Public pressure needed for democratization

JAKARTA (JP): The ongoing currency crisis may have many adverse impacts, but it also serves as an impetus for greater democratization, a political observer says.

Arbi Sanit told a seminar on legal reform here yesterday that should the economic turmoil drag on, it would affect an even greater number of people and force them into reacting in such a way which may inflict pressure on the government.

Persistent public pressure could eventually lead to a political, economic and social democratization, said the lecturer at the University of Indonesia's School of Social and Political Sciences.

At the moment, Arbi said, the currency crisis has affected only a small group of people here. Pressure for democratization could mount "if the crisis continues and affects people from all walks of life," Arbi said.

Those who previously only fretted about social gaps would eventually suffer the direct impacts of the currency crisis, especially from price hikes, he said.

He warned of the lengthy overhaul ahead for democratization, however. "It could be quite a process," he said, adding that people should, however, maintain their optimism and persist in their efforts.

"The movements for democratization should be carried out from one generation to the next," he told some 50 participants, mostly students and youth activists, at the seminar.

The seminar was co-organized by the Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI) and the Independent Election Monitoring Committee (KIPP) to commemorate the foundation's 27th anniversary. The other speakers were Mulyana W. Kusumah of KIPP and Isbodroini Suyanto of the University of Indonesia.

Mulyana supported Arbi's opinion, and said that public pressure in the form of mass rallies, seminars and discussions would help bring democratization.

Those exchanges, he said, would at least show the government the public demand for political, economic and social reform.

He said that in order to move towards democratization, the public must be given greater space to speak out their minds about issues such as the national leadership succession.

Another factor that could help bring about democratization is an empowered House of Representatives and People's Consultative Assembly. The legislative bodies should be able to carry out their function of controlling the government, he said.

He also called for the strengthening of civilian institutions, including non-governmental organizations, that have served as a venue through which the public channel their political aspirations.

Isbodroini, a colleague of Arbi Sanit at the school of social and political sciences, lamented what she called the absence of true democracy. She cited the ouster of Megawati Soekarnoputri as the leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) last year.

"The world watched the elimination of a political organization despite its rights to live in this country," she said. (10)