Government urged to speed up democratization
Government urged to speed up democratization
JAKARTA (JP): A seminar sponsored by the Armed Forces (ABRI)
urged the government yesterday to heed the growing demand for
greater democracy by involving the public in political decision-
making.
Observers of the nation's political scene Amin Rais,
Nazaruddin Sjamsuddin and Bintan R. Saragih agreed that the
current system put the people at the disadvantage because they
were denied many of their political rights.
They told a discussion organized by the ABRI faction in the
House of Representatives (DPR) that high level state institutions
such as the House, Supreme Court and State Audit Agency should
truly support the democratization drive.
"Our democratization process is hampered by the failure of our
political structures to function as expected," said Nazaruddin, a
professor in politics at the University of Indonesia.
Nazaruddin said that democratization process here moved
slowly. Government officials are often quick to single out pro-
democracy intellectuals as "too westernized", he added.
Contributing to the slow pace, officials consider the level of
public political awareness as "still low" and therefore not ready
for a faster democratization process, he said.
Nazaruddin said Indonesia's "immature" democracy was well
reflected in cases of development projects in which the
government used heavy handed approaches to the people.
He added that the central government also dictated to village
administrations on economic and political matters, disallowing
the masses to contribute more to development.
"People are often forced to sell their land to make way for
development projects," he said.
He said that the existing political development had suppressed
conflicts and kept them from surfacing, but hurt the relations
between the people and the government.
Authoritarian
Rais, who is also chairman of Muhammadiyah, a Moslem social
and educational organization, said that many developing countries
claim to have democracy but in fact their governments are
authoritarian.
Authoritarian policies are obvious in cases like the banning
of seminars and the eviction of people from their land with the
compensation decided unilaterally by the government, he said.
He criticized the government's recent policy of banning
seminars and art shows in various cities throughout Indonesia for
unclear reasons.
"I believe that seminars are the appropriate places for people
to express their criticism," he said. "I believe people should be
given the freedom to organize meetings."
Police have pointed out that they did not have a policy to
prevent seminars from being held but the bans occur because the
organizers failed to apply for permit to hold public gatherings.
Rais said that a "mature" democracy could be judged from
whether the government was willing to involve the people in
decision-making processes and whether it allowed the check and
balance mechanism.
Rais, well known as one of Indonesia's outspoken
intellectuals, suggested that the DPR should intensify its public
hearings in order to get better knowledge of what happens in
society.
He maintained that leaders in the country should have the
spirit to create a situation conducive for democracy to grow.
"South Africa has emerged as a country of hope since its new
leaders have come up with new a spirit of democracy," he said.
(par)