Summit distraction and destruction

Summit distraction and destruction

Undeniably, the recent summit of influential political leaders
-- Abdurrahman Wahid, Megawati Soekarnoputri, Amien Rais, Akbar
Tandjung -- arranged in the former capital city of the Republic,
Yogyakarta, and hosted by the popular Sultan of that special
autonomous territory, provided a cooling distraction from the
accumulation of political tension in the capital city in
anticipation of the annual meeting of the People's Consultative
Assembly (MPR) when anything can happen.

A communique issued at the end of the summit, dubbed the Yogya
Document 2000, spoke of the need for political detente and
preserving spiritual and national unity. It agreed that the next
MPR meeting would refrain from impeaching the head of state and
instead would only raise "routine matters".

A group of students earlier rejected the summit and called it
of no use to effectively tackle national issues.

The nation's fate should not be put in a few people's hands.
If the nation is faced with insurmountable issues, why weren't
the members of the Supreme Advisory Council consulted instead of
resorting to a friendly get-together to privately sort out
differences outside of constitutional procedures and democratic
tradition.

The Yogya summit has, in my view, left a bitter after-taste.
Under the reform era, democracy must be practiced according to
the rules and through established institutions not through
collusion at high levels.

Also, democracy does not call for a "political moratorium" to
achieve economic ends. Learning the truth through differences of
opinions, as the French prefer judging from their proverb, should
be the new tradition of the new open society of the reform era.

Political solutions under whatever conditions should not lead
to destruction of newly acquired democratic values. Economic
achievements should not be the end objective, but should serve as
the means to bring about social justice by revealing democratic
truths and balance.

A momentary distraction may serve a positive purpose in
cooling down a heated atmosphere.

Was it a bad omen, or just a tragic coincidence, that when the
summit was still in progress, a powerful bomb exploded in the
capital city, killing innocent people? What is certain is that
this country's image, especially in the eyes of prospective
investors, suffered another blow.

GANDHI SUKARDI

Jakarta