Give Indonesia's democracy some credit, says envoy

Give Indonesia's democracy some credit, says envoy

Dean Yates, Reuters, Jakarta

Indonesia is managing its painful transition from decades of
authoritarian rule better than people realize but big challenges
lie ahead on the road to democracy, the U.S. ambassador to
Jakarta said on Tuesday.

Ralph Boyce said Indonesians should be proud of the country's
achievements since the downfall in 1998 of former President
Soeharto, whose ruthless 32-year rule fostered economic growth at
the expense of rampant graft and widespread human rights abuses.

Boyce said while "horrific violence" in some parts of the
world's most populous Muslim nation had to be dealt with, TV
images often gave the misleading impression Indonesia was in a
constant state of conflict.

He said President Megawati Soekarnoputri had one of the
toughest jobs of any world leader, a position made even more
complicated by the hijack attacks on the United States last
September.

"If you are constantly taking snapshots of Indonesia, and you
add to that a tendency to focus on the negative where the bad
things are happening then naturally you will come up with a
rather pessimistic view of the overall situation," Boyce said.

"They have passed some very rocky shoals with more success
than I think they get credit for," he said in an interview.

Soeharto's downfall unleashed communal resentments that
exploded into violence, renewing fears this archipelago of 210
million people could break apart to destabilize Southeast Asia
and jeopardize the vital sea lines the country straddles.

Add to the mix weak civilian leaders, missteps on economic
reform and more recently perceptions that Islamic militants were
gaining ground over Indonesia's traditionally tolerant Muslim
community and foreign investors have kept a safe distance.

Fears Indonesia may go the way of the Balkans have largely
subsided but Indonesia still struggles with a diet of bad news.

Boyce said despite the difficulty implementing reforms, there
was little stomach for returning to the autocracy of Soeharto.

Megawati is the third leader since Soeharto stepped down and
has faced growing attack of her rule, which many analysts regard
as too timid to break up vested interests opposed to reform.

Boyce said Indonesia had made the decision that it wanted a
democratic system with a free press, a professional military and
a market-based, capitalist system with the rule of law.

"They've come a long way in that direction and have a long way
still to go on all of those points. But again, considering where
they started from, and considering the possibilities I have to
look at the positive side of the ledger," Boyce, a veteran U.S.
diplomat in Asia, said.

Boyce welcomed two recent pacts between Muslims and Christians
in Indonesia's east that aim to restore peace to the ravaged
Maluku islands along with an area in Central Sulawesi province as
significant developments.

Asked about parliament's propensity to flex its new-found
muscles and oppose government policy, Boyce said: "It's
paralleled in some ways by the opening up of the press and that's
created a lot of new voices, a lot of new elements that come into
the decision making process that complicate things.

"But when you compare it to the alternative, which is an
authoritarian system where none of this existed...I don't hear
too many voices, even among those who feel constrained by these
new phenomena...calling for the way things used to be."

Boyce made clear he believed Indonesia would hold together.

"I think that the tendencies that people are afraid of that
will cause things to come falling apart obviously are there and
are a concern, but the strengths and glue that holds this place
to together also should be given some recognition," he said.

Asked what that glue was, Boyce said: "I think it's a common
sense of what Indonesia means. I think it's a belief in what the
founding fathers of Indonesia had in mind."