INFID calls for peaceful political change
INFID calls for peaceful political change
JAKARTA (JP): The International NGO Forum on Indonesian
Development (INFID) called on the nation yesterday to join in
efforts to peacefully and constitutionally prepare for immediate
political change.
In a statement signed by its Jakarta-based executive secretary
Asmara Nababan and its The Hague-based executive secretary Eva
Phillips, the forum also called on the government and military to
refrain from applying repressive measures against pro-democracy
groups who initiate such efforts.
"We are deeply concerned about the ongoing economic turmoil in
Indonesia which many fear may lead to political turmoil.
"We believe that the crisis of confidence in Indonesia's
leadership has become so acute that efforts to stabilize the
rupiah without simultaneous steps toward political reform will be
ineffective," the statement read.
INFID is a forum of more than 100 Indonesian and non-
Indonesian NGOs concerned with the country's development. Its
statement came amid the economic crisis which has been affecting
the country for months.
In the statement made available to The Jakarta Post here
yesterday, the forum also urged the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) and the government to "immediately release the full terms
and conditions" of the agreement between them.
The statement also said there was a need to "establish a
social impact assessment team, including representation from
leading Indonesian NGOs to monitor the impact of the reform
package on the country's most vulnerable groups".
The forum also called on the Consultative Group on Indonesia
(CGI), a group of developed countries annually donating to the
country's development, to use their leverage to ensure the
Indonesian government performs both economic and political
reform.
"Economic reform without political reform will be insufficient
to stem the loss of international confidence in Indonesia," it
said.
The call for a new president and a new government has been
growing since last week with political experts and senior
politicians beginning to voice the aspiration long considered
taboo in the country.
In Yogyakarta yesterday, Professor Harun Alrasyid of the
University of Indonesia called for a reformation of the country's
1945 Constitution, saying that it has left the nation with "an
abnormal" mechanism on presidential election.
"The current mechanism gives too short a time-span between the
nomination, election, and endorsement of the president and vice
president.
"How can people judge the persons nominated to be their
leaders under the current mechanism?" he said in a book
discussion held by Gadjah Mada University's Faculty of Social and
Political Science.
Harun argued that the reformation of the country's 1945
Constitution was justified by Article 3 and 37 of the
constitution. (23/44/aan)