Opening Statement of President of RI at The Bali Democracy Forum IV, Bali, 8 December 2011
OPENING STATEMENT
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA
AT
THE BALI DEMOCRACY FORUM IV
NUSA DUA, BALI
8 DECEMBER 2011
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Bismillahirrahmanirrahiim,
Assalamu'alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,
May Peace Be Upon Us,
Om Swastyastu
Your Excellency Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Co-chair of this Bali Democracy
Forum,
Your Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan Brunei Darussalam,
Your Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of the Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka,
Your Excellency Sukhbaatar Batbold, Prime Minister of Mongolia,
Your Excellency Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani, Prime Minister of the State of Qatar,
Your Excellency Xanana Gusmao, Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste,
Your Excellency Jejomar Binay, Vice President of the Philippines,
Your Excellency Bülent Arınç, Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey,
Distinguished guests and participants,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
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I am pleased to extend a very warm welcome to all of you to Indonesia and to the fourth Bali Democracy Forum. Indonesia is proud to once again host this important Forum. I thank all the leaders who have kindly joined us today, including the co-chair of this year's Forum, Your Excellency Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. I also extend our gratitude to all delegations and observers for your active and valuable participation.
The Bali Democracy Forum has grown significantly since it was first established
in 2008. Ours is the first inter-governmental forum
about democracy in Asia. The attendance of the Bali Democracy Forum, as has been said by Foreign Minister of Indonesia, has grown from 39
participating countries and international organizations during the first
meeting in 2008, to 82 today. Moreover, I take pleasure in highlighting that
the number of officials at the Head of State and Government level this year has
jumped to 8, from 3 in each of the past occassions. I am confident that this
number will continue to grow in the future.
The Bali Democracy Forum has become a premier forum for countries in the region
to share constructive views, ideas and lessons of democracy,
without judgment or imposition. It provides room for everybody to take part
without the burden of pretension.
Recent events around the world have made our work here all the more
significant.
In Southeast Asia, Myanmar held elections earlier this year and is now
advancing its political transition as part of its roadmap to democracy. We
express our support for Myanmar as they continue to advance those
reforms and democratic development, particularly to achieve everlasting peace
and reconciliation.
Perhaps the most significant development is the events in North Africa and the
Middle East,
what is now as the Arab Spring, which have produced
rapid political changes that none of us predicted. Like a genie out of its
bottle, it unleashed forces that changed societies forever. People there are
demanding more political space and greater participation in determining their
future. It shows that effective governance needs the support of civil society.
It is still too early to determine how these political changes will transpire.
Based on our own experience in Indonesia, it is safe to assume that in the
early years, things will be more difficult before it gets better. Without in
any way sounding pessimistic, it must be said that there is no guarantee of
success for any country embarking in political change. Change can be for the
better or for worse. And democracies around the world usually has 4 evolving
scenarios, they
can either improve, stagnate, decay, or fail. This means
that democratic success has to be built, earned and improvised every step of
the way. Indeed, elections are only one of the tools of democracy, and building
a mature democracy takes a lot more than just holding elections.
The remarkable political changes that are taking place reinforce the salient
points of what we have been discussing in the last 4 years. Let
me try to highlight what we expect out of democracy.
To begin with, democracy must bring greater freedom. It should provide ample
space for citizens to live his or her life in freedom,
freedom of religion, of association, of expression.
But freedom has many dimensions, and we need to
faithfully promote each of them. When Indonesia declared our independence in
1945, we finally gained political freedom for our citizens from colonialism,
but for some time after that, our people still lived under the tyranny of
poverty, ignorance and backwardness, a condition absent
of economic freedom. This made our newfound political freedom incomplete and
dangerously lopsided.
Furthermore, that freedom is also not absolute. It has limits. It cannot be
used to infringe on the rights of others. It should not be used to promote
hatred, conflict or war. This is why we believe that freedom must be coupled
with tolerance and rule of law, for without them
freedom leads to unbridled hatred and anarchy.
More than just bringing freedom, democracy should also bring about peace. We
are all aware of the theory of "democratic peace", based on the assumption that
democracies do not wage war against one another. But there are ample cases
where new democracies become burdened by rising conflicts, which make peace
more elusive. We experienced this in Indonesia in the early years of democratic
transition, where we witnessed the proliferation of communal conflicts in
certain areas during certain times.
Today, peace and stability reign throughout Indonesia. Even so, we remain
vigilant as Indonesia is not totally free from the prospect of new communal
conflicts flaring up. And this is a problem that is also faced by other nations
that are undergoing democratic transitions. This is also why any democratic
transitions must include efforts to systematically provide built-in protection
of human rights. The more we guarantee human rights for our citizens, the more
durable our democracy will become.
Apart from bringing freedom and peace, democracy must bring about moderation.
This is important,
because, as has often happened, democracies can give rise to extremism and
radicalism of all sorts. Indeed, extremists are usually tempted to misuse
democratic openings for their own gains, without actually ever believing in the
merit of democracy. This is something that can happen in western democracies as
well as Asian, African, or Latin democracies. Usually, we cannot
stop or restrict these radical voices, but if they go unchecked they can
eventually lead to the erosion of democracy. We must never shy from pushing
back by ensuring that the voices of reason and moderation constantly prevail as
mainstream trends in our societies. Indeed, one of the points in the Action
Plan of the recent ASEAN Summit in Bali was to promote a global coalition of
moderates as a necessary measure for world peace.
More than freedom, peace, and moderation,
democracy must also bring about progress. This is indeed a challenge for many
democracies;
ensuring how democracies translate into positive tangible public goods. This is
also going to be the critical challenge facing Arab Spring in the short term,
how to speedily build democratic institutions while providing the kinds of
governance that are needed for their people to pull through during difficult
socio-economic conditions. In the early years of transition, the people can
become impatient and more demanding. They want to see quick fix solutions,
which are often hard to come by. Pleading for patience sometimes is not enough.
And the best medicine is usually bold, even painful, moves
for reforms that would improve living standards, raise employment and quality
growth. Do not forget, democracy is in the business of hope. We
have an obligation not to let that hope down.
And finally, democracy must bring about, well, democracy.
I say this because there are cases when democracies lead to more tyranny and
oppression. Authoritarian mindsets can prosper in democratic societies. The
fact is democracy cannot survive without democrats. Which is why it is
important for us to constantly cultivate a democratic mindset among our people.
A dream scenario is for the people to have unshaken faith in the democratic
system no matter what they think of the politicians and political leaders.
In a perfect world, democracy brings all these things together. But we do not
live in a perfect world. We live in an imperfect world where things do go
wrong, where the good is often trampled, and hope is often wasted.
I am convinced that each of us, no matter what the political system and
historical background, wishes to see the best for our peoples. In the 21st
century, this means one thing, we must address and
live up to the aspiration of our people. When there is disconnect between the
leaders and the wishes of the people, politics will become dysfunctional.
Each of us will need to respond differently to our people's aspirations, but
respond we must. This is especially so as we are facing a totally different
social and political landscape in the 21st century marked by the phenomenal
growth of social media, which means that our citizens opinions and aspirations
have become much more potent than before. Indeed, the Arab Spring transition
represents by far the best demonstration of the power of average citizens to
produce change, armed with Facebook and Twitter and smartphones. I believe that
dealing with the omnipresent rise of social media in our society will be the
most important intellectual and practical challenge for 21st century
democracies.
And beyond the instrument of voting, there are plenty of new tools that will
allow us to find out what the people think and desire. In my Presidential
office, for several years we have instituted a PO Box, email and text service
for any of our citizens to lodge a complaint, express concerns,
and suggest ideas that go directly to my office. We employ dozens of people
working round the clock to collect and highlight these public aspirations. I
have found this method to be yet another good way to absorb public aspirations
and to gauge both their positive and negative sentiments. If upon further
investigation these complaints turn out to be with some merit, we will process
them accordingly.
Finally, if I may say so, let me state that 2011 will be remembered as the year
of transitions.
We wish all of them well. We know how difficult it is, and we ask that they
have strong faith in the democracy that they are nurturing. Many of them will
need help, and
some have actually asked for help, but I believe some
will also need some space to do their hard work. We should respect their wish
if it is so. Every democracy has the right to make their own decisions, to
chart their own future, and also to make their own mistakes. After all, this is
the necessary process of trial and error that is essential for democracies to
grow and mature.
And if we have faith in what we do, and we stay the course, I am certain that
we will all see light at the end of the tunnel, and vindicate the hopes of
millions that are pinned upon us.
Now,
by seeking for the blessings of God the Almighty, and by saying
Bismillahirrahmanirrahim, I declare the
Fourth Bali Democracy Forum officially open. Thank You.
Wassalamu'alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.
Om Shanti ShantiShantiOm.
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Asisten Deputi Naskah dan Penerjemahan,
Deputi Bidang Dukungan Kebijakan,
Kementerian Sekretariat Negara RI