Optimism possible despite a ravaged Indonesia

By Imam B. Prasodjo

JAKARTA (JP): What is happening in Indonesia is very much connected with socio-political changes on a global scale. Various forms of social disruption have emerged and affected the structure of global society, repositioning the power relations between nations, challenging the existence of many states, including Indonesia.

Karl Marx's phrase "all that is solid melts into air" seems to have taken on a new meaning. Many of us may not realize that we are experiencing dramatic and fundamental changes. The old socio- political order is now melting and taking a new form.

We have witnessed the collapse of the Soviet Bloc, immediately followed by the destruction of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and the resulting euphoria of the victory of liberal democracy over its ultimate rivals, communism and fascist nationalism.

Democracy is spreading like a virus, affecting many countries formerly under authoritarian rule in Latin America, Southern Europe, Eastern Europe, and now reaching East Asia.

This is an era of the victory of liberal democracy where all nations are integrated into the world market and each is deeply interconnected and experiencing economic interdependence.

As American social scientist Francis Fukuyama, without hesitation, put it, we are at "the end of history". The ideological struggle has reached its end.

Nonetheless, in the midst of the above euphoria an overwhelming sense of anxiety has arisen.

The democratic process that was believed to bring new hope for a new and peaceful world, with a free market economy and increased prosperity, and an era that encouraged more respect for human rights in every nation, in the 1990s, was instead tainted by communal conflict, ethnic conflict, and diverse forms of violent conflict challenging the fundamental values of humanity.

Human suffering on a massive scale has occurred in many countries in recent times, including Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia, Bosnia, Tajikistan, Chechnya, Kosovo, and now Indonesia.

The dramatic changes that come with the democratic process have clearly resulted in socio-political disruption. The more rapid the change, the greater the probability of the occurrence of intra-societal violence.

Now a more pessimistic attitude has emerged. The social scientist Robert D. Kaplan expressed his fear of the coming anarchy. Francois Miterrand, the former French president, then warned of the possible emergence of neo-tribalism, or as Bill Clinton called it, the danger of the resurgence of "ancient hatreds".

All these explain that Indonesians are now in a transitional democracy, now entering a critical phase as we find ourselves at a crossroads, with a choice between a path to survival and prosperity or one to failure and destruction.

This is the challenge we are faced with. The challenge is not only national disintegration. Most alarming is the possibility of social disintegration where social bonds that bind us together are torn apart. If these bonds are truly destroyed, social trust no longer exists, leading to the condition of the Hobbesian war: war of all against all.

Despite this rather pessimistic view, there is cause for optimism. There is more and more evidence of younger people not wishing to lose the historical opportunity to save the nation, to improve conditions, to achieve victory, to rebuild Indonesia as one of the largest democratic nations in the world.

This is the hope we want to rebuild and empower. This is the Indonesian dream. I still believe that the younger generation will take up leadership and rescue the historical moment from the hands of those who have misused the precious gift we have inherited, the reward of God that we have received.

Indonesia has a long history developed from a long-standing interaction of 300 ethnic groups speaking more than 250 distinct languages, as well as a constant dialog among nearly all of the world's important religions: Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism, and a wide range of indigenous religions.

This nation was built upon the tears of thousands living under colonization and exploitation for hundreds of years. This is a nation that exists because of ties, feelings of togetherness, which emerged out of shared suffering.

This is also a nation that was born of a courageous spirit, with many sacrificed in the fight for freedom. All these integrating elements come together to constitute Indonesia's social capital, the foundation upon which the nation was created.

Unfortunately this social capital has been mismanaged. Prolonged authoritarian rule, beginning in 1959, compounded further in 1966, and lasting until 1998, has in a colossal manner cultivated a climate of materialism, greed, selfishness, trickery, collusion and conspiracy, nepotism, partisanship, and feudalistic values.

This climate betrays the very essence of democracy, where tolerance and respect for the rights of others have been abandoned.

The fragility of the socio-political structure has rendered it vulnerable to crisis. We are witnessing a formidable threat to the safety of Indonesia's citizenry. On the main islands fires rage and gunfire blares, and the victims march to their graves. It has been estimated that Asia's third largest population of internally displaced persons is in Indonesia.

Is there any chance for recovery from this crisis? Do we have the strength to pull ourselves out of this predicament? Will we manage to survive, or have we embarked upon the path to self- destruction? This country was born out of adversity and has undergone the extremes of failure and triumph, sorrow and elation, tears and laughter. It will stand strong because of its ups and downs, highs and lows.

How many years did it take for the United States of America to get to where it is now? How long did it take for America to abolish slavery, to combat racism, to eradicate discrimination, and outlaw gender prejudice? One hundred years after the abolition of slavery, the civil rights movement was still struggling against racial injustice.

Democracy, to reach a stage of maturity, requires time. Democratization in Europe was a lengthy process as well. Still, in some countries like the United Kingdom, violence continues to rage due to the situation in Northern Ireland.

In Spain, terrorist acts, blamed on the disgruntled Basque separatists, are on the increase. The problems become more complex as new identity conflicts emerge over issues such as homosexuality, abortion rights, anti-Semitism, and anti-immigrant sentiments.

Do we need 200 more years before we reach a mature stage of democracy? Hopefully not. We cannot afford the luxury of such a great amount of time.

We should make every effort to accelerate the process. However it is unrealistic for outside observers to expect that we can undertake a task of such monumental proportion in a short span of time.

As the result of conflict there are more than one million internally displaced persons living in miserable conditions. Hundreds of thousands of children have been robbed of the opportunity to go to school and of the happiness of being children.

With the prolonged economic, political and social crisis, millions have been plunged into poverty.

But these tragedies can be transformed into an emotional solidarity, through the use of every capacity to develop the art of loving and compassion, to redefine Indonesia by developing a feeling of togetherness in one family, in one nation.

We want to foster the compassion inherited from our founding fathers who successfully integrated Indonesia, the world's most diverse country. More and more young people are joining hands in a united effort to alleviate suffering.

My foundation, Yayasan Nurani Dunia, established with students and journalists two years ago initially in response to the catastrophe in Maluku, continues to receive funding and volunteers from many sources.

Our Center for Research on Inter-group Relations and Conflict Resolution at the University of Indonesia is a collaborative effort, which includes the enthusiastic participation of the academic community in an effort to understand and resolve the current crisis of conflict.

These are signs of hope that should be kept alive.

Gross mismanagement of power and authority by a centralistic regime has widened the gap between the rich and the poor, between Java and other islands, between rural and urban, and between east and west. This has provoked people's anger, resulting in separatist sentiments and general social unrest. Implementation of regional autonomy is thus crucial to the fostering of a functional solidarity.

A dream for Indonesia is one that will unite the people, allow for a peaceful transition to democracy, build tolerance, and promote prosperity. Working hard to rebuild a new Indonesia into a tolerant and pluralistic society is also in the interest of global stability.

The writer is a sociologist at the University of Indonesia and a candidate for the National Election Commission.