The presence of Indonesian Ambassador to Norway Esti Andayani at the Bali Democracy Forum probably has nothing to do with China’s appeal to the world community not to send representatives to the ceremony to present the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize to imprisoned Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo on Friday. China has prohibited Liu or anyone else from receiving the prize, which comes with 10 million Swedish kronor (US$1.4 million).
But it would be understandable if Esti’s attendance was really designed by the Foreign Ministry to avoid “unnecessary” problems with China, knowing the mighty economic power of China.
It is also not impossible that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa decided to summon home Esti as an expression of Indonesia’s gratitude to China for not attending the 1996 ceremony in Oslo that similarly humiliated Indonesia. At the time, all ASEAN members followed our request to boycott the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony.
Only time will tell whether naming Liu Xiaobo as the winner will influence — as expected by the Nobel Committee — the democratization of China. Myanmar’s opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi won the Nobel, but until now it has not changed anything in the country.
During the two-day Bali Democracy Forum, which ends today, President Yudhoyono will naturally boast about the tremendous progress of democracy in Indonesia since he came to power in 2004. The President is free to say that human rights abuses have decreased significantly, due to his strong commitment to democracy and respect of universal basic values.
But let me just give a gentle reminder to the President: Indonesia is still fertile ground for the growth of pro-democracy martyrs. As long as we do not change our abusive approach to Papuans, it is only a matter of time before another Liu Xiaobo is born in the troubled territory. As violence against minorities continues to be tolerated by the government, it would be no wonder if one day the world awards one of our citizens for their peaceful struggle to restore the dignity of those oppressed because of their faith, ideology and ethnicity.
Back to the Nobel controversy: Indonesia had a bitter experience in East Timor in 1996, but in 2008, the Nobel committee gave a huge award for Indonesia, especially regarding the people of Aceh.
Just three years after East Timor Bishop Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo and independence fighter Ramos Horta were declared the 1996 Nobel Peace prize co-laureates, the majority of East Timorese voted for independence in a UN referendum. They wanted to be freed from the gross human rights violations committed by Indonesia during its two-decade occupation of the tiny and poor territory.
Ramos Horta is currently the president of East Timor, now known as Timor Leste.
In 2008 former Finnish president Marti Ahtisaari won the Nobel Peace prize after his success in brokering peace in war-torn Aceh in 2005. At the time, President Yudhoyono thought he deserved the award and without hesitation lobbied the Nobel Institute in Oslo in 2006.
The reaction of the Chinese government against Liu was similar to the attitude of former president Soeharto and his ministers when Belo and Horta were announced co-winners in 1996.
On Bishop Belo, then powerful state secretary Moerdiono reacted, “What is Bishop Belo’s concept of peace? Really, I can’t understand it.
“[Horta] no longer represents anyone except himself and a small group of people abroad. The majority of East Timorese decided on independence 20 years ago when they chose to integrate with Indonesia,” then former foreign minister Ali Alatas said.
And China’s reaction about honoring the dissident? “Liu Xiaobo is a criminal who has been sentenced by Chinese judicial departments for violating Chinese law,” China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Back in 1996, many national media — sorry to say The Jakarta Post included — evidently shared some of the government’s anger and disagreement.
“Alas, the Nobel Committee has made its decision either out of ignorance or because it is poorly informed or politically motivated,” the Post wrote in an editorial three days after the announcement in Oslo on Oct. 11, 1996.
Hopefully one day, the honor for Liu will be recognized by the Chinese government and people as an honor for them too. A prosperous China is in the interests of all nations, and a more democratic China will be an example for many other countries.
Chinese leaders can take some lessons from the experience of Indonesia in Timor Leste and Aceh. Belo and Horta were symbols of a peaceful struggle against human rights abuses in their homeland while the former Finnish president won the Nobel Prize for his contribution to restoring peace in Aceh.
Liu Xiaobo, who now lives in prison, has become a symbol of peace for millions across the planet. Better treatment for him would win the respect and applause of citizens of the world. It would mean China could also take some credit for the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to him.
