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FREEDOMWAYS                  THIRD QUARTER 1972

Burma, Ceylon, Korea and Ghana.
The spirit prevailing at the Tashkent Conference can be well illustrated by its unanimous appeal to the writers of the world which said in part:
"We, the writers of Asian and African countries, at our Conference in Tashkent have discussed problems which are vital to us and to world literature. We note with a feeling of great satisfaction that the writers of our countries, pursuing the great and humane traditions of ancient cultures contribute to modern world culture and the cause of human progress.
"We have been brought together by the conviction that literature cannot be divorced from the destinies of our peoples, that literature can develop only in an atmosphere of freedom, independence and sovereignty of the peoples. Thus the liquidation of colonialism and racism is an essential prerequisite for the all out development of literary activities.
"We writers are the conscience of the people and we bear full responsibility not only for the destiny of our contemporaries but also for the destiny of future generations. Hence we call upon you to fight against the literature of obscurantism and hostility which poisons the minds of adults and corrupts the children.
"We call upon you to join us in the search for truth, beauty and freedom which would enable us to create a literature closely connected with the life of the people and capable of helping the people in their struggle for the victory of the intellect and justice on earth.
"We the writers of Asia and Africa wish to consolidate our cultural ties with all the countries of the world, including those of the West. We reject any division of cultures into superior and inferior, eastern and western, and for this reason we shall strengthen ties between all cultures with the purpose of preserving the treasury of world culture."
The Tashkent Conference decided to set up a Permanent Afro- Asian Writers' Bureau comprising representatives of Ghana, India, Indonesia, Cameroon, the United Arab Republic, the USSR, Sudan, Ceylon and Japan, with its seat in Colombo, Ceylon. The task of the Permanent Bureau was to consolidate and develop the writers' movement and coordinate the activities of writers' organizations in various countries.
The Second Afro-Asian Writers' Conference was held in Cairo from February 12th to the 16th, 1962. The nature of the second

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conference was similar to that held in Tashkent but it quite naturally reflected the changes which had occurred in the world during the three and a half years between the two meetings. There was a considerable increase in the number of countries represented (43 as against 37 in Tashkent) and the number of delegates from the African countries went up from 35 to 91. There were also 13 delegates from the Arab countries as against the initial seven. The Cairo conference was marked with great activity by all delegations, particularly from the African countries. Among the participants in that conference were not only writers but also public figures, publicists and journalists. There were get-togethers of writers and the reading public at literary clubs, educational establishments and libraries. The writers discussed new books, problems of studying and developing the literary heritage.
The conference was keynoted by the understanding that:
A writer cannot stand apart from politics and divorce himself from the struggle of his people.
The struggle for independence is not limited to the achievement of independence-a genuine development of national culture and literature is possible only as a result of the complete economic and social emancipation of the peoples.
The problem of preventing another world war is the crucial problem of our day.
The Conference also held lengthy discussions concerning the activity of the Permanent Bureau in Colombo. The Conference adopted a number of important resolutions aimed at channeling the efforts of the Permanent Bureau in Colombo to the realization of practical tasks: collection and publication of materials on writers and their work, circulation of recommendations concerning works to be translated, assistance to writers in publication of books, and literary awards.
It stands to reason that the resolutions of the Cairo conference focused attention on the political tasks facing the writers' movement-the task of mobilizing progressive writers in the struggle for the liberation of the peoples from imperialist and colonial yoke, for the struggle against the penetration of imperialist ideology into culture.
On the whole the Cairo Conference was successful but in the course of its preparation and during sessions there cropped up certain differences. Initially these differences sprang up from subjects which, it would seem, gave no grounds for arguments. On all these

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