UN report finds RI more democratic but nothing else<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
The political reforms that Indonesia has introduced since 1998
\nhave been duly noted by the United Nations, but these have done
\nlittle to improve the country's international standing in human
\ndevelopment progress.<\/p>\n
The Human Development Report 2002, published by the UN
\nDevelopment Program (UNDP) on Wednesday, recognizes Indonesia's
\nefforts to forge a democracy by removing press restrictions and
\nincreasing the role played by civil society.<\/p>\n
But when it came to its ranking on the human development index
\n(HDI), Indonesia remained at 110th, the same position it held in
\n1995, according to the report.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, with a score of 0.684, is behind Vietnam at 109th
\nand China at 96th, but ahead of India at 124th.<\/p>\n
\"Indonesia is specially mentioned in the report as an example
\nof where free press and civil society activism have allowed
\npeople to participate in policy decisions and debates,\" according
\nto a statement from the UNDP office in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"The report also notes that Indonesia has abolished
\nrestrictive press laws and has engaged in the deregulation and
\nprivatization of media markets,\" it said.<\/p>\n
The report acknowledges the role played by civil society in
\npromoting public participation and representation, particularly
\nduring the 1999 general election.<\/p>\n
But the report did not only highlight the positive aspects of
\nIndonesia. The role of the military, corruption and public
\nspending in Indonesia also came under scrutiny.<\/p>\n
\"More than three years after the restoration of democratic
\nrule, the military and police still maintain effective control
\nover security policies and practices.<\/p>\n
\"Indonesia is among the countries cited by the HDR 2002 as an
\ninstance where public spending is often skewed in favor of rich
\npeople. Almost 30 percent of public health spending is directed
\ntoward the richest, while only 12 percent is on the poorest,\"
\naccording to the UNDP office.<\/p>\n
The report also noted that \"corruption, abuses of power,
\nintimidation by criminal elements -- all weaken democratic
\naccountability\" in the country.<\/p>\n
Indonesia is regarded by the report as being \"on track\" in
\ntackling poverty, and of meeting its commitments to the
\nMillennium Development Goals of halving poverty globally,
\npromoting education and gender equality, and reducing infant and
\nmaternal mortality rates.<\/p>\n
But the UNDP office cautioned that the collective progress of
\nthe country masked the fact that many provinces in Indonesia were
\nfalling behind in their commitments to fighting poverty.<\/p>\n
The Indonesia Human Development Report 2001, published in
\nJanuary and prepared by the UNDP office in Jakarta, found wide
\ndiscrepancies between the provinces in meeting poverty reduction
\ngoals.<\/p>\n
Halving the poverty rate in Aceh, for example, would require
\n150 years based on the trends from 1993 to 1999, 130 years for
\nWest Nusa Tenggara and 122 years for North Sumatra.<\/p>\n
Provinces expected to meet this goal the quickest are
\nYogyakarta (11 years), East Java, Jambi and East Kalimantan (13
\nyears), Central Sulawesi (15 years), West Java and Papua (17
\nyears).<\/p>\n
Halving the poverty rate in Jakarta would take 20 years from
\n1993, meaning the job would only be completed in 2013.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/un-report-finds-ri-more-democratic-but-nothing-else-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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