Optimism possible despite a ravaged Indonesia

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.