Democratic forum expands its mission to Indonesia
Democratic forum expands its mission to Indonesia
JAKARTA (JP): The Forum of Democratic Leaders in the Asia Pacific, a loose organization of thinkers and democracy campaigners in the region, is expanding its mission to Indonesia.
Kim Sang-woo, a representative of the Seoul-based forum as well as assistant to the prominent democracy advocate Kim Dae Jung, is in Jakarta for a four-day visit to meet a number of prominent community leaders.
Among figures that Kim was to meet were political commentators Jusuf Wanandi and Dewi Fortuna Anwar, human rights officials and activists Miriam Budiardjo, Marzuki Darusman and Adnan Buyung Nasution.
Kim was also to meet chief of the minority Indonesian Democratic Party Megawati Soekarnoputri and chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama organization Abdurrahman Wahid.
The forum wishes to open a liaison office here in order to gather supporters of its cause and exchange views, Kim said.
In the forum's campaign to promote democracy, its most important mission here is to "bring like-minded fellow democracy activists here to join those from the other countries".
Kim insisted that the forum does not wish to alienate the government of any country that it targets for expansion, nor does it want to side with the government.
"We want to balance, to have an equal participation of all elements," he told The Jakarta Post Thursday. "We want to have both sides of the story of democracy development in individual country."
Kim said he had met a number of community leaders in other Asian countries, including Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Malaysia's former deputy premier Datuk Musa Hitam is interested heading the Malaysian chapter of the forum, Kim said.
"These meetings aim to see whether those leaders think the establishment of such a loose cooperation is a good idea, and whether they are interested in it," he said.
Kim said he is here to absorb and obtain input from the people he meets as to the development of democracy, the implementation of human rights and civil rights in Indonesia.
"These people know Indonesia well and will hopefully be able to present me a better picture of the country," he said,
"The purpose of this forum is not to make trouble for the government of any country. But we wish to raise fundamental issues in line with the idea to establish a new vision for a new Asia," he said.
He pointed out that it is important for Asia to tackle problems specific to the region and to find suitable solutions.
"We will not be dictated by the West on how to approach our problems, because we have our particular ways of dealing (with the problems)," he said.
This stance, however, does not mean that Asian countries do not recognize the universality of some principles such as human rights and democracy, he said.
Kim declined to comment on the state of democracy in Indonesia, saying he did not know enough to make an educated appraisal of the actual condition.
"That's why I need to talk to more people," he said. He believes that Indonesia would benefit from the establishment of a chapter of the forum.
"I think the government should not be too concerned, because the focus of the forum is Pan-Asia, rather than on (the state of democracy in) any individual country," he said.
The forum itself was established last December in Seoul, Korea. Kim Dae-jung, founder and chairman of the Kim Dae-jung Peace Foundation for the Asia-Pacific region, initiated the move together with former President Corazon Aquino of the Philippines.
Aquino and Kim were named co-presidents of the forum, along with Oscar Arias Sanchez, former president of Costa Rica and Nobel Peace laureate.
It was during this Seoul meeting that the hundreds of activists signed a resolution of democracy in the Asia-Pacific region. Among the resolutions are: the forum shall not interfere in a nation's internal affairs, and shall promote goals through dialog, debate and legal procedures.
The forum also vows that it shall reject all acts of violence and seek democratization through peaceful means only, and that it shall support all efforts of Asian peoples to achieve democracy through free expression of ideas and fair and just electoral processes.
Another goal of the forum is to provide support and cooperation to worthwhile efforts for democratization of Asian countries.
A number of world leaders have expressed support for the forum, including United Nations Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, President of the Republic of Korea Kim Young Sam, Prime Minister of Bangladesh Khaleda Zia, Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto and Prime Minister of Britain John Major. (swe)