'No' to oppression

The founding fathers of the Indonesian Republic have freed this nation, but they forgot to teach us of one great risk that freedom brings: that the oppressors and the robbers of our wealth -- whether they be foreign powers or our own power holders -- could return.

Our leaders in the recent past only thought about survival -- that of their own and their families and friends -- and imprisoned the people in a cage of backwardness and fear. The consequences have been fatal since all this went on for more than three decades.

It is now up to the Indonesian people whether they can muster the courage to say "no more". Any lack of courage to say so could bring back the darkness and turn us once again into a poor nation, a lowly nation in an era of globalization.

-- Merdeka, Jakarta