Indonesia feels pinch of foreign intervention
Indonesia feels pinch of foreign intervention
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Defense and Security Edi Sudrajat
said on Saturday that Indonesia increasingly feels the pinch of
foreign pressure in solving its domestic problems.
"Although we don't mean to turn our back on economic, social
and economic problems, foreign hands are reaching deep into our
domestic affairs," he said when addressing students of the
Sriwijaya University, Palembang, South Sumatra.
He pointed at human rights, labor and democratization as
classic examples of issues used by wealthy states as a condition
for developing nations to join a free trade grouping, the Antara
news agency reported.
Behind that, he said, is an unhealthy business rivalry in
which developed nations resort to unhealthy tricks to maintain
their advantage.
"In fact, such non-tariff barriers run counter to the
principles of global free-trade regime, as trumpeted through
international media," the retired general said.
He said the increasingly free flow of information globally had
made it difficult to separate which affairs in a country were
subject to foreign intervention and which were not.
Earlier on Friday, when addressing officers of the Sriwijaya
Military Command in Palembang, Edi said in the modern,
transparent society, honesty is a must for officials.
With regards to the Armed Forces (ABRI), it means that
military officers should uphold their ethical codes and act
indiscriminately against injustice, he said.
"Intense public scrutiny into government officials' conduct
should not be seen as certain groups' political maneuvering but
rather as the demands of the people which must be welcomed whole-
heartedly," he said as quoted by Kompas newspaper.
Edi said transparency in international affairs due to the free
flow of information had made Indonesian public better informed of
what happens in the outside world.
The public become exposed to once foreign concepts like human
rights and democratization, he said. The direct impact can be
seen now in the various charges hurled at the government and ABRI
related to the issues, he added.
"For example there is accusation that ABRI hampers
democratization, that all politicians are bad, military district
commandants are ruthless, court officials like extorting people
and bureaucrats are corrupt," he said. "All these perceptions are
a consequence of a new world order."
The condition, he said, should serve as a reminder for
government apparatuses to safeguard their image and security
officials to improve their professionalism in order to create a
clean and respectable government. (pan)