History to repeat itself

History to repeat itself

In response to Mr. Patrick Schwarz' article Will history
repeat itself? (The Jakarta Post, April 24, 1999), my answer is a
clear yes. The Balkans give us proof enough. But there are many
more examples demonstrating that history is repeated. We humans
do not seem to learn from our mistakes. The great author Mark
Twain said: "There is only one thing greater than the Universe
and that is mankind's stupidity." This is very true in many
political decisions.

Peanut-Jimmy Carter was not a great president or leader; but
at least he did not exploit his powers to impoverish a complete
nation. Many regimes seem to believe it is their legitimate right
to enrich themselves once they are in power. Their election
pledge to serve the nation is usually quickly forgotten. Of
course this is nothing new.

In a capitalistic world society, power is obtained through
money or vice versa. Once you have both money and power, you do
not let hold of it. For this selfish reason, any trick is good
enough to protect your "kingdom". Since this kind of tactic
obviously works very well in Indonesia, it is understandable that
such strategies are used, especially in the political arena. The
functional group Golkar has the money, connections and experience
to use these forces best.

Other parties promise freedom and true democracy. The change
to a democratic nation requires many sacrifices from everybody.
How can we ask the poor to tighten their belt again? Democracy
cannot guarantee a quick economic recovery. But that is what is
needed immediately. Democracy is a slow process and requires
changes from within each person. It requires basic reforms on all
levels, socially and educationally. As a Swiss, I propagate true
democracy. But is it the answer to Indonesia's problems?

Looking at the West and Indonesia's neighbors, I believe, they
indeed want a stable, but weak Indonesia. Changes are, however,
not welcome. A democratic government in Indonesia is not
predictable because other chess players enter the political
arena. It might even destabilize other nations. A greedy
government can be controlled with simple incentives such as
money. So why not support those who can be controlled?

I am not a political analyst, but based on the above facts, my
logic says that history will indeed repeat itself. But, on the
other hand, I would be very happy, if my predictions were totally
wrong.

PETER GANZ

Semarang, Central Java