Economic, political reforms must work together
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)