Lesson in reform: Poland's experience

Lesson in reform: Poland's experience

Oei Eng Goan, staff writer, The Jakarta Post, Warsaw

Jointly sponsored by the Polish Embassy in Jakarta, the
Indonesian Embassy in Warsaw and Indonesia's national airline
Garuda Indonesia, three Indonesian journalists visited Poland to
observe the parliamentarian elections held on Sept. 23 and to
meet with officials of the two countries to promote bilateral
ties.

Having been governed in the recent past by military dictators,
Indonesia and Poland share several similarities that could help
their people learn from one another to help promote law and order
in the political life of both emerging democracies.

Years of absolute power held by the countries' leadership had
given birth to corrupt officials and nepotistic practices in
state-run companies and private enterprises, which led to
economic collapse and the laying off of millions of workers.

Freedom of expression now prevails in Poland as media
censorship was abolished after the country abandoned communism,
the state's former ideology. Reform measures were introduced and
implemented to restore crippled civilian structures and to guide
the country toward a market-oriented economy.

Unlike Indonesia, Poland has responded quickly in building
democracy and fixing its economy, as proven by its acceptance
into the Western-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in
1999, 10 years after the collapse of the communist regime in
Poland and most other eastern European countries following the
demise of the former Soviet Union.

"Poland is moving rapidly to restore its democratic and legal
system so as to realize its expectations to become a member of
the European Union," Indonesian Ambassador to Poland, Koko
Wijanarko, told The Jakarta Post late last month.

And quick it must be, since it is Poland's wish to be accepted
as a full member of the European Union (EU) by the end of 2004.
So far, the Warsaw government has met just 17 of the 29 formal
requirements set by the EU for Poland's membership in the Union.

Indonesia considers Poland's future integration into the EU as
very important to solidify the economic grouping among the
already strong 15 member countries, hence bilateral relations
need to be further enhanced, Ambassador Koko said.

To achieve such goals, the Indonesian Embassy in Warsaw has
held a number of trade and art exhibitions, film festivals and
seminars in several Polish cities, according to Yudi Fitriandi,
the embassy's second secretary.

Jacek Bylica, the director of Asia and Pacific Affairs at the
Polish foreign ministry, said that Poland had been watching
Indonesia's political and economic development closely under
President Megawati Soekarnoputri and hoped that Jakarta could
resolve national problems, such as the recurring ethnic conflicts
in some provinces.

Bylica said the dramatic changes in Europe following the
breakup of the Soviet Union had compelled Poland to concentrate
its policy on these changes.

"We are preoccupied with European integration, making our
relations with non-European countries, including those in Asia,
less intensive," he said.

Bylica added, "We're going to revitalize our relations with
non-European nations. Having in mind the important relations the
EU has with Asian countries, we will rebuild our foreign economic
ties with countries that are conducive to our (future) membership
in the Union."

He pointed out that Poland, despite its limited financial
resources, had provided development aid to Vietnam and
humanitarian assistance to Indonesia following the earthquake in
Bengkulu last year.

Commenting on the increasing number of Polish tourists to the
Indonesian resort island of Bali, Bylica said he had asked the
Jakarta government for the non-visa status to thousands of Poles
visiting the island. "Just like Hungarian tourists who are able
to visit Indonesia without visas," he noted.

Although both Indonesia and Poland are still gripped by
economic woes and slow growth, bilateral trade has proceeded
relatively well. Over the past few years, bilateral trade has
been in Indonesia's favor. Last year Indonesia's exports to
Poland stood at around US$140 million, which is 10 times as high
as Indonesian imports from the East European country.

Koko said that trade with Poland could still be boosted as
there were plenty of opportunities for Indonesians to conduct
business with their Polish counterparts.

"In fact, now is the right time to promote Indonesian products
in Poland, which has adopted a free market policy," the
ambassador said, adding that the Indonesian business community
should be more aggressive in offering new commodities to the
Poles, other than just traditional goods such as coffee and
rubber.

Janusz Duda, the general manager of a leading Polish
enterprise, Condea, said that he was considering importing herbal
medicines from Indonesia and that negotiations for this were
underway.

Despite the fact that Poland and Indonesia are separated by a
great distance, friendly ties between the two nations seem to be
on the go as they move toward a more democratic future.