The era of awakening for democracy

The era of awakening for democracy

Following is the full text of the state address given by
President B.J. Habibie on Aug. 15 before the House of
Representatives in Jakarta on the occasion of the 53rd
anniversary of Indonesia's Independence Day Aug. 17, 1998.
The text continues on the following page.

Two days from now the Indonesian people will celebrate the
anniversary of the Proclamation of the Independence of the
Republic of Indonesia. Fifty three years ago, on the seventeenth
of August 1945, we succeeded in founding a stated the Republic of
Indonesia, based on Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution, the
result of relentless diplomacy and that of an armed struggle
which caused heavy losses of the lives of independence martyrs.
It is befitting, therefore, that we, as a civilized and religious
nation bow our heads at this juncture for some moments to thank
God, at the same time recalling the meritorious services rendered
by our heroes, who have fallen preceding us.
Looking back at the path of our history, we are aware
that the process through which we have built a new nation and
country out of a highly diverse society could not have been taken
for granted. We have done it step by step, all for the sake of
achieving the ideals of the nation as stated in the Preamble of
the 1945 Constitution. In the hitherto struggle towards achieving
those ideals, our nation should be grateful to God, who has
enabled us to record historic milestones which reflect the
development of the quality of the Indonesian people as evidenced
by the fact that their potentials have been transformed into real
abilities in the context of continuing sustainable national
development.

The exuberance of the spirit, view and feeling for the seeds
of nationalism, which has made it possible to form a unitary
Republic of Indonesia, has germinated since the founding of Budi
Utomo on May 20, 1908, a date which we now fondly remember as the
National Awakening Day, constituting the First Milestone in the
course of our nation's history.

The National Awakening was then characterized with various
educational activities and fights against illiteracy, which
enabled our people to begin enjoying opportunities to receive and
absorb all kinds of information from the outside world. The
absorption of the information fostered our national spirit and
ideals for the next twenty years, cutting across differences in
ethnicity, language and religion as well as geographical barriers
in the Nusantara archipelago; hence, the unification and unity
awareness arose. The feelings of the same fate and burden as
colonized people ignited the spirit of the youth, who then
initiated a Youth Pledge on Oct. 28, 1928, the Second Historic
Milestone.

The youths were resolved to declaring that they were of one
homeland, one nation and one language. It is this very
resoluteness on that sparked off the spirit and internal strength
of the whole nation to announce their Proclamation of
Independence on Aug. 17, 1945, constituting our Third Historic
Milestone. The proclamation of the independence by Bung
('Brother') Karno and Bung Hatta -- on behalf of the whole of
the Indonesian nation-- means that the responsibility of the
life, the unification and unity, and the future of the nation
inhabiting this Nusantara maritime archipelago fell, for the
first time, upon the shoulders of the Indonesia people
themselves.

Twenty one years of the course of our history following the
independence proclamation saw the rise and fall of the tides,
taking a heavy toll of sacrifices. Many kinds of dynamism in the
life of a young nation, especially those resulting from the
structuring of the life as a young nation and state, colored the
path leading to the discovery of an identity as a nation. With
the blessings of God the Almighty, Indonesian people at last
rediscovered their life as a nation, resolved to implementing
Pancasila; thus, the New Order came into being on Jan. 10, 1966,
the Fourth Historic Milestone. This order was motorized
predominantly by the young generation of the nation united in the
Force of 1966.

In the era of the New Order, Indonesian people for the first
time executed national development in a planned and sustainable
manner. This was made possible owing to the fact that we were
able to regularly conduct General Elections and General Sessions
of the People's Consultative Assembly every five years to lay
down the Guidelines of the State Policy and to decide on the
National Leadership. One of the tangible results of the
development endeavors was the increase in the quality and
quantity of educated Indonesians, giving rise to a critical mass
which brought about two important events for Indonesian people,
marking their fifth and sixth historic milestones.

During the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the
Indonesian independence, the Indonesian nation stroke its
historic pen on 10 August 1995 to record the maiden flight of a
sophisticated aircraft designed and built by the very sons and
daughters of the nation. This event has symbolized and embodied
the mastery of science and technology by the continuing
generation of the nation. We recall this event as the National
Technology Awakening Day, the Fifth Historic Milestone.

That event is proof which we have shown the coming generation
and the world community that the Indonesian nation has the same
ability and quality as other nations in terms of the mastery of
science and technology, simultaneously complemented with strength
in faith and piety.

The increase in the quantity and quality of educated
Indonesians also gave rise to the awareness of the roles and
responsibilities which they, especially the younger generation,
have in their activities as members of the nation and state.
Thus, two years and nine months later, the Sixth Historic
Milestone came into being, namely May 21, 1998, when the change
in the national leadership took place, marking the beginning of
the Democratic Resurgence Era. This milestone cannot be severed
form the waves of the all-encompassing reforms which took place
prior to that date, pioneered by the young generation and
students. The history of the nation recorded May 12, 1998 as the
day of the demise of four Reform Heroes, which marked the
emergence of a more democratic era.

Struggles for developing a nation and a country indeed form an
unbroken chain. History has recorded that nations which wish to
meet with success must always be prepared to realign the
direction of the realization of their ideals.

It is historic days like this one that we should assess what
should be enhanced, expanded, corrected and what should be
renewed. Therefore, allow me to convey to you a summary of those
matters as inputs to the whole nation through this honorable
House of People's Representatives.

The Preamble of the 1945 Constitution expresses the wishes and
desires of Indonesian people to live in an independent, unified,
sovereign, just and prosperous country. We are now free, unified
and sovereign. However, we still have a duty to perform, namely
to realize a just and prosperous society through a long chain of
national developments.

Since the outset of the First Five-Year Development in 1969,
we have endeavored to achieved the national development goals. We
were able to achieve progress in various fields which had been
enjoyed by the majority of our people until we were jolted by the
monetary crisis since July 1997. This was part of the Asian
crises which have not yet been fully overcome to date.

Since the middle of 1997, the standard of living of
Indonesian people has dropped fast. Prior to that, we were able
to curb the number of poor people to 11 percent; it soared again
to 40 percent. Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that the
achievements of three decades of national development have been
wiped out by a crisis that took place for only several months.

Never did it occur in our minds that the economic crisis would
take place. What is more startling is that never did we think
that our economic order and our national financial institutions
turned out to be unable to withstand the violent tremors against
the nation's economic foundations. We also felt, and admitted,
that the imbalance in the morals also colored the vulnerability
in the various spheres of the life of the nation.

Efforts to prevent the people's standard of living from
aggravating, let alone re-enhancing it to the level reached
before the crisis, were not easy to make. The larger part of the
means of national production and distribution has suffered from
lameness, and the exchange rate of the rupiah has sharply
declined. The corollary was the rise of the prices of daily
consumption goods, basic materials and imported spare-parts. The
rise was also found in the value of the government's and the
private sector's external debts repayment.

One after another big, medium and small enterprises were
compelled to reduce production or stop it altogether, giving rise
to a great many of employees being laid off. The number of
unemployed people continues to become bigger and bigger, giving
rise to social, economic and security problems, especially in big
cities.

Various policy alternatives have been chosen, but not much
result has been brought about. Gradually, the monetary crisis
developed into an economic crisis. The only sectors which
withstood were those which did not rely on imports such as the
mining, agribusiness, and agroindustrial sectors as well as a
number of export-oriented businesses.

The decline in the people's standard of living was aggravated
by various political tensions arising from the 1997 general
elections. The political system which had been developed since
1966 turned out to be unable to accommodate the dynamism of the
aspirations and interests of the community, which has developed
much faster and therefore has become more advanced. Riots and
disturbances took place in various places. To a certain extent,
these happenings reflected the less functioning of the political
order and of the government, finally causing this situation to
develop into a political crisis.

The accumulation of the economic crisis and the political
crisis became a factor which caused a graver crisis to surface: a
crisis in confidence. This applied not just to officials and
state-running institutions, but also began to touch on the system
of values and the legal foundations that underpin the state-
running institutions. Critical moments prevailed in the capital,
Jakarta, and other towns from May 12 to 21, 1998.

On May 12 a tragedy happened in the Trisakti University
campus, causing the death of four students. A number of student
demonstrations ensued, including one which occupied the People's
Consultative Assembly/House of People's Representatives
compounds. On May 18 the leadership of the House took the
initiative to suggest to the President that he resign. The
President's effort to accommodate the developing aspirations of
the people by forming a Reform Cabinet and a Reform Committee did
not materialize, there being no adequate support from various
circles.

The political situation developed in such a manner that the
only open alternative for the President in order to save the
nation and the country was to declare that he stepped down from
his position. Man proposes, but God disposes, and history keeps a
record. Pursuant to Article 8 of the 1945 Constitution and the
People's Consultative Assembly Decree No. VII/1973, concurrently
with the resignation, the Vice President got the mandate and
honor to lead the nation and to continue development. He became
the third President of the Republic of Indonesia.

The change in the presidency was a logical consequence of the
demand to make changes in the life of the society, nation and
state. All constituted a part of the national reform movement
which continues to prevail.

The essence of the national reform movement is a planned,
institutionalized and continuous correction against all
deviations which have taken place in the economic, political, and
legal spheres. The target is our ability to resurge again in a
more open, well-ordered and democratic climate. Included in the
important agenda of the national reform movements is the
abolition of corruption, collusion and nepotism, which have
proved to be the main cause of the weak resistance of our
economy.

During the last months, many ideas about state policies have
had to be adopted in order for the national reforms to achieve
the target. A number of the ideas relate to urgent problems which
demand immediate solution. Others require adequate preparation
for a medium-term solution. Still others require careful thinking
because they are not easy to execute within a short or medium
term. The problem which we must solve is how to put in order all
of those ideas so that priorities can be clearly ordered, a
necessity in this situation where limitations prevail.

The commemoration of the anniversary of the independence of
our nation and country this time takes place in a situation full
of concerns. The duty to deliver a state address in such a
situation happens to be put on my shoulders, which since last May
21, in a very special atmosphere of the state, have also had to
bear the position as the president of the Republic of Indonesia.

The bases of the government policy in the context of
supporting the national reform movement in the economic,
political, and legal spheres have been communicated through my
addresses on May 21 and 25 1998.

On May 21, 1998 I expressed my resolve to implement reforms
gradually and constitutionally in all fields. The objective is to
restore the socio-economic life, to enhance democratic political
life, and to enforce the law.

In accordance with the oath of office which I took upon
assuming the presidency, I shall implement the 1945 Constitution,
the laws and the rules of procedures as straightforwardly and
justly as possible.

On May 25, I communicated the main points of the President's
policy to the Development Reform Cabinet in order for the
ministers to follow up in the context of overcoming the crisis
which we are encountering. In addition, I also asked the
ministers to start carrying out activities for the rehabilitation
of our national economy. The government realizes that the success
of overcoming the economic crisis, in addition to being dependent
on our own abilities, also heavily depends on loans and aids from
abroad. However, the easy flow of the aids and loans from abroad
is more or less affected by our achievement in fostering domestic
political and security stability.

Realizing how difficult our people's living is during this
economic crisis, I have affirmed that the main priority of the
Development Reform Cabinet is to overcome the economic crisis in
the shortest time possible.

There are two main targets which should be achieved in order
to overcome the economic crisis. The first is the availability of
food stuff and basic commodities for the people at affordable
prices, and the second is the revival of the national economy. In
order to achieve the targets, three things have to be done,
namely to secure the availability of nine basic commodities,
medicines and others at affordable prices; to secure the
stability the of the value of the rupiah at a suitable rate; and
to curb inflation.

The targets can be reached only if we can restore
international confidence, both through agreements with
multilateral organizations such as the International Monetary
Fund, World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, and by means of
the support of friendly countries in general and, in particular,
member countries of the G-7. The restoration of the confidence of
such international institutions and friendly countries will in
turn encourage the restoration of confidence of the private
sector, domestic or foreign, which has played the role of the
locomotive in the economic growth of economies in this region.

The government is seriously paying attention to the sufferings
of people from all walks of life. One thing which we earnestly
wish to do is to satisfy the needs for food stuff and other needs
of the society. The satisfaction of these needs is even felt to
be much more urgent than the implementation of the other items of
the reform agenda.

In a very short time, the government has done its utmost to
reach this main target. Although there are still shortcoming and
weaknesses in channeling them, we are able to make available the
nine basic commodities for the whole of the society. Especially
for the stratum of the society that is needy, the government has
drawn up a program called the social safety net.

The efforts to stabilize the value of the rupiah at a suitable
level have not fully met with success. However, we have begun to
receive the support of the International Monetary Fund and the
Consultative Group for Indonesia (CGI), which we badly need, and
we have made use of it.

The program to make the national economic wheel revolve again
still requires the restoration of security feelings among members
of the society. I would like to call upon the attention of the
House that nowadays our business community is still suffering
from the trauma inflicted by the riots that took place in mid-
May. Not many of the businessmen whose companies were destroyed
have begun to rebuild their businesses. They are still awaiting
new development.

They are also still haunted by the shadows of the mass riots
which had been triggered by the demise of the four Reform Heroes
on May 12. The riots, in the form of looting and burning of
shopping centers and people's houses, were even aggravated by the
violence and sexual harassment against women, mostly ethnic
Chinese. All of these irresponsible acts are indeed very
disgraceful; they have streaked the face of our nation, a nation
renowned for its good character and high morals, with shame. As a
civilized and religious nation, we curse these barbaric acts.

The fact that looting still continues here and there, done by
irresponsible groups, is slowing down the restoration of our
economy. It is obvious that looting cannot at all be any part of
reform actions, it is a criminal act. Looting, by whatever
reason, is a crime, pure and simple, and must be tackled in
accordance with the rules of law. I am asking the House to
understand that firmer measures will be taken by law enforcement
personnel against looting.

Honestly, we must admit that one of the causes of the current
crisis is that the rules of the law were often disregarded, be
they in the political, economic or socio-cultural domain. The law
was often used as the instrument of power which deviated from the
goal of enforcing justice and creating welfare for the sake of
the people.

Therefore, the reform of the law should be directed with a
view to making the law really have an authoritative bearing, both
as a means of creating order and of realizing a just and
prosperous Indonesian society based on Pancasila.

In the context of executing reforms in the legal domain, we
want all of us to be consistent by positioning property the
nature of Indonesia as a law-based state; by the same token we
should try our best to realize and enforce the supremacy of the
law in our activities as members of the society, the nation and
the state.

In that regard, we should be aware that a democratic
government can only be effected if we always place the supremacy
of the law as one of its main pillars.

Measures to be taken in the legal domain began with the
formation of the Law Reform Team and Law Expert Team. The
objective is to compile, within the shortest time possible, the
regulations of the law in various fields such as politics,
economy, criminal law and international law. The rules in the
international law are very important in that the process of
globalization requires each and every nation to abide by standard
practices in international interactions.

Law reforms are net limited to the perfection of the means and
infrastructures, materials and law personnel: they also relate to
the development of a law culture. Not less important is to foster
societal awareness to abide by the rules of the law.

In the political domain, reforms aim at re-enforcing democracy
which is based upon the active participation of people. This is
executed by providing rights for greater room in which opinions
can be expressed orally or in writing: by expanding the
opportunities for people to participate in the political domain
through various political and social organizations; by organizing
people's consultative and representative institutions which
reflect the enforcement of sovereignty vested in people and by
maintaining the independence of such institutions in carrying out
legislative and controlling functions with high credibility.

Some of the political reforms activities have heightened
through consolidation by means of the formation of political
parties. Some other activities are still in the form of mass
demonstrations. I would like to call upon the attention of
community leaders to seriously consider this mass mobilization.
We have had much experience to say that mass movement cannot
always be put under control. Uncontrolled mass movement can also
give rise to fear, which does not contribute to the restoration
of our economy. Thus, it is necessary to balance between the
demand of democracy (which guarantees freedom of assembly and
freedom of expression) on the one hand and the need to maintain
public order on the other, as stated in the UN Universal
Declaration on Basic Human Rights.

The press has been able to communicate news and opinions
freely without any worry. The government has also abolished the
threat of revoking the printing permit, which up to now has been
felt by the press circle as a barrier in exercising their rights
as a free and responsible press.

The reforms of government and state administration are one of
the main parts of political reforms. In this regard, I have
communicated to all parties executing the state administration
power that the priority of reforms in this domain mostly consists
in creating clean and authoritative government be effected which
is free from corrupt, collusive and nepotistic practices; which
is accountable to the people; and which is able to render
services to the community in adjust and equitable manner. Reform
measures towards that end have been taken in the context of
creating a responsive and responsible governance.

The Armed Forces forms a part of the state apparatus which
also has to undergo a thorough reform. Reforms in the ranks and
files of the Armed Forces have been and are being exercised in a
serious, conceptual and systematic fashion. Please don't forget
that the early idea which provided the impetus for openness and
reforms also came from the Armed Forces faction in the House of
Representatives prior to the reforms last May.

In relation to the latest cases, I have specifically
instructed the Commander of the Armed Forces to investigate
thoroughly the issue regarding the abduction of a number of
political activists and the case surrounding the shooting of
Trisakti University students. The purpose of the investigation is
to solve the problems in accordance with the law. Clarification
of the issues is imperative to restore the dignity and honor of
our Armed Forces.

In line with the spirit of reform in enforcing basic human
rights we announced the National Action Program for Human Rights
towards the end of last June. In the National Action Program we
confirm our national commitment to ratify and access the UN human
rights instruments, but also with a view to translating the
rights into all of our activities of ours as members of the
society, nation and state.

Thus, we have firmly affirmed that we have abandoned in a
conceptual manner the doubt, which has been felt up to now, that
the notion of human rights is a product of western culture. Now
in an assertive way we state that all of us are committed to
human rights so that we can respect the honor and dignity of the
mankind, irrespective, race, ethnicity, skin colors, sex, or
social status. Needless to say, efforts towards advancing and
protecting human rights must be accompanied with the
responsibility from all of us. Indeed, there is no right without
responsibility.

The first action of the government's endeavors to enhance
respect for human rights was that we have freed 78 political
detainees and prisoners. One of these days, about 30 people will
get amnesty, abolition, clemency or rehabilitation. Subsequently,
the government will continue looking into efforts towards freeing
other political detainees and prisoners.

In our seriousness to respect and enforce human rights,
through this grand forum I, on behalf of the government, would
like to express my deepest regrets for the human rights
violations in several regions committed by individuals from the
state apparatus in the past. It is my conviction that all of us
feel concerned over the cases of violation against the dignity
and honor of the citizens and the mankind. Fully imbued with
conscience, in the framework of upholding highly the mandate to
respect and to put human rights into practice, hereby I apologize
to the Indonesian people, in particular to the families of the
victims.

At the moment, the leadership of the Indonesian Armed Forces
is thoroughly investigating the case. In this regard, I would
like to ask all parties, in particular community and religious
leaders, to support and trust the Indonesia Armed Forces, and
also to give it as ample an opportunity as possible to
investigate the case. The government, including the leadership of
the Indonesia Armed Forces, has asserted that such a case shall
never happen again in the future: we are resolved to using human
rights principles as a yardstick and reference in our activities
as members of the community, the nation and the state. We will
carry out the promotion and protection of human rights, in line
with the democratic and prosperity approach which we have
adopted.

Part of the political reform is the solution of the East Timor
issue, which has protracted for twenty two years. I have invited
the Bishop of Dili Diocese, Monsignor Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo,
to exchange ideas on the solution of the issue. He has given
constructive suggestions which can be used as a starting point
towards a solution.

To Portugal and the UN Secretary General, the government has
communicated an offer to give East Timor Province a special
status, based on extensive autonomy, as part of a comprehensive
solution of the issue involving the province. This offer is being
seriously studied by the parties involved.

As the legal foundation for all of the reform movement, be it
in the economy, politics, or the law itself, at the moment the
Department of Justice and the Department of Home Affairs are
drafting the bills, which will be submitted to the People's House
of Representatives soon.

For over one year our nation has been in this situation of
crisis. However, we are grateful to God that in spite of the fact
that the turbulence has been extraordinarily violent, we remain
united to commemorate the fifty third independence anniversary.
Rising prices as well as narrowing means of living and job
opportunities are real problems which our people encounter and
which we are resolved to solving. In order to solve them, a
basic, integrated economic stabilization program is needed.

The key to our endeavor to emerge from the present crisis is
to restore confidence: the confidence of domestic and foreign
economic actors and, more importantly, our confidence in
ourselves. I am emphasizing this because until recently we have
often heard bad news about our country. Too often some of us draw
too gloomy pictures about our economy, as if we were competing to
outdo other people's pessimism.

We should indeed look at the grave situation straightforwardly
and realistically. However, we should not become desperate and
pessimistic. Look around us: abundant natural resources ready to
be tapped to yield quick revenues added. The infrastructures
which we have built during the last several decades remain intact
and are functioning, and so are our human resources with their
skills. Our agricultural areas have been hit by drought for two
years in succession, but now they have become green again and are
ready to contribute their yields. The crisis had caused share
prices to dip, but the factories behind the share papers are
ready to operate fully as soon as the situation becomes normal
again.

As soon as confidence is restored, I am very sure that
Indonesia will stand up again, faster than other countries which
have been hit by a similar crisis. We should foster all elements
which constitute our strength. And all of this begins with our
restored confidence in our selves as a nation: the confidence
that we have the ability to disengage ourselves from this trap of
crisis.

The confidence and support from abroad are actually strong
now. It has never occurred in history that we got assistance as
big as we have got this year. The assistance has been
spontaneously provided as the realization of sympathy and
solidarity with us as well as the token of confidence in our
resoluteness and effort to overcome this crisis. We will receive
no less than US $14 billion; this amount can be wholly disbursed
within this very fiscal year to sustain our budget and balance of
payment.

Despite the fact that foreign confidence and support have been
restored, we realize that the confidence of private sector
investors has not fully reverted. We are resolved to working hard
and proving that upon the success of this comprehensive reform,
which we are now executing, Indonesia will become a conducive and
safe place for profitable investments. I hope that domestic
investors will play a role in reverting this private investment.

The exchange rate of the rupiah is one of the important
indicators of the degree of confidence. If the confidence in
Indonesia's economy is restored, the exchange rate of the rupiah
will adjust itself to a more suitable level. With the improvement
of the rupiah rate, the pressure against prices will subside, the
burden of debts sustained by the business world become lighter,
and the subsidies borne by the government budget will become less
too. The decline of the inflation rate will, in turn, provide
opportunities for bank interests., which are very high at
present, to slide down to a more suitable rate.

Subsequently, a more suitable interest rate will provide an
impetus for business activities, and hence will encourage
economic growth and thus reopening of job opportunities can be
accelerated again.

That is the main line of thought of the repairs which we wish
to achieve by means of the economic stabilization and reform
program which we are conducting. Allow me to elaborate a little
on this program of ours.

Window A: Struggles for developing a nation and a country indeed
form an unbroken chain. History has recorded that nations which
wish to meet with success must always be prepared to realign the
direction of the realization of their ideals.

Window B: The Armed Forces forms a part of the state apparatus
which also has to undergo a thorough reform. Reforms in the ranks
and files of the Armed Forces have been and are being exercised in
a serious, conceptual and systematic fashion.