NGOs criticize govt for failure to defend farmers at WTO talks
Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) criticized on Friday the Indonesian delegation's "poor" performance at the World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial meeting in Doha, Qatar, saying that they had failed to fight for the nation's interests.
Bonnie Setiawan, program officer of the International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID) asserted that the delegation did not even have sufficient knowledge about global trade issues.
The Indonesian delegation, comprising 32 people, was led by Minister of Industry and Trade Rini Soewandi.
"Our delegation failed to voice the people's interests as they did not hold a dialog with the Indonesian community, such as businesspeople, to seek inputs," he said.
"We have repeatedly asked the government to hold a dialog with the public to seek inputs before leaving for the WTO meeting,"
"We condemn the government's decision to agree on the launching of a new round of trade talks without discussing it with the Indonesian people first," he told a media conference.
Trade ministers from 142 countries, including Indonesia agreed on Wednesday to launch a new round of trade talks aimed at setting agenda for further eliminating trade barriers.
Bonnie said that trade liberalization would have serious consequences to local businesses and the overall economy because domestic industries were not yet ready to compete head-on with foreign giants.
He did not elaborate, but other NGO activists had expressed concern that trade liberalization would cause massive layoffs.
NGO activists have also demanded Rini immediately consult the House of Representatives, as the results of the Doha WTO talks, which ended on Wednesday, would affect existing laws.
They also said that the government must inform the public of the results of the WTO meeting because it would have social and economic implications for Indonesia.
Elsewhere, Bonnie welcomed the success of developing countries in championing the cause for cheaper drugs at the WTO meeting.
WTO members agreed to provide "flexibility" to developing countries for access to cheap medicines through a waiver of patents in emergency cases.
He also applauded the efforts of India's delegation in fighting for its nation's interests.
India, which has been one of the more vocal among the developing countries in criticizing the WTO, showed consistency during the meeting, he said.
Earlier, Rini said that the government was satisfied with the result of the WTO meeting, saying that the elimination of farm export subsidies would help local farm products to compete overseas.
She also said that the new round of trade talks would benefit developing nations like Indonesia because trade liberalization would help boost trade volume.