On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the refoundation of the Socialist International in Frankfurt am Main the International Association of Labour History Institutions (IALHI) compiles a bibliography, which intends to register all publications of the various social democratic internationals in the period from 1914 to 2000, whether they are printed or, as in some cases, mimeographed. All those publications that were intended for public use will be included as well as publications published by the secretaries or presidents of the Internationals on behalf of theirorganisations (e.g. Camille Huysmans, Friedrich Adler, Albert Carthy and others). Accordingly all materials that were in use only within the different internationals will be excluded. The editor is Gerd Callesen (Arbejderbevægelsens Bibliotek og Arkiv, Nørrebrogade 66 D, DK-2200 København N; Tel.: 45-35361522; Fax: 45-35363222; e-mail: gca@net.dialog.dk.
With the help of the Erich-Brost-Stiftung the library of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung tries to produce microfilms of all periodical publications of the various organisations. No library nor any archive among the IALHI's members has a complete collection, which means that materials have to be gathered from different libraries and archives. Presently the FES library tries to microfilm the periodicals of the Asian Socialist Conference.
On the occasion of the Asian Relations Conference held in Delhi in 1947, leading members of the Socialist Parties of Burma, India and Indonesia met at an informal meeting. They discussed the necessity for the socialist parties to meet and to discuss common problems and to exchange experiences. Five years later, in September 1951, representatives of the Socialist Party of India (later the Praja Socialist Party) and the Social Democratic Party of Japan met in Tokyo and, in a joint statement, urged the calling of a conference of all Asian socialist parties. In December 1951 representatives of the Progressive Socialist Party of Lebanon and the Socialist Party of India met in Delhi and issued a joint manifesto, urging the Asian socialist parties to co-operate. Subsequently representatives of the Burma Socialist Party, the Socialist Party of India and the Partai Sosialis Indonesia met at a preliminary meeting in Rangoon in March 1952 where they decided to convene a conference of Asian socialist parties in Rangoon in January 1953 and appointed a preparatory committee for the organisation of the conference. The first conference of the socialist parties of Asia resolved to establish the Asian Socialist Conference as an independent, international socialist organisation with headquarters in Rangoon. U Ba Swe, General Secretary of the Burma Socialist Party, was elected Chairman of the Asian Socialist Conference. It probably dissolved in the 1960. No archival sources are known. The largest collection is available at the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam, but a few issues of certain journals are missing:
- Anti-colonial bureau newsletter, Rangoon, 1954-1957 (missing: no. 2,13, 14, 27, 28)
- Asian Socialist Conference information, Djakarta, 1959-1960 (missing: no. 1)
- Asian Socialist Conference information bulletin (other title: ASC-Information) (missing: 1956/1957 no. 2 and 3, 1958, 1959, 1960 Jan.-July, Sept.-Oct.)
Institutions that are in the possession of any of these issues are requested to contact Dr. Rüdiger Zimmermann (address: Library of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Godesberger Allee 149, D-53170 Bonn, Germany; Phone: +49-228-883 550; Fax: +49-228-883 626; e-mail: zimmermr@fes.de).
Those institutions that can contribute to microfilm the missing issues will receive microfilms of the periodicals of the Asian Socialist Conference free of charge.
Edelgard Slama
Bibliothek der Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
Godesberger Allee 149
53170 Bonn
Telefon: +49-228-883551
Fax: +49-228-883626
e-mail: slamae@fes.de
Posted: 31 March 2000