Experts: What about economic rights?

Experts: What about economic rights?

JAKARTA (JP): As human rights campaigners marked the
international human rights this weekend debating individuals'
civic rights, another group of experts yesterday asked: "What
about people's economic rights?"

Legislator A.A. Baramuli, economist Loekman Soetrisno and
human rights activist B.N. Marbun joined in a seminar which
concluded that people's economic rights have not fared any better
than their political rights.

There is still a big disparity in almost every sectors of the
economy, between the wealthy and the poor, and between those who
have access to improve their lot and those who do not, Baramuli
told the seminar organized by the Diponegoro University.

"Threats and violations to people's economic rights can be
seen from the behavior of those in power and those who are
economically strong in accumulating wealth. They're colluding
without shame for their own greed," Baramuli said.

It is the government's duty to ensure economic justice for
everyone, and to allow those who are economically weak to improve
their condition, he said.

"A government policy seeking to ensure better balance in
economic participation could hardly be called discriminative," he
said in dispelling concerns that such a policy could lead to
discrimination against the better off members of society.

He proposed the allocation of at least 70 percent of all bank
credits to small and medium sized businesses, and at least 20
percent of all government projects to small enterprises.

This, he explained, would redress the imbalance in the economy
that is now heavily dominated by big corporations.

Loekman said it was the wish of the nation's founding fathers
50 years ago that every citizen be given their economic rights,
such as the right to jobs, to decent pay and to equal business
opportunities.

This has not happened yet because in Indonesia political power
and economic power are feeding on another, he said.

"Nepotism" and "favoritism" still prevail in Indonesia and
this is affecting at the way economic decisions are being made,
he said. "Those that acquire economic rights are those closest to
people in power," he noted.

It is not surprising therefore if most bank credits fall into
the hands of business people who are closest to the rulers, he
said. And it is no wonder either that many of these credits often
turn into bad loans, he added.

Loekman argued that people's economic rights cannot be
respected in full as long as they are not given their political
rights in full. (har/emb)