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.