The right to social justice

Recent calls to pay greater respect to the people of Indonesia became louder after President Soeharto promised to pay more attention to them in his state of nation address on Wednesday.

With the Republic reaching 50 years of age the calls are logical and reasonable. People in many circles have now started to question whether our people have been given the respect they deserve and whether they still have their constitutional rights in their hands.

Like the praise bestowed upon them during the Indonesian revolution, the present statements have a familiar ring. During the war of independence, all Indonesians, especially those in rural areas, were praised as heroes. They sent their sons to the battlefield to defend the young Republic and the soldiers were welcomed into families of strangers everywhere.

They were praised by cabinet ministers and generals who sweetly expressed their feelings of gratitude.

Our people, in theory, have enjoyed great honor. The founding fathers put the people in their most respectable place in the Constitution. "The people are the holders of sovereignty," stipulates the very first chapter of the Constitution.

However, over time -- especially during the last three decades -- the state-citizen relationship has gradually changed. The authorities neither live modestly nor do they act and speak like common people as was typical during the war for independence. The former have distanced themselves from the latter. In many cases the relationship is just like that between members of a royal family and common citizens.

But the people are again mentioned in a tone of respect when they are needed for political purposes, especially during election time, when these earthlings suddenly become important before being forgotten again.

At such times politicians speak of fighting for the people's interests and read out long lists of promises. What is forgotten, however, is that the people have been denied their constitutional rights. Those living in rural areas have no rights to channel their political aspirations. They are only asked to join social or political groups backed by the authorities. Worse still, they have no right to know because the news media enjoys limited freedom and in many cases rumors have replaced journalism.

In school, a university professor said here recently, our people are not trained to live in a democratic society, though they are promised stability and economic growth. They do enjoy better social and economic conditions, but their participation is limited. Their economic activities have been curtailed by the blatant fact of monopoly. Time and again they have become victims of the system. As State Minister/Chairman of the National Planning Board Ginandjar Kartasasmita said recently, economic growth has mostly been enjoyed by certain business entities.

Politicians and legislators call for a more equitable distribution of wealth. They say government policies should focus more on the interests of the people than on economic growth. In short, the people should again be respected as people.

We sincerely hope that the authorities will be able to close the widening social and economic gaps and seriously put their ears to the earth to hear the heartbeat of the people. They were heroes of our country and they still are.

If their problems are not addressed in due time we are afraid that the problem will get out of hand.

In summarizing the deafening calls for equity, we would say that there is no stability as long as there is no justice -- justice in all fields: economic, political and judicial.