Expert warns against hasty regional polls<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A world-renowned expert on international
\npolitics said here on Wednesday that the hasty introduction of
\nelections of local governments could ignite separatism in the
\ncountry's provinces.<\/p>\n
Samuel P. Huntington, an American scholar who is known for his
\n1996 book The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World
\nOrder, said the government had to be \"sensitive\" to the potential
\nconsequences of introducing regional elections while \"the
\nprocesses of consolidating a democratic system are still
\nunderway\".<\/p>\n
\"The premature introduction of elections for regional
\ngovernments could provide incentives for political candidates to
\nmake regional appeals against the central government and thus
\nexacerbate pressures towards national disintegration,\" Huntington
\ntold an international seminar on the problems facing Indonesia in
\nits quest for democratization.<\/p>\n
Citing the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia as examples,
\nHuntington said elections held at the subnational level had
\nallowed politicians competing for power in the individual
\nrepublics to mobilize the ethnic and cultural identities of their
\nstate against the central political authorities. Once in office,
\nthe politicians had every reason to promote independence, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
As part of the full implementation of regional autonomy in
\nJanuary 2001, the government is drafting regulations to include
\ndirect local elections.<\/p>\n
Huntington said the first requirement in the country should be
\nto promote the transition of an electoral democracy into a
\nconstitutional democracy which adopts, among other things, the
\ninstitutions and procedures which would insure the rule of law
\nand the independence of the judiciary branch of the government.<\/p>\n
\"At the moment, there is much more to be gained by promoting
\nconstitutional democracies than there is in trying to introduce
\nelectoral democracies to countries that have only known
\nauthoritarian rule,\" he said.<\/p>\n
President Abdurrahman Wahid, who was present on Wednesday to
\nbriefly address the seminar, has pledged to restore democracy,
\nthe civilian supremacy and the rule of law -- things which were
\nvirtually unknown during the past regime.<\/p>\n
Military comeback<\/p>\n
Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono, who also spoke on
\nWednesday, reiterated, however, that the civilian leaders'
\nfailure to construct a \"healthy and strong\" political atmosphere
\nwould lure the military back into power.<\/p>\n
\"I haven't seen the emergence of an organized collective
\nphilosophy on the part of civil organizations,\" Juwono said.<\/p>\n
He added that he would like \"to see more interdependence
\nbetween non-governmental organizations, civil society, youth
\norganizations and political parties\".<\/p>\n
He also criticized the political parties for the lack of
\ntransparency in their financial management.<\/p>\n
\"The law stipulates that personal contributions must not be
\nmore than Rp 15 million a year and corporate contributions must
\nnot exceed Rp 150 million, but is this being enforced? Is there
\nany transparency? I very much doubt it,\" Juwono said.<\/p>\n
He added that creating a healthy political atmosphere would
\nnow depend on the performance of civilian politicians.<\/p>\n
\"Democratization is for the civilians to lose rather than for
\nthe military to step back into,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, according to Juwono, Indonesia has not achieved
\na level where a sufficiently strong civil society has emerged. He
\ndefined such a civil society as being people who have enough
\naffluence to be directly involved in political activities.<\/p>\n
\"According to my estimates, there are only 20 million
\nIndonesians, or 10 percent of the population, who can really
\nafford to be involved in day-to-day politics while the rest are
\nstill trying to make ends meet,\" Juwono said, noting that 30
\npercent was considered a benchmark.<\/p>\n
He said that Abdurrahman was now \"being tested\" whether he
\ncould establish a democratic process while also maintaining
\nstability and security.<\/p>\n
\"Gus Dur (the president's popular nickname) has strong beliefs
\nthat state intervention should be calibrated in a way that would
\nencourage local and cultural initiatives.<\/p>\n
\"But this carries risks because he opens up he political
\nsystem while the economic situation is not conducive to
\nstability,\" he said referring to the country's economic crisis.<\/p>\n
Juwono said that it would be his responsibility now to provide
\na limited role for the military and police in order to maintain
\n\"a semblance of stability\" and establish economic growth and
\nforeign investment in the country.<\/p>\n
Foreign investors have repeatedly raised concerns about the
\ncountry's volatile security climate.<\/p>\n
Juwono said on Tuesday, however, that security personnel were
\nfinding it difficult to meet minimum performance standards
\nrequired for maintaining security given the inadequate funds that
\nhave been allotted to them.<\/p>\n
\"It is not an easy job to provide protective security for
\ninstallations as far away as Arun in Aceh and Freeport in
\nPapua ... and this is made much more difficult by the
\ndiscrediting of the military and police over the past two years,\"
\nhe said. (byg)<\/p>",
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