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ov. 9, p. 1

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has urged Asia Pacific countries to consolidate their gains from democratization, as the region has shown remarkable prospects for democracy to flourish in recent years.

“Democracy is a work in progress and we need to consolidate the gains we have achieved from democratization during the past five years,” Yudhoyono said in his opening remarks at the fifth Bali Democracy Forum (BDF) in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Thursday.

The development of democracy in Asia and the Pacific has been evident in several countries. “India and Indonesia continue to be the largest democracies in the region and in the world. An impressive democratic transformation is now unfolding in Myanmar. In Mongolia and in many countries of Central Asia, democracy is thriving, and the Arab Spring continues to evolve,” he said.

Your comments:

Before lecturing ASEAN on consolidating democracy, the Indonesian government would be well inspired to demonstrate its commitment to human rights by indicting and trying its many military officers responsible for qualified crimes against humanity.

When confronted by German activists’ opposition to the German-made Leopard-tank arms deal because of ongoing human rights violations in West Papua, the Indonesian generals said that “Indonesia is a sovereign and civilized country”.

No, Indonesia’s armed forces are not the sovereignty of Indonesia in West Papua, where democracy is as thin as a questionable referendum and heavy military presence.

Filippo

Given the deafening silence emanating from SBY over the past few years concerning corruption, inclusiveness, religious hatred, closing houses of worship, forced religious conversion etc., one might feel a bit like asking if Indonesian politicians give a damn for the electorate, understand democracy, and why it is the least horrible solution so far.

Maurice Gold

Indonesia still has a lot to learn on implementing democracy.

While I agree that the Indonesian government needs to improve its treatment of Papua for the good of the people living there, I do not agree that no one questions Indonesian sovereignty over the provinces of Papua and West Papua.

There are similar cases of occupation happening all over the world up to the present day.

Many were conducted without referendum or any legal justification. Some were pure invasions.

There is the case of the England subjugation of land held by the Irish and the American subjugation of the lands held by native Americans, Hawaiians and Samoans.

Australians took land from the Aborigines; the Catalan people dominate the Basque in Spain, the Israelis occupy Palestine, New Zealand has run roughshod over the Maori and the French maintain several colonies in Oceania. There are separatist movements everywhere.

There were many unfair acquisitions of land or cases of outright colonization in the past. Some have bene perpetuated until today.

Rio Rivai