President Soeharto remarks on openness triggers debate<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto's reiteration on Tuesday of
\nthe need to maintain political stability sparked debate on
\nwhether the government intends to close the gates of political
\nopenness.<\/p>\n
Politicians, academics and lawyers expressed differing
\ninterpretations on the meaning of the statements in Soeharto's
\nannual state-of-the-nation speech marking yesterday's 49th
\nIndependence Day.<\/p>\n
In his speech at the House of Representatives (DPR), the
\nPresident warned that moves to promote democracy should not cross
\nthe limit and endanger the political stability necessary for high
\neconomic growth.<\/p>\n
He acknowledged that development requires a democratic
\nsetting but stressed that political stability is a \"prerequisite\"
\nfor the success of development.<\/p>\n
\"Openness does not mean unlimited freedom, or even worse,
\nfreedom to be hostile, pitting one party against another and
\nunconstitutionally imposing one's ideas,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The President also acknowledged differences of opinion as
\ncharacteristic of democracy, which has its own rules. \"Without
\nrules and without their observance, what will emerge is anarchy,
\nnot democracy.\"<\/p>\n
Assurances that the government would not put the brakes on the
\nmoves for democracy came from Sudharmono, a former vice president
\nand now an adviser to Soeharto.<\/p>\n
\"The openness drive continues. How can we slow it down when
\nthe push is this strong,\" he said after attending the gala
\ncelebration.<\/p>\n
Sudharmono, who runs a legal aid institution, underlined the
\nPresident's statement that what Indonesia needs now is
\n\"responsible openness.\"<\/p>\n
Legislators Krissantono from the government-backed Golkar
\npolitical grouping and Abu Hartono from the Armed Forces (ABRI)
\nfaction agreed that political openness needs to be vigorously
\npromoted without drastically imposing western-style democracy as
\nsome groups have demanded.<\/p>\n
Krissantono pointed out, however, that the absence of standard
\ndefinitions of \"responsible openness had wrought confusion about
\nwhat may be done and what may not.\"<\/p>\n
Hartono said the public should be wary of certain groups'
\nefforts to force their will and seek to apply western-style
\ndemocracy which he termed unsuitable for Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Participation<\/p>\n
Prominent lawyer and human rights campaigner Todung Mulya
\nLubis criticized the government for continuing to glorify
\nnational stability at the expense of democracy.<\/p>\n
\"Political stability is important but it is not the only
\nelement dictating the success of economic development. Sound
\neconomic development also requires the people's participation,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Lubis argued that \"dynamic stability\" as the President calls
\nit, is impossible without active participation of people from all
\nlevels of the community. \"It is not something which is created by
\nthe government, it has to come from the people,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Indria Samego, a researcher at the Indonesian Institute of
\nSciences (LIPI), suggested that the government phase out its
\nfocus on political stability.<\/p>\n
He warned that the continued focus on political stability
\nwould create an impression that the government is repressive and
\nauthoritarian, Antara reported.<\/p>\n
Pessimism about the government's commitment to promoting
\ndemocracy has been brewing once again following the government's
\nrecent crackdown on the publication.<\/p>\n
The government closed down what it considered the three most
\nprovocative news weeklies, Tempo, Editor and DeTIK, in June
\nfollowing two years of unprecedented openness.<\/p>\n
House member Sabam Sirait said the closures represent the
\ngovernment's inconsistency in its commitment to promote
\ndemocracy.<\/p>\n
He said he believed that all the president's statements were
\nwell-intentioned but that oftentimes cabinet ministers failed to
\ntranslate the President's wishes into action. (pan\/pwn)<\/p>",
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