Monday, March 30, 2009

Lapangan Tegallega



No, this is not a cemetary and these marked stones are not the tombstones. As you may have noticed, the inscription on the foreground stone reads "The Islamic Republic of Iran" and underneath it the local name of a plant and its latin name.

This is the Tegallega city forest/park where the Bandung Lautan Api (Bandung Sea of Fire) monument is located. These trees and the marker stones were planted and put in place in April 2005 to mark the 50th Anniversary or the Golden Jubilee of the Asian-African Conference. Each country that originally attended the Conference in 1955 is represented here by a tree and a stone-marker. The trees were ceremonially dedicated by the respresentatives of those countries who again came to Bandung to attend the anniversary in 2005.

The Bandung Conference, as some of you may have known, took place from April 18 to 25, 1955. Jointly organized by Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Burma (Myanmar), and Ceylon (Sri Lanka), the conference - attended by representatives of 29 Asian and African nations, most of which were newly independent - was aimed at promoting political self-determination, mutual respect for sovereignty, non-aggression, non-interference in internal affairs, and equality. Specifically, this group of nations that later became the fetus of the Non-Alligned Movement (NAM) were also pursuing the agenda of Afro-Asian economic and cultural cooperation and resisting colonialism or neocolonialism by the world's superpowers.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am for planting trees and bamboo to preserve life on this planet. These are true to life photographs.

J.C. said...

At first glance, I thought those are tombstones. Thanks for the explanations! :o)

Catherine said...

4 years later a kind of forest to remember the engagement. Independance and freedom are need as much care as these trees, I guess.
That's a great idea.

Sekolah Pramugari said...

Selamat Malam… Salam Kenal dari Balikpapan… Boleh bertukar link..? :)

Unknown said...

Thank You for the information.The photo is so beautiful,look green.

Mo said...

Interesting that the plaques look like gravestones though.

Dina said...

That first photo and marker is an eye-catcher. Then I read on and understood what it's all about.

escape said...

at first look i also thought it's a cemetery.

Profile Not Available said...

Okay, I guessed cemetery too, and was wrong. I loved the shades of green in your photos!

Sekolah Pramugari said...

Pagi kan Eki... Terima kasih sudah mau bertukar link....

Foto/Avatar+Link Akang udah di ADD....

Di Link balik ya kang... :)

Hatur Nuhun....

Julie ScottsdaleDailyPhoto.com said...

very interesting information and photo.

Jane Hards Photography said...

Fascinating as usual and very peaceful photography. I had thought cemetary at first. It looks such a well cared for area.

Photo Cache said...

That is a good place to visit. I would be spending a lot of time just reading the markers.

Sorry I haven't been visiting much.

SandyCarlson said...

That's an interesting place. A wonderful thought. A site of life, not death.

Virginia said...

How lovely that trees were planted in remembrance. I too thought the stones were grave markers. Nice post today as always.
v

Lisa's RetroStyle said...

Nice photos! I'm liking the history lessons I'm getting here Eki...thanks!

p.s. I'm glad your friends were amazed...and even more glad to be counted as one of your blog friends:)

Anonymous said...

This is a wonderful post! love the photos. Have a great day!

Laurie Allee said...

Fascinating, Eki! I have so much to catch up on here. Your blog is always such a joy to explore.

Anonymous said...

I thought it was a graveyard at first, but the real story is much more interesting...

Unknown said...

This is fantastic! What a great idea! And yes, I thought it was a cemetary at first... :-)