RI moving in slow motion toward real independence

RI moving in slow motion toward real independence

By Rikza Abdullah

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesians will express their gratitude to God
as they celebrate 53 years of their country's independence
tomorrow. But in this era of reform, it is worthwhile to reflect
whether we have really enjoyed independence in any real sense.

Such a reflection is necessary because before the start of the
economic crisis in the middle of last year, the mass media were
dominated by upbeat reports, particularly on the rapid growth of
the economy.

This had soared at more than 7 percent per annum in the last
few years and per capita income had risen to over US$1,000.

Yet, Indonesians who are aware of their rights will doubt
whether they have really enjoyed independence in its real sense.

With independence from colonialism, Indonesians could
justifiably have expected greater freedom to enjoy their basic
rights. But this was not to be. When political parties failed to
implement parliamentary democracy in the 1950s, the country's
first president, Sukarno, decided he wanted a new kind of
democracy, "Guided Democracy".

His rule was felt to be far from democratic; his fall in 1966
was welcomed by the people, who were expecting Soeharto, with his
New Order administration, to introduce political reform and
greater democracy.

However, Soeharto only continued the earlier centralization of
power, and Indonesians, historian Taufik Abdullah says, are still
trying to break free of the "greedy states" developed by the
former presidents.

"They (the presidents) were not satisfied with obedient, law-
abiding citizens; they also wanted to conquer the consciousness
of the nation," Taufik said.

Soeharto's policies had serious consequences regarding the
violation of human rights. But even after the fall of Soeharto
last May, human rights violations have continued to occur.

People in Central Java, for example, can provide ample
information about limitations on their movements -- they need
permits to transport goods to other provinces, for their
children's wedding ceremonies, for business gatherings and so on.

Many artistic performers have failed to stage their creations
because the government banned them for "social and security"
reasons.

"We're still in a process of completing the initial agenda of
obtaining democratic freedom and economic independence," Taufik
said.

Mohtar Mas'oed, a political science lecturer at Gadjah Mada
University in Yogyakarta, believes human rights problems
frequently do not lie in the violation of civil or political
rights but, rather, with their conceptualization.

On this level, he said, the government places a greater
emphasis on certain economic and social rights. But activists see
that the real goals of development, namely justice and
prosperity, cannot be attained if citizens are not allowed to
exercise their civil and political rights.

The poor protection of human rights has also been caused
partly by the slow development of the legal sector.

T. Mulya Lubis, a noted lawyer and a member of the Working
Group of the Forum for Democracy, said that compared to other
sectors, the legal sector has been very much left behind.

During the colonial period, the contribution of the laws to
the development of democracy and social justice was minimal,
especially considering that the jurisprudence of the courts of
law was not used much as a legal source.

Since independence, the role played by the laws has not
undergone much change. But it is worth noting that many of the
legal products introduced since independence, including those
issued during the Soeharto administration, perpetuated the
colonial legal policies as reflected in the idolization of
stability, security and order, and economic growth, Lubis said.

The demand for legal reform, therefore, is a historical
necessity. The most urgent legal reform, in terms of restoring
civil and political rights, he writes, will include the
revocation of repressive legislation, the revision of
nonfacilitating laws and the drafting of new laws supportive of
the reform drive.

Mohammad Sadli, a former cabinet minister, is warning that
Indonesia, with the transitional government of President B.J.
Habibie, is currently at a crossroads.

"From now on, the political system should definitely be much
more democratic," he said. "But there is still the danger of a
power takeover by a strongman and a setback for our country's
flowering democracy."