Let's work to become a risk-free nation

Let's work to become a risk-free nation

The following are excerpts of the speech by President Megawati
Soekarnoputri delivered at the annual session of the People's
Consultative Assembly, Nov. 1.

* This crisis is both a part of and a continuation of the
monetary, economic, confidence, political, and security crises
that have burdened us since 1997. A crisis that we fundamentally
failed to address.

Coupled with the tragedy of Sept. 11 that triggered the threat
of global economic recession, recovery efforts in our nation have
become even more challenging.

It has become a great challenge to optimally strike a balance
between the solutions of short-term problems -- which
occasionally must be painful and hence unpopular and dealt with
on an ad-hoc basis -- and idealism with regard to national
reform.

We have spent too much energy responding to these situational
problems.

* Priorities should continue to refer to new concepts of state
administration based on the vision of national reform. It means
that all the administrative changes that we have carried out and
will embark upon have to be cloaked in the spirit of
coordination, must not be rushed, and must strive for prudent
improvement and perfection.

Therein lies the difference between reform and revolution. We
are definitely not conducting a revolution. We embark upon
reforms with vision, mission, and a clear agenda established by
the Honorable Assembly.

* There is one (achievement) that we need to single out, namely
the democratic situation. The government no longer imposes
strict limits upon society to express opinions; especially if
those opinions are not expressed in a manner that violates the
rights of others.

* The investigation and legal proceedings dealing with cases
of gross violations of human rights will continue and be
subsequently brought to the appropriate courts for prosecution.

* During the 56th anniversary of the Indonesian Military, I
requested the military establishment to continue its internal
transformation by perfecting its doctrines to be further used as
yardsticks by all its members. A similar request was directed to
the National Police.

I have also instructed all military and police personnel --
from the lowest to the highest ranks -- to carry out their
duties with special attention paid to respecting human rights as
well as abiding by the prevailing laws and regulations.

To accurately understand human rights is therefore
important. The goal is not only to allow our people to
precisely understand their rights, but also to enable them to
respect others' rights as well, and all of the attendant
limitations therein.

The challenge that we must respond to in this rather
complicated situation is to precisely establish national
priorities.

We have to prioritize three main national programs, namely
economic recovery, resuming normalcy of political life, and
restoration of law, security, and public order.

We have recently become a poor nation with a low income
per-capita and with huge unemployment while the production
potentials are now largely dormant. This condition could worsen
if food insufficiency increases.

We have to humbly admit that such a condition exists here and
hence unleash all the potential that exists in this nation to
prevent the situation from deteriorating further. There is no
shortcut to solving these predicaments. It requires patience as
well as hard work and tenacity and some difficult decisions will
have to be made before we can pull out of this crisis.

* The government has taken a number of important steps as
an initial effort to revive the economy. Apart from restoring
cooperation with the International Monetary Fund, the government
is also trying to find a breakthrough in various major projects
in the fields of energy and petrochemicals, significantly
influencing the smooth undertakings of our economic programs in
general and the confidence of the international funding
institutions and investors on the commitments that we have made.

There is a worrisome problem ... international and domestic
investments have nearly come to a halt. We have to amend our
image and reconfirm that Indonesia is not a high-risk country in
terms of politics, economics, and security.

I (earlier) stressed the need for the government to take very
stern actions to deal with the many problems endangering
political stability in favor of the greater good -- our
national interests.

I am aware that I take the risk to be misunderstood by some
members of our society who may liken these measures to the
repressive measures taken by the New Order (Soeharto regime).

Nevertheless, the continuation of democratic life is indeed
contingent upon the willingness of all people to obey the law, to
respect all people's interests and, better still, to impose self-
restraint.

There are a number of factors causing social unrest and mass
violations in several areas.

Not only is this social unrest and uncontrolled violence
illegal, it is also hampering efforts to revive the economy ...
these problems also have the potential to violate human rights.
Clearly, this cannot be tolerated. No matter how difficult it is,
a state of law should be created to specifically deal with such
situations.

One sector which has directly fell victim to this unsafe
situation is tourism and also other real economic sectors. The
tourism industry, which had become one of the most significant
hard-currency generating sources is now suffering a major
setback, and that is seriously jeopardizing the livelihood of
people in many areas, especially where tourists used to visit.

Through this forum, I wish to appeal to all levels of
community leadership and the Indonesian people -- to impose self-
restraint upon their respective followers and supporters so as to
allow the speedy restoration of a peaceful situation.

Investors also need certainty, with regards to rules and
regulations. It is against this backdrop that I have directed the
economic ministers to implement policies that are coherent and
transparent to avoid any confusion among business operators. It
is in the same vein that the central government has reminded all
regions not to adopt regulations or impose levies, which may
hamper trading, investment activities and cause long-term damage
to the regions concerned.

With these new investments, we will be able to run our economy
effectively again, which is urgently needed to provide jobs for
the unemployed, the number of which continues to increase on
a daily basis.

* Our capability to settle debts has caused concern. A large
part of the budget has to be set aside to pay the main debts and
their interest. We have to go through all these to honor the
commitments made by the government when securing loans. In this
regard, we are thankful to donor countries that have been willing
to help us settle loans in this difficult period, including their
offer to reschedule our debt.

Prioritizing national economic recovery has brought about some
implications and consequences. The first refers to the need to
adopt a policy of efficiency.

The government leaves no stone unturned in finding other
possible solutions acceptable to all for the sake of our national
interest.

Inevitably, the government must gradually raise prices of some
goods and services, such as fuel and electricity. We also have to
consider other stringent policies in the fiscal sector so that we
are able to lessen the debt burden.

We have also adopted a policy of selling national assets
administered by the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency and the
privatization of state-owned companies. However, these
policies have shown little progress in meeting their target.

Experience has demonstrated that addressing the very issue of
privatization has often led to other issues that need to be
carefully dealt with first. The privatization policy will,
therefore, be conducted cautiously.

* The international community, while facing the threat of
economic recession, is now besieged by the fear of terrorism.

International terrorism might lead to an adverse impact on
economic activities that we count on for human prosperity.

Those found to be involved in terrorism should be held
responsible and taken to court. It is the obligation of every
party to help find and show to the world any evidence connecting
any elements allegedly involved in these irresponsible actions
before taking measures to combat terrorism.

By the end of this year, Muslims and Christians will hold
religious celebrations. We, therefore, appeal that the military
attack aimed at seizing the accused, which has so far claimed the
lives of many innocent people, be discontinued before the sacred
month of Ramadhan and Christmas.

The long drawn out military attack will not only be counter-
productive, it might also weaken the global coalition in
combating terrorism. We appeal for the need to hold a
humanitarian pause so as to give more space and opportunity for
the handling of humanitarian aid while trying to solve the
problem through political and diplomatic channels. The
government continues its support for the UN to play its role in
accordance with its mandate to maintain international peace and
security.

* To implement the Assembly's mandate to eradicate corruption,
collusion and nepotism, we have to carry it out consistently and
firmly so that the main factors causing many of the nation's
woes can come to an end.

We also agree to oblige the state apparatus to submit a report
on their personal wealth to the Wealth Audit Committee. Allow me
also to offer my earnest appreciation to those who have submitted
their wealth reports and agree to have their reports published.
This measure will contribute to our joint efforts to recuperate
the image and to improve the performance of the government.

I will instruct the Attorney General and the Chief of the
National Police to submit reports every month on the development
and progress in eradicating KKN practices.

The tendency for some regions to seek secession from the
Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia needs more serious
care. While some carry out their intentions peacefully, others
have conducted their movement forcefully.

In the government's attempt to tackle security disturbances
staged by armed separatist movements, the risk that the lives of
many are at risk on both sides -- even innocent people residing
in the troubled areas -- is inevitable.

Allow me now to elaborate on the basic policies of the
government to settle this no less important issue.

The first policy is that, while providing more room for people
in the regions to administer themselves under special autonomy,
we are resolved to seek a lasting solution to the problems
expressed by the public that directly addresses their welfare,
justice and dignity.

The government has, in cooperation with the House of
Representatives, deliberated, formulated and enacted the laws
required to realize this first basic policy, in particular those
connected with the provinces of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam and
Irian Jaya. We have provided them with substantial scope for
autonomy and a concrete constitutional recognition of the
cultural identity of those regions.

The second basic policy is based on the oath I took last July
to uphold the constitution and other regulations, based on the
nation's struggle in the early 20th century. Under no
circumstances will the government entertain, for whatever reason,
the intention of any region to separate from the unitary state of
the Republic of Indonesia.

Secession from a nation-state (violates) the basic principle
of nationhood and it is incumbent upon any sovereign country to
deal with it. The UN Charter and international laws also prohibit
separatism, which would otherwise only lead the modern
international system into chaos. We are thankful, therefore,
that almost all the UN member countries have pledged their
support for the territorial integrity of our nation.

In regards to Aceh, the government has developed a
comprehensive policy comprising six agenda enshrined in
Presidential Instruction No. 4/2001 and revised in Presidential
Instruction No. 7/2001.

The political agenda consists of three points: Special
autonomy for the province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, the
facilitation of dialog with all segments of the Acehnese
community and the acceleration of the empowerment of regional
institutions to improve public services.

The economic agenda is aimed at accelerating
development in agriculture, economic infrastructure and expansion
of job opportunities.

The social agenda is tailored to expedite the rehabilitation
and building of infrastructure, expansion of job and business
opportunities, acceleration of social rehabilitation and refugee
settlement.

In the field of law and order, the policy is aimed at
bolstering efforts to enforce public law -- including the efforts
to solve human rights violations -- and security and order,
especially the efforts to restore security in the province of
Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam by deploying the police force with the
assistance of the military, to face disturbance posed by the
armed separatist movement.

In the field of security, the policy is aimed at restoring
security and order across the province of Nanggroe Aceh
Darussalam through seeking a solution to the problem of the armed
separatist movement taking into account, and in compliance
with, prevailing regulations and procedures and respect for human
rights.

Finally, the information and communication agenda is aimed at
intensifying the dissemination of correct and balanced
information to the society at large within the framework of
opinion molding and to take measures to counter false
information.

Similar policies are to be applied in the province of Irian
Jaya, for which the bill on Special Autonomy for the Papuan
Province has been passed by the House of Representatives on 22
October 2001.

Attempts to nurture domestic politics continues to progress in
line with the need for reforms.

Unfortunately, progress in this very field occurs within the
political culture that places narrow and short-sighted regional
interests to the fore.

* Among some major social problems are the protection of
Indonesian workers, mostly women working abroad; the protection
of women's rights and the protection of the rights of the
children as our next generation; and the solving of the problem
of internally displaced people.

* We have now a total of more than one million internally
displaced people. Unfortunately, conditions are not yet
favorable to enable them to return to their place of domicile.

* In a number of areas, natural disasters have again
occured, reminding us of the signifance of sustained
development. Natural disasters have also caused a massive
movement of people who have been forced to leave their homelands
and villages. It is in order to cope with this problem that we
have established the Coordinating Board for Handling Disasters
and Refugees.