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Gov't says BDF will return after SBY's exit, despite critics
The government says that the Bali Democracy Forum (BDF) will continue next year despite criticism from civil society groups of the annual forum initiated by outgoing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
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he government says that the Bali Democracy Forum (BDF) will continue next year despite criticism from civil society groups of the annual forum initiated by outgoing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Deputy Foreign Minister Dino Patti Djalal said on Saturday that this year's BDF would not be the last, as the majority of participants still wanted the forum to be held in the coming years.
'We've concluded that almost all the participants still want the BDF to continue because they have enjoyed the benefits of this forum,' Dino said after the closing of the forum, the seventh held since 2008.
'Every participating country learns from one another about various models of democracy, and this is what is best about this forum,' he added.
Attended by 85 countries, this year's BDF was co-chaired by Yudhoyono and Philippine President Benigno Aquino III.
Heads of government attending this year's event included Timor Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao and the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah.
This was the last time for Yudhoyono to lead the forum before he leaves office on October 20.
After opening the forum on Friday, Yudhoyono also gave assurances that the BDF would continue under Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo's administration, saying it would be crucial to continue 'this important tradition'.
Earlier, Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said the incoming administration of Jokowi and vice president-elect Jusuf Kalla had the authority to decide the future of the forum.
He stressed that the event was growing in popularity among an increasing number of countries, not only in Asia and the Pacific but in other regions,' Marty said.
'It is a fact that the BDF has become an invaluable part of the democratic architecture of the region, helping ensure that a spirit of positive partnership and mutual support is nurtured and built among countries of the region,' he continued.
'Participating countries are keen to share lessons learned amid various challenges facing our world, to provide support and encouragement to the other's unique journey in the promotion of democracy.'
This year's BDF, which took place amid uncertainty over the future of direct elections following the recent passage of the Regional Elections Law, continued to face opposition from civil society groups.
They criticized it as 'a worthless forum held merely to build Yudhoyono's political image'.
During the event, themed 'Evolving Regional Democratic Architecture: The Challenges of Political Development, Public Participation, and Socio-Economic Progress in the 21st Century', participants agreed that political development and socio-economic progress should run simultaneously.
As the discussion session ended with the chairman's statement read by the deputy foreign minister, participants stated that political development, socio-economic progress and public participation were the three essential and complementary elements that supported a working democracy.
They said the three factors must all be present and working together to make a democracy viable, and that the more countries succeeded in achieving all three of them, the stronger the democratic architecture in the region would be.
