More humane approach sought to develop democracy
More humane approach sought to develop democracy
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesians must strive to become more humane in order to develop
during and beyond this democratic transition period and put the
repression of the former authoritarian administration firmly in
the past, if it wants to become a truly democratic society, a
noted human rights activist said.
In a speech at the Taman Ismail Marzuki arts center on Monday
evening, Todung Mulya Lubis said he was quite concerned that so
many Indonesians had started to lose their identity and humanity.
He cited the facts that Indonesians had become more permissive
of violence, torture, war and tragic accidents that have claimed
scores of lives.
Such conditions, Todung said, derived from the neglect of
political powers, worsened by the tendency by certain groups of
people who desire a return to a repressive regime. Malfunctioning
social institutions have contributed to this trend, he said.
Todung, also a reputed lawyer, suggested that the state may
have played a role in the country's failure to facilitate a
proper approach in politics, which has led a number of times to
state-sponsored violence.
"Political cruelty is not derived from a regime or certain
actors, but from efforts towards a particular ideology to become
an official ideology of a state," he said.
People, Todung said, must understand that "the raison d'etre
of politics is freedom".
"Therefore, everything that threatens freedom must be
eliminated from politics or should be made the enemy of
politics," he said.
The meaning of politics must not be replaced by private
interests, or it could incite violence, Todung warned.
"Why doesn't the freedom we have automatically solve the
problems of violence? It's because politics in the real sense is
not developing or has died in Indonesia," he said.
Indonesians gained a number of freedoms following the downfall
of 32-year administration of the authoritarian New Order regime.
According to Todung, politics here have been mistakenly
understood to be "transactions". This fallacy, he said, is the
source of the deteriorating humanity and ignorance of
Indonesians.
However, Todung suggested that Indonesians should be
optimistic, because they had secured many freedoms.
"Evil is not the answer to fight evil. The only thing we can
do to fight evil is through peaceful, humane solidarity," he
said.
Todung said that many of the victims of violence in Indonesia
understand the need for peaceful and humane approaches in
politics.
"They have developed a continuous politics of hope through
their stories, writings and speeches that makes everyone
understand about the real problems and situation," he said.