Forum calls for return to the ideas of reform

Forum calls for return to the ideas of reform

By Fabiola Desy Unidjaja

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): A gathering of prominent national figures
made a strong call here on Saturday for the nation to recommit to
the ideals of reform by recommending an absolute break from
antidemocratic institutions and practices of the past, including
putting former president Soeharto and his cronies on trial.

In a political statement issued at the conclusion of its two-
day dialog, the National Dialog Forum laid blame on the
multidimensional conflict hitting the nation as a result of the
vestiges of the past regime which were antidemocratic.

"For that reason we call on all components of the nation to
reassert their joint commitment to the reform agenda by breaking
ties with practices, actions, institutions and legal products of
the past which were antidemocratic," the political statement
read.

Among the steps which should be taken are fundamental changes
in the Indonesian political system through constitutional
amendments, electoral and party reform, agrarian reform and the
phasing out of the Indonesian Military's sociopolitical role.

The forum brought together over 200 renowned figures, many of
whom are regarded as the being at the forefront of the reform
movement which helped bring an end to former president Soeharto's
32-year rule.

The dialog was held with the aim of formulating systemic
methods which could help the country's many problems. It is
particularly significant since it was held two months before the
critical General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly.

President Abdurrahman Wahid addressed the forum later on
Saturday night.

Five separate statements were issued: on politics, law, the
economic sector, decentralization and social instability.

In its political statement, the forum stressed the need for
constitutional amendments and highlighted specific areas which
needed to be addressed in the 1945 Constitution: a direct
presidential system, a bicameral system consisting of the House
of Representatives and Regional Representatives, independence of
the judiciary and state prosecutors office and additional
constitutional articles on human rights, including gender
equality.

The forum not only reasserted the need to phase out the
Indonesian Military (TNI) from politics, but in fact stressed
that the process be "accelerated".

It identified the need to abolish TNI's controversial
territorial structure and, as if drawing from past personal
experience, called for a new law which regulates and oversees
intelligence activities.

Not only was the political role of TNI under scrutiny, but the
forum also declared that TNI and the police should be barred from
commercial activities.

On legal affairs, the forum urged that all antidemocratic
legal rulings be annulled.

More specifically, they also called for the "immediate trial
of Soeharto and his cronies" and to resolve all corruption,
collusion cases and human rights violations.

There was also reference to growing concern over military-
style civilian guards and whether to disband these paramilitary
units, including the militarization of political parties.

The key, touched on in at least three of the five statements,
was the supremacy of the law.

"The weakness of the legal authorities and government
apparatus have opened the possibility for social anarchy. The
people no longer trust government officials to resolving social
conflicts," the social instability statement said.

The forum further warned that never in the republic's history
had the country seen such social violence, noting the worrying
trend of communal violence and social displacement.

It added that "the social cultural mosaic of Indonesia,
particularly in the eastern half of the country, has been
manipulated by various parties".

Given such a crisscross of ethnicities and environments, the
forum proposed that, as a long term measure, a social mapping of
the country be conducted with particular emphasis on ascertaining
the settlement patterns, strategic resources and subjective
realities of each area.

It further noted that much of the current regional and
national problems stemmed from the strong centralistic nature of
the past government and, thus, there must be effective control of
power in the future.