Economic, political reforms must work together
JAKARTA (JP): Economic reforms made to deal with the lingering economic crisis will only succeed if they are coupled with democratic political reforms which ensure the enforcement of law, the National Commission on Human Rights said here yesterday.
In a biting three-page statement, the commission censured the government's failure to resolve fundamental political problems which have aggravated the current crisis.
These problems include an impotent democracy which has failed to empower the people and install checks on the government, and the crippling of law enforcement which is unresponsive to the people's needs and rampant social injustices.
"The democratic, legal and social ambiguities are caused by the disabling of institutions such as the House of Representatives, law enforcement and other social control apparatus," the commission's secretary-general Baharuddin Lopa said, reading from the statement.
He said the situation was compounded by rampant and widely practiced corruption and collusion.
"The National Commission on Human Rights realizes that these problems have hampered the creation of a conducive climate toward the advancement and protection of human rights," Lopa said.
Another commission member, Marzuki Darusman, said these underlying problems were unresolved.
"These problems have accumulated as the government has never made a serious attempt to handle them," he said.
Lopa, however, said the commission understood that resolving such long term problems was difficult especially when faced with a monetary crisis such as now.
He urged that economic and political reform be conducted in unison.
The commission urged government and military officials to be more prudent in making public statements so as to avoid creating public confusion, uneasiness and uncertainty.
"Officials should make transparent, honest and consistent statements," he said.
Lopa said the government should also start a national movement to curb private sector debts which are widely believed to be one of the causes of the economic crisis.
He said the government should implement labor intensive programs immediately to reduce the rising tide of unemployment.
The commission further urged the government to establish an emergency social fund to subsidize the millions of people who have lost their jobs.
The number of unemployed this year is expected to reach 5.8 million.
The commission also said the government appeared to react sluggishly and lack coordination when dealing with its many problems such as social unrest, famine and forest fires. (10)