Our Foreign Ministry made an important move when it initiated the Bali Democracy Forum (BDF), to be held from Dec. 10 to Dec. 11. This is a step forward to promote democracy in the international community. By doing this in Indonesia, Indonesia wants to show the success of its 10-year democratization process.

Our government wants to show the world, particularly Asia, that Indonesia deserves to be recognized as the third largest democracy in the world, after India and the Unites States.

Should we be proud of this? Do not forget that the forum opened on Dec. 10, International Human Rights Day. Indonesia needs to look at herself before preaching about democracy to the world.

One of the most important elements of democracy is human rights protection. Without this, it is only "small talk" democracy (demokrasi basa-basi). The problem is, what have we done in the face of so many gross human rights abuses in our country?

Hundreds of thousands of people were killed before and after the alleged Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) coup attempt in 1965. Hundreds of Indonesians were reportedly killed in the Tanjung Priok incident in 1984. How about the killing of innocent victims in Aceh by the two warring parties, the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM)? And there has been little progress in getting to the bottom of the riots which erupted before and after Soeharto's fall in 1998. Thousands of people lost their lives in Papua and East Timor.

The list can be extended, and the number of victims will be much higher than the government's official figures. How many violations have been settled by our government? None.

This forum can be our first step in once again considering our democratization process. Therefore, it is an opportunity for a critical assessment of ourselves and it is a means to enhance our democratization process, instead of pretending that we are the most successful democratic country and dictating to other Asian countries that they should follow us.

If our government is willing to strengthen its commitment to seriously resolving our national human rights violations, then the forum will have produced good results.

On the other hand, democracy in Indonesia will only be maintained through checks and balances -- which is the people's responsibility and obligation. They must continuously remind the government that it has homework in solving human rights problems. But we do not need to become paranoid against the government.

We need to share the same belief that Indonesia's democratization process is becoming better and better. We must be aware that democracy which promotes human rights not only depends on the government or on other institutions, but also on ourselves.

The writer is President of International Relations Students Association at Parahyangan Catholic University.

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