The Soviet Afro-Asian Solidarity Committee (, abbreviated СКССАА, SKSSAA) was an organization in the Soviet Union, which mobilized solidarity efforts to national liberation movements in Africa and Asia.Soviet Afro-Asian Solidarity Committee (SKSSAA) / Sovetskii komitet solidarnosti stran Azii i Afriki SKSSAA was founded in May 1956.Dzasokhov, A. Loyalty to solidarity principles SKSSAA was a member of the Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Organisation (AAPSO). SKSSAA functioned as a Soviet semi-official foreign policy organ. SKSSAA was funded through the Soviet Peace Fund. It worked in close coordination with the International Department of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The discourse of SKSSAA was centered on two positions: support of the right of self-determination and anti-racism.Amos, Jennifer. Soviet Diplomacy and Politics on Human Rights 1945-1975
The SKSSAA was also one of the founders of the Patrice Lumumba University.10Th Anniversary Of The Lumumba University
SKSSAA published, jointly with the Institute of Oriental Studies, the sociopolitical and scientific journal Aziia i Afrika Segodnia.Sahai-Achuthan, Nisha. Soviet Indologists and the Institute of Oriental Studies: Works on Contemporary India in the Soviet Union, in The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 42, No. 2 (Feb., 1983), pp. 323-343
As of 1968, Mirzo Tursunzoda was the chairman of SKSSAA. Vladimir Shubin was secretary of SKSSAA at one point.Vladimir Gennadyevich Shubin (1939 - ) Members of minority populations (such as Caucasian and Central Asian ethnic groups) were highly represented in SKSSAA. Often SKSSAA portrayed the experience of peripheric Soviet regions as models of development towards Third World countries.
Southern Africa A part of the SKSSAA aid to African liberation movements was channelled through the Organization of African Unity.The UN-OAU Conference on Southern Africa - Oslo 9- 14 April 1973
SKSSAA was active internationally in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. SKSSAA provided the African National Congress in exile with material resources, such as food, clothes and vehicles. The SKSSAA and other Soviet non-governmental organizations (NGOs) received South Africans in need of medical treatment, and arranged stays for them at Soviet hospitals. The organization also coordinated activities for South African students in the Soviet Union.
Middle East Until 1974, all visits of the Palestine Liberation Organization was hosted by the SKSSAA (which was an 'unofficial' representative of Soviet foreign policy), rather than government representatives. Fatah leader Yasser Arafat visited Moscow at the invitation of SKSSAA in 1970. SKSSAA also had contacts with PFLOAG.
Post-Soviet period The SKSSAA survived the fall of the Soviet Union. In 1992 the organization was renamed Society of Afro-Asian Peoples' Solidarity and Co-operation. It has since mainly focused its work towards the Middle East and Asia. In 2003 Mikhail Margelov was elected president of the Society.
The archives of the SKSSAA are held by the State Archive of the Russian Federation.
References
External links Statement of the Soviet Afro-Asian Solidarity Committee Joint Communique of the Soviet Afro-Asian Solidarity Committee and the African National Congress