Indonesia has kicked off its annual forum on democracy, where government officials, civil society organizations, representatives of the private sector and youth try to find the right balance between development and inclusiveness.

The 11th Bali Democracy Forum (BDF) opened at the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center on Thursday, attended by over 470 delegates from 91 countries and seven international organizations. This year, the two-day event is convened in parallel with two other fora, the Bali Democracy Student Conference (BDSC) and Bali Civil Society and Media Forum (BCSMF).

At the opening session of the BDF, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said Indonesia embraced democracy just two decades ago in 1998.

“But Indonesian people needed more so launched Reformasi, or reform. This was because they needed democracy, transparency and good governance,” she said in her keynote address.

She said a democratic system allowed individuals to participate and thrive in the process of development and nation-building. She said the system would allow for inclusiveness, provide checks and balances and prevent corruption.

Suriname’s Foreign Minister Ydliz Deborah Pollach-Beighle said democracy in her country was about serving the people and improving the quality of life of every element of society.

“The government makes it its duty to provide for the people […] at the same time, we need to engage also the private sector and industry to achieve developmental growth,” she told The Jakarta Post.

Retno also stressed that the outlook for democracy in the Asia Pacific region remained positive despite the many challenges it confronted.

“The Economist Intelligence Unit’s democracy index, for example, notes that for the past 10 years the average level of democracy in Asia has increased from 5.05 in 2006 to 5.41 in 2016,” she said

Robert Schwarz, a senior project manager at Bertelsmann Stiftung, a foundation based in Germany, said Asia was a very diverse region, comprising consolidated democracies like Taiwan, South Korea and Japan and hardline autocracies like North Korea and China.

The foundation has formulated an index to measure the effectiveness of the transformation to democracy and an equitable market economy in a democratic transition, mostly in the developing world.

“Indonesia stands out as a country that has tried to have a balanced transformation toward democracy and an inclusive economy,” Schwarz told the Post, however, he acknowledged that the country had seen a slight decline in recent years, with the rise of Islamic political movements.

In a parallel session, civil society groups and the media convened in the BCSMF, where participants talked about problematic trends in democracy; addressing populism, identity politics and corruption.

The open forum also addressed the reality of hoax news, sensationalism and political bias in the media. The forum is expected to deliver its full report and recommendations on Friday.

On the sidelines of the forum, Retno had eight bilateral meetings, including with her Australian counterpart Marise Payne.

The ministers discussed the development of the Indo-Pacific concept and the engagement of the ASEAN Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management in the Rohingya refugee crisis. They also discussed the review process of Australia’s Middle East policy, which recently came under fire following Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s announcement that he was considering moving the Australian embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Payne also offered condolences to the families of the workers killed in Papua.

The first panel of the forum was proceeded by a moment of silence for the victims of the attack in which 19 PT Istaka Karya construction workers and one Indonesian Military (TNI) soldier were killed in Nduga regency, Papua.

“We strongly condemn this action, which was totally unacceptable, especially the targeting of innocent citizens,” Retno told reporters.

The West Papua Liberation Army (TPNPB) has claimed responsibility for the massacre, claiming that the workers were not civilians but military personnel.

Foreign Minister of Papua New Guinea (PNG) Rimbink Pato also expressed support for the Indonesian government.

“We may have issues but there are lawful means by which whatever the issues are can be addressed, and Indonesia has the full support of PNG of course along the border between Indonesia and PNG,” he said.

In her meeting with Pollach-Beighle, Retno signed an agreement on education and diplomatic-training cooperation. In addition, Suriname also asked Indonesia to invest in its palm oil industry and infrastructure projects.

Popular

RI, Australia strengthen partnership on taxing crypto assets

Analysis: Indonesia denies normalization with Israel to enter OECD

Citroen to produce electric cars in Indonesia