference to address the political fragmentations resulting from colonialism. Some delegates requested military and diplomatic support from other participants in their revolutionary and anti-colonial pursuits. Delegates also called for

6270-527: The conference advocated a global militant resistance, one that was more radical and more open to violence than the Bandung Conference. The spirit of the conference was one characterized by third world unity and revolutionary fervor.  At his closing speech at the conference, Fidel Castro made the promise of Cuban aid to any revolutionary movement on any continent. He also emphasized the need for coordination among all revolutionary movements to combat perceived imperial domination. Racial discrimination both within

6380-410: The conference reached a consensus that the political and economic relations between Africa, Asia, and Latin America would be premised on the principles of equality and mutual interest where no state would advance their own interests at the expense of another. In terms of international economics, the conference envisioned a new economic policy that saw the Global South as one entity; delegates agreed that

6490-418: The conference was apparent in the pledge of “unrestricted support” to the Vietnamese by Cuban president Osvaldo Dorticos, and Dominican representative Cayetano Rodriguez del Prado’s pledge to revolutionize the Dominican Republic into “the Vietnam of Latin America.” The idea of Vietnam as a model for other countries struggling against colonialism, neo-colonialism, and imperialism, particularly American imperialism,

6600-465: The conference, a plenary session was held where the final resolutions were declared and adopted by the attendees. One of the major goals of the conference was for the delegates to create a common strategy that they would commit to follow in order to fight against imperialism. The conference was also a way for the delegates to coordinate and increase the sense of solidarity between Asia, Africa, and Latin America. In creating close military ties and solidarity,

6710-421: The conference. Although it stood for the human and sovereign rights of the Global South, many Latin American countries, concerned about American aggression, condemned the conference and lodged a formal letter with the UN expressing their anxieties over the interventionist stance of the conference. Tricontinental support for Black Americans undertaking their own revolutionary struggle on American soil also presented

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6820-399: The conference. The Chinese delegation wished to maintain their influence in AAPSO (Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Organisation) and so pushed for the headquarters to be located in Havana and wanted OSPAAAL and AAPSO to remain two separate organizations. On the other hand, the Cuban delegation argued that there should be one, unified organization headquartered in Havana. The Soviets also wanted

6930-436: The delegates at the Tricontinental included military and financial support for revolutionaries, the conference could not be perceived on the same scale as previous conferences. Washington officials therefore considered the meeting a direct threat to America security, a reaction that stemmed partly from the sheer proximity of Cuba to the North American continent. This perceived threat manifested economically as well as militarily in

7040-479: The economy and Arabization . On many occasions, however, he improvised government policy as he went, as with his National Solidarity Fund, for which he asked the Algerian people to "voluntarily" hand over jewellery and banknotes. In international relations, he had to maintain connections with the former colonial master France, and also accepted economic aid from both the US and the Soviet Union , as each sought to move his regime into its orbit and into opposition to

7150-536: The event. Certain recorded participants included: [REDACTED]   Cuba [REDACTED]   Guatemala [REDACTED]   China [REDACTED]   Dominican Republic [REDACTED]   Soviet Union [REDACTED]   Rhodesia Discussion at the conference centered on tricontinental integration, with emphasis on anticolonialism, anti-imperialism, revolutionary internationalism, and overall collaboration and support in these areas. Attending delegates had been brought together with

7260-443: The expected praise from other Arab nations, especially in the Gulf, which further added to the decline of pan-Arabism. To a lesser extent, the military defeat to “arch-enemy” Israel made both prominent sources of pan-Arabism reconsider such philosophy. The United Arab Republic , consisting of Egypt and Syria , received ideological burden due to the unfavorable outcome, thus putting pan-Arabism in question. The victory of Israel in

7370-409: The financial relationship with the West would no longer be subject to one-sided development needs. Instead, negotiations were viewed as an action undertaken collectively, based on the idea that the development of individual nations would be strongly connected to the overall development of the Global South. The Tricontinental Conference re-imagined a world characterized by cooperation and solidarity across

7480-469: The former was for long its chief ideologist, combining elements of Marxist thought with nationalism to a considerable extent reminiscent of nineteenth-century European romantic nationalism. It has been said that Arsuzi was fascinated with the Nazi ideology of "racial purity" and impacted Aflaq . Abdullah I of Jordan dreamed of uniting Syria , Palestine , and Jordan under his leadership in what he would call Greater Syria . He unsuccessfully proposed

7590-400: The goal of international revolution. It was one of the largest gatherings of anti-imperialists in the world.  In comparison to the Bandung Conference, the Tricontinental conference was more radical in its attempt to pose a challenge to capitalism.The conference resulted in the condemnation of imperialism, colonialism and neo-colonialism. One of the key topics discussed at this Conference was

7700-474: The height of the FLN terror campaign, he remained relatively untarnished by his association with the organization. At the FLN conference in Tripoli in May–June 1962, Ben Bella repealed the Soummam conference and gave priority to the implementation of a national Arab-Islamic culture and identity of Algeria. Like many Arab revolutionaries of the time, he came to describe himself as a " Nasserist " and developed close ties to Egypt even before national independence

7810-412: The involvement of the United States in Vietnam, which was an indication of American imperial aggression towards former colonies. Many delegates pushed for more collaboration, support, solidarity, and demonstrations of revolutionary internationalism. The Tricontinental Conference brought together around 500 delegates from the various liberation movements of 82 different countries. Though the full guest list

7920-682: The left leaning People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). Subsequent revolutions in Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, and Zimbabwe achieved independence in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Members of the conference were particularly vocal against South African apartheid. Cuba’s mission in Angola saw confrontation between Cuban troops and South African troops. Because Cuba’s action led to eventual Angolan and Namibian independence, it reduced South Africa’s sphere of influence and political power in

8030-406: The magazine offered a more in-depth analysis of conflicts, and also distributed speeches and essays written by leading revolutionaries, such as Che Guevara and Amilcar Cabral. The organization closed its doors in 2019. Since the impulse behind the Tricontinental Conference was to establish solidarity between the countries of the Global South impacted by imperialism, the conference explicitly targeted

8140-676: The next 14 years lived under house arrest. After being deposed in 1965, Ben Bella was detained for eight months in prison. He was then transferred to an isolated villa in Birouta, where he was placed under house arrest for 14 years. He was, however, permitted a private life there, and in 1971 he married Zohra Sellami, an Algerian journalist; their meeting was arranged by Ben Bella's mother. They became religiously observant Muslims, and adopted two girls, Mehdia and Nouria. After Boumedienne's death in 1978, restrictions on him were eased in July 1979, and he

8250-569: The only remaining member but continued to call itself "the UAR" (thereby implying it was open for unification with other Arab countries), but it eventually renamed itself the "Arab Republic of Egypt" in 1973. Also in 1958, a Hashemite -led rival, the Arab Federation , was founded between Jordan and Iraq . Tensions with the UAR and the 14 July Revolution made the Arab Federation collapse after only six months. Another attempt,

8360-454: The organization, obtaining 3 million francs which he used to buy weapons. He was eventually caught in 1950 and sentenced to eight years' imprisonment in Blida jail. In captivity, he was exposed to the writings of Sultan-Galiev , which greatly influenced him in the future. He escaped soon afterwards in 1952 by cutting through his prison window bars with a knife that had been smuggled into jail in

8470-682: The other. At the same time, Ben Bella wished Algeria to become a leader of Third World liberation movements and of the Third World itself. To strengthen relations with other colonies and former colonies, Algeria joined the Non-Aligned Movement under Ben Bella's regime, and he forged links with such African leaders as Gamal Abdel Nasser, Kwame Nkrumah , Modibo Keita and Sekou Toure to aid rebel movements throughout Africa. He also established good relations with Fidel Castro , Che Guevara and Cuba. After his 1962 visit, Cuba sent

8580-522: The panel at the time were President Miguel Trovoada (former president of São Tomé and Príncipe), Dr. Salim A. Salim (former Secretary-General of the OAU), Dr. Brigalia Bam (Chair of South Africa's Electoral Commission) and Elisabeth Pognon (former President of the Constitutional Court of Benin). In February 2012, Ben Bella was admitted to a hospital for medical checks. At the same time,

8690-557: The political involvement of the West in the Arab world. It also sought to empower Arab states against outside forces by forming alliances and, to a lesser extent, economic co-operation. Pan-Arabists wanted to create an Arab state spanning the entire Arab world, with as much land, as many Arabs, and as few Jews as possible. The origins of pan-Arabism are often attributed to the Nahda (Arab awakening or enlightenment) movement that flourished in

8800-422: The promotion of pan-Islamism , the sectarian and social differences within the different Arab societies; the competition between different Arab leaders to be the leading voice for the Arab and Islamic worlds; and, to a lesser extent, military defeat against an enemy force. The promotion of pan-Islamism had been a key aspect within Arab and Muslim societies. Such philosophy dictated for a united Islamic ‘Ummah’ or

8910-465: The region, contributing to the destabilization of the apartheid regime. In the 1950s, philosophies of peaceful resistance still operated in many countries seeking independence from colonizers, but the Tricontinental, influenced by the Vietnam War and Algerian War , marked the transition to violent liberation struggles. For Cuba, the Tricontinental also presented an opportunity to position itself on

9020-498: The removal of foreign military bases on the three continents and the ending of military pacts. The general consensus at the conference was notably anti-nuclear, in which delegates demanded the prohibition of various aspects of the usage and storage of nuclear weaponry, and for the dismantling of existing nuclear weaponry. However, the general declaration of the conference emphasized that the shared enemy of Asia, Africa, and Latin America

9130-647: The representative of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam.  Other prominent figures included Fidel Castro , the Prime Minister of Cuba, and Salvador Allende . Notable absentees included Che Guevara , who while fighting in Bolivia sent a letter to be read to the delegates on his behalf; and Mehdi Ben Barka , the intended Chairman of the conference whose disappearance two months prior sparked deep anti-imperialist tones during

9240-407: The societies propelled pan-Islamism to defeat alternative thoughts such as pan-Arabism. Various sectarian and social differences within the various Arab societies was another fueling factor for pan-Arabism's decline. Sporadic Sunni and Shia religious divide exacerbated by internal and foreign factors caused reconsideration within Arab circles as to whether pan-Arabism was viable although the issue

9350-686: The sphere of capitalist influence, such as the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. The organization developed two publications, the Tricontinental Bulletin and the Tricontinental Magazine , to spread propaganda and to maintain contact with its various delegations. The Bulletin included updates and commentary on ongoing independence movements worldwide, and also produced propaganda posters, found within its pages, for distribution. Meanwhile,

9460-485: The time, What is most significant is the absence of an Arab component in early Egyptian nationalism. The thrust of Egyptian political, economic, and cultural development throughout the nineteenth century worked against, rather than for, an 'Arab' orientation. ... This situation—that of divergent political trajectories for Egyptians and Arabs—if anything increased after 1900. It was not until Gamal Abdel Nasser that Arab nationalism (in addition to Arab socialism ) became

9570-579: The various countries. Zaydan wrote several articles during the early 20th century which emphasized that Arabic-speaking regions stretching from the Maghreb to the Persian Gulf constitute one people with a shared national consciousness and that this linguistic bond trumped religious, racial and specific territorial bonds, inspired in part by his status as a Levantine Christian émigré in 19th century Egypt. He also popularized through his historical novels

9680-401: The world stage as a country firmly supportive of anti-colonialism. This was not necessarily a Communist position, although it opposed American capitalist interventionism, but a strictly anti-imperialist one that committed to supporting resistance struggles financially and militarily, as it did in Angola. The spirit of the Tricontinental prevailed throughout the 1970s, but began to lose momentum in

9790-711: Was a farmer and small-time trader. He had four brothers and two sisters. His oldest brother died from wounds received in the First World War , during which he fought for France. Another brother died from illness and a third disappeared in France in 1940, during the mayhem of the Nazi victory . Ben Bella began his studies in Maghnia, where he went to the French school, and continued them in the city of Tlemcen , where he first became aware of racial discrimination. Disturbed by

9900-436: Was a major theme throughout the discussions of the conference. Though not present at the Tricontinental Conference, Che Guevara sent a letter to be read at the conference in which he called for “two, three, many Vietnams” as a way to fight imperialism in the global south. One area of conflict involved the question of where the headquarters of OSPAAAL , the organization that emerged from the Tricontinental, would be located after

10010-432: Was achieved. Nasser's material, moral and political support of the Algerian movement became a source of geopolitical trouble for Egypt, as it played a major role in France's decision to wage war against him during the 1956 Suez Crisis . Due to Pakistan's support for the FLN, Ben Bella had been given a Pakistani diplomatic passport to make his foreign travels possible in the face of an international manhunt co-ordinated by

10120-790: Was an Algerian politician, soldier and socialist revolutionary who served as the head of government of Algeria from 27 September 1962 to 15 September 1963 and then the first president of Algeria from 15 September 1963 to 19 June 1965. Ben Bella played an important role during the Algerian war of independence against France, leading the FLN , organizing the shipment of foreign weapons and coordinating political strategy from Cairo . Despite not being present in Algeria, French authorities tried to assassinate him multiple times. Once Algeria gained independence in 1962, Ben Bella's Oujda Group seized power from Benyoucef Benkhedda 's provisional government after

10230-689: Was celebrating Germany's surrender, widespread protests erupted in the Algerian town of Sétif . The war had intensified colonial repression of the Algerians, prompting a backlash that led to the deaths of more than 100 Europeans and around 1,500 Algerians, according to official reports. Anti-colonial insurgents, however, put the number of Algerian deaths at around 10,000. The fallout from the Sétif uprising shocked Ben Bella and his Algerian companions, as they realized that France would not recognize their claim to equal treatment despite their wartime service. After

10340-535: Was common. Posted to Marseille , he played center midfield for Olympique de Marseille in 1939–1940. His only appearance for the club was in a game against FC Antibes in the Coupe de France on 29 April 1940 in Cannes, during which he scored a goal. Club officials offered him a professional spot on the team, but he rejected the offer. He also played for IRB Maghnia . Ben Bella enlisted again in 1940, believing that

10450-511: Was drafted by Kabyles . Ben Bella was also accused of not providing enough money and weapons for the cause. In 1956, he refused to receive a package delivered by taxi to his hotel in Cairo. A bomb exploded inside the taxi as it drove away, killing the driver. That same year, while in his hotel in Tripoli , a pied noir gunman with links to French intelligence called Jean David entered his room and fired, wounding but not killing him. The shooter

10560-503: Was elected president of the International Campaign Against Aggression on Iraq at its Cairo Conference. He described himself numerous times in interviews as an Islamist of a "mild and peace-loving flavour". Despite his former establishment of a one-party state after Algeria gained its independence, he became a vocal advocate for democracy in Algeria. He described the militant tendency arising in

10670-505: Was faced with border clashes in the Sand War with Morocco in 1963 and a failed rebellion by the Socialist Forces Front against his regime in 1963–1964. He was ousted from power and put under house arrest after a coup d'état by his Minister of Defense Houari Boumédiéne in 1965. He was freed from house arrest in 1980 and died in 2012. Ahmed Ben Bella was born on 25 December 1916 in the commune of Maghnia . His father

10780-461: Was followed by specific proposals from pro-British leaders, including King Abdullah of Transjordan and Prime Minister Nuri al-Said of Iraq, but Egyptian proposals for a broader grouping of independent Arab states prevailed with the establishment of the League of Arab States, a regional international organization, in 1945. In large part representing the popularity Nasser had gained among the masses in

10890-674: Was followed by the fixing of the Algerian Assembly elections in 1948 by French officials, agreed to and justified by the Socialist Governor-General Marcel-Edmond Naegelen , Ben Bella became convinced that achieving democratic independence through peaceful means was illusory. Together with Messali Hadj and his party, he helped to found the Organisation Spéciale (OS), a paramilitary organization whose strategic aim

11000-539: Was freed on 30 October 1980. Ben Bella briefly resided in France but was then expelled in 1983. He moved to Lausanne , Switzerland, and launched the Mouvement pour la Démocratie en Algérie (MDA), a moderate Islamic opposition party, in 1984. In September 1990, he returned to Algeria, and, in 1991, led the MDA in the first round of the country's abortive parliamentary elections. The MDA was banned in 1997. In 2003, Ben Bella

11110-455: Was in charge of inviting various organizations and groups, and made arrangements for their travel. While organizing the conference, Ben Barka initially chose Geneva as the city in which the conference was to occur because of its ideal position for communication and for distributing funds throughout the world. In October 1965, Barka was abducted in Paris by two French police officers, who sent him to

11220-491: Was in hands of the big landowners". He used his position to push for the approval of the constitution drawn up by the FLN, and alienated allies. Mohammed Khider and Ferhat Abbas resigned their political offices in 1963, dismayed by the dictatorial tendencies on display in Ben Bella's proposed constitution, which enshrined a one-party state and rejected political pluralism. Nevertheless, this action presented no problem to

11330-615: Was later killed by guards while fleeing, at the Libyan border. In October 1956, he was arrested in Algiers by French military authorities, who hijacked the plane on which he was flying. He was kept prisoner until the Evian accords in 1962, and released on 5 July. His arrest earlier had led to the resignation of Alain Savary , who was opposed to Guy Mollet 's policies; as a prisoner during

11440-454: Was led by rival factions of the Ba'ath Party , which continues to espouse pan-Arabism and is organized in several other countries. The decline of pan-Arabism is attributed to several factors. Problems persisted over a wide range of issues since the inception of pan-Arabist philosophy in the late 1800s, which, until its decline, had kept pan-Arabism on course for causal failure. The factors include:

11550-663: Was named vice president of Algeria in Benyoucef Benkhedda 's cabinet. Ben Bella and his associates were responsible for developing a system of bases and routes for providing the National Liberation Army (ALN) in Algeria with weapons, ammunition and other supplies. The ALN logistical system was focused in Egypt and Libya in the early years of the war. Once the French occupation of Tunisia and Morocco ended in 1956, Ben Bella and his associates established

11660-519: Was never published by the conference managers due to security concerns, a US Staff Report compiled out of anxiety over the communist nature of the participants succeeded in naming all delegates and involved countries. The Tricontinental was the first to include a strong Latin American presence, and the first to emphasize the political alignment of the three continents of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Notable conference attendees included anti-colonialist Amílcar Cabral of Guinea-Bissau and Nguyen Van Tien,

11770-411: Was religiously oriented. Social differences toed a similar line. Countries like Lebanon and Syria considered secular brought about a clash of thought with the likes of religious Saudi Arabia , whose longstanding promotion of religion was contradictory to the goals of the secular hierarchy within the two Levantine countries, for example. Different Arab leaders competed to become the leading voices for

11880-506: Was the first coordination of activists from all three continents directly impacted by American foreign policy, and therefore constituted a threat in the minds of American government officials. In response to the Tricontinental Conference and its revolutionary ideas, the United States engaged in its own effective counter-revolutionary behaviour via the Central Intelligence Agency . Although the United States already had

11990-536: Was to take up arms against the French colonial regime as quickly as possible. This group became the immediate predecessor of the National Liberation Front . He was in charge of organizing the wilayas (regional military sections of the FLN) and supplying weapons to insurgents and getting financial support from friendly Arab countries. On 4 April 1949, Ben Bella led a robbery of the central post office in Oran to gain funds for

12100-407: Was without a doubt, American imperialism and interventionism. Plenary sessions began on the morning of January 4 and for the next two days, each delegation chairman spoke to a full assembly. These delegates included Amilcar Cabral, Salvador Allende, and Luis Augusto Turcios Lima . Delegates were divided into individual committees where each worked on drafting resolutions. During the final few days of

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