Nurturing a fledgling democracy<\/p>\n
The following article is based on address to the Indonesian
\nCouncil on World Affairs by Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary-General
\nin Jakarta on Feb. 16, 2000. This is the first of two articles.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA: The Asian financial crisis was neither Asian nor
\nfinancial. But it was a crisis. As you know better than anyone,
\nits impact was far more than financial. As people everywhere
\nknow, it went far beyond Asia. The rest of the world is therefore
\nall the more impressed and inspired by what Indonesia is doing
\nand has done already -- to overcome it.<\/p>\n
Under difficult circumstances and in a short space of time,
\nyou have made significant progress in restoring macroeconomic
\nstability, advancing structural reforms, and assuring food
\nsecurity. Of course, economic development has been a priority
\nsince the birth of your nation. But in the past two years,
\nbecause you have understood that people are the most precious
\nresource of any nation, this work has taken on new dimensions.<\/p>\n
You have understood that economic and social recovery cannot
\ntake hold without a system based on transparency, accountability
\nand the rule of law. And so you are carrying out economic reform
\nin tandem with political, legal and institutional reform.<\/p>\n
You have opted for a foreign policy built not on competition
\nwith your neighbors, not on confrontation with the rest of the
\nworld, but on cooperation and friendship. You have championed
\nnon-alignment and South-South cooperation. You have set an
\nexample to other developing countries.<\/p>\n
We have seen what Indonesia is capable of in the field of
\nregional cooperation. We have witnessed it in the indispensable
\nstrength and direction you have given to the Association of
\nSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN) since its inception -- something
\nindeed that made ASEAN possible.<\/p>\n
Today, ASEAN is not only a well-functioning, indispensable
\nreality in the region. It is a real force to be reckoned with far
\nbeyond the region. It is also a trusted partner of the United
\nNations in the field of development. I hope that in the field of
\npeace and security, too, we will see the beginnings of closer
\ncooperation between ASEAN and the UN.<\/p>\n
In the United Nations, Indonesia's leadership and engagement
\ngive voice not only to this nation, but to the interests of all
\ndeveloping nations. Last month your able Permanent Representative
\nto the UN, Makarim Wibisono, was elected President of the
\nEconomic and Social Council for the year 2000.<\/p>\n
And last year, you crossed a new milestone. Thanks to last
\nyear's free and peaceful general election -- which, I am pleased
\nto recall, the UN Development Program helped you organize -- you
\nnow have a government with a broad popular mandate. Your
\npolitical parties have shown wisdom and a spirit of statesmanlike
\ncompromise. This should now make it possible for their leaders to
\nfocus on an agenda of long-term stability, economic recovery and
\ndemocracy. We all have a stake in this and we all want you to
\nsucceed.<\/p>\n
Already, political reform has opened the door to a free and
\nvibrant press. Civil society is becoming increasingly active and
\neffective. Parliament has grown more assertive.<\/p>\n
The challenge now for Indonesia, its people and its friends --
\nincluding the United Nations -- is to build on the democratic
\ninstitutions that have so gloriously emerged, so that they grow
\nstronger tomorrow.<\/p>\n
No one is born a good citizen; no nation is born a democracy.
\nRather, both are processes that continue to evolve over a
\nlifetime. As your foreign minister has rightly noted, democracy
\nis a habit that we need to cultivate consciously in ourselves.
\nThat is how we build enduring political, economic and social
\ninstitutions. That is how we develop government that is
\nanswerable to citizens, and citizenry that is fully engaged in
\ndecisions that affect their country's future.<\/p>\n
Strong institutions, underpinned by the will of the people and
\nthe rule of law, are crucial at all times and in all countries,
\nbut perhaps never more so than here and now, at this decisive
\ntime in Indonesia's history; a time when freedom and openness is
\nbringing to the forefront a wide range of challenges. These
\nchallenges are not new in themselves but many of them are made
\nmore difficult by the fact that, in the past, they were
\ndisregarded, dismissed or dealt with as purely security issues.<\/p>\n
These challenges are many and various, and they all compete
\nfor the government's urgent attention. The country is suddenly
\nfaced with myriad political and social demands, all of which seem
\nto require immediate answers. And of course you know that there
\nare no ready-made solutions.<\/p>\n
Among these challenges, probably none seems more threatening
\nthan the issue of separatism. It may well feel to some of you as
\nif Indonesia's very existence is under attack from covert forces
\nwhich believe the country is too large, and want to break it up.
\nBut in fact, your case is not unique at all.<\/p>",
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