'Int'l community could help make RI strong'

'Int'l community could help make RI strong'

A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Sectarian violence, the potential danger of insurgencies in
the regions and rampant corruption in Indonesia are indications
that Indonesia is in a weak state, says a prominent world peace
activist says that Indonesia.

In order to prevent the country from sliding further toward
collapse, visionary leaders and international support are badly
needed, said Robert Rotberg, president of U.S.-based World Peace
Foundation, on Wednesday.

Rotberg said Indonesia's weak state started in 1998, after the
downfall of a strong regime under president Soeharto.

Since that year, Indonesia has been economically weak and
troubled by a series of insurgencies and sectarian violence,
which might further lead Indonesia into a fractious state, he
said.

He cited as examples the insurgencies in Aceh and Papua, which
had not been resolved, and sectarian violence in Poso in Central
Sulawesi and Maluku.

Rotberg painted a dismal picture, saying that Indonesia had
difficulty in containing and overcoming the problems, mainly
because it was a large country with a large population and there
were long-standing grievances in the regions.

"Problems continue in the short run. The government should
take the initiative in assuring that the trouble does not flare
up again in the near future, to prevent the country from sliding
further into a dangerous zone," Rotberg told participants of a
discussion held by the Center for Strategic and International
Studies (CSIS).

According to Rotberg, a visionary and strong leader was needed
to guide the nation out of the crisis.

"The leader must have a clear concept for the future of the
country and know how to identify the issues being faced by the
country," said Rotberg, who is also on staff at Harvard
University.

Rotberg underlined the importance of international support to
help the country out of the crisis.

He said international parties could help the beleaguered
country by providing support for the establishment of a civil
society.

He said democracy could help prevent a dictatorship, or what
he called "a destructive human agency", which was prone to create
destructive decisions in the country, causing the collapse of the
state.

"The international community could also help the country's
effort to enforce the law, by creating training for police
officers, for example," he said.

According to Rotberg, international support could help lift
Indonesia out of its weak state to a strong state, characterized
by a higher gross domestic product, no corruption, law and order,
better security and freedom of expression.