IMF aid 'could lead' to political reforms
JAKARTA (JP): Legal expert Todung Mulya Lubis said here yesterday that the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) approach to dealing with the economic crisis in some Asian countries could lead to economic and political reforms.
Todung said the conditions set by the IMF could help create a situation where the political system is more open and more democratic.
"This will depend a lot on how tenacious the social and political institutions in this country can push this and utilize it," said the lawyer renowned for his advocacy on human rights issues.
The IMF's US$23 billion bailout package to Indonesia set out certain conditions which included an end to economic monopolies in certain sectors and a more transparent system.
Todung, who gained his masters degree in law at the University of California in Berkeley, the United States, in 1979, described the IMF's approach as "multilaterism".
He said that multilaterism was aimed at lifting the burden of superpower states in maintaining peace and security in the world and sharing it with respective countries.
When applied to a country, multilaterism restricts unfair practices in the domestic and international environment.
"We are at a critical junction in Indonesian history. A critical moment will force us, whether we like it or not, to talk about the post regime era," Todung said during a seminar on the Universality of Human Rights During a Crisis of Law in Developing Countries.
Also speaking at yesterday's seminar was Arbi Sanit, a political scientist from the University of Indonesia.
Arbi said the IMF's economic reform agenda could indirectly lead Indonesia toward greater democratization, as it would help Indonesia overcome its shattered economic base.
"If the IMF's efforts can stabilize our financial and monetary crisis, it will also help settle the unstable fundamentals of our economy," he said after the seminar.
Movement
Political observer Kastorius Sinaga urged the National Commission on Human Rights to establish a stronger network with non-governmental organizations in the country to accelerate the promotion of human rights issues.
Kastorius told journalists after addressing a workshop on human rights that networking could become a "wonderful political resource" which could lead to a "human rights movement" in the country.
He said the "new alliance" could easily be established on the grounds that the rights body and NGOs have many things in common, such as advocating human rights.
"So there's a need now, for instance, for the rights body to establish a new subcommission specifically in charge of networking," he said.
"It's been four years now since the rights body was established. It's time it became a symbol of the people's plight rather than just another government office," he said.
The rights body was established under a presidential decree in 1993.
It has asserted itself as an independent body by often issuing unflattering reports against the government on various issues and events.
Director of the Indonesian NGOs Partnerships Initiatives (INPI-Pact), Kastorius, said the rights body would be stronger once it established a network with NGOs because it would then have both the government's mandate as well as the NGOs'.
"The government will not have to worry about the alliance, because the alliance will be treading the line of human rights advocacy, not that of practical politics," he said. (09/aan)