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OPENING STATEMENT
H.E. Dr. SUSILO BAMBANG YUDOYONO
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE INDONESIA
AT THE INAUGURAL SESSION OF
BALI DEMOCRACY FORUM
NUSA DUA, BALI 10 DESEMBER 2008
Bismillahirahmanirahiim
Assalamu’alaikum Wr. Wb.
Your Majesty Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah
His Excellency Prime Minister Kevin Rudd,
His Excellency Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao,
Excellencies, Distinguished Participants,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am pleased and honored to welcome all of you to the island paradise of Bali. Bali is known the world over for its breathtaking landscape, but it also has a beautiful tradition that can be described as a culture of peace, tolerance and brotherhood.
We are gathered here to begin an important new regional initiative: the Bali Democracy Forum!
This Forum is important for several reasons. To begin with, this is the FIRST inter- Governmental Forum in Asia about democracy. The region has had countless discussion at non-Governmental levels on democracy, but this is the first time that a home-grown, Asia wide dialogue among Government officials is taking place on the important subject of democracy.
A region-wide discussion on democracy is anything BUT irrelevant. Asian comprise two-thirds of humanity; own 35 percent of the world economy; and live in 30 percent of the world’s surface. We are very encouraged at the scope and level of participation of Asian Governments at this Forum. Several decades ago, for a variety of reasons, a meeting like this would not be possible. Today, 32 countries from the vast continental and maritime Asia representing various political systems and different levels of economic development are represented here today. With such extensive participation, we can comfortably assert that this is an entirely Asian process-from Beirut to Beijing, from Ulan Bator to Wellington.
Perhaps one reason for the great interest in this Forum is the unique approach we have taken.
We have all come here as equals. We are not trying to impose a particular model on any of us. We are not here to debate on a commonly agreed definition of democracy-for which I believe there is none. We have come here not to preach, not to point fingers. Indeed, we have come here to share our respective experience, our thoughts and or ideas for cooperation to advance democracy.
For no matter what political system we adopt, or what parts of Asia we come from, or what cultural legacies we boast, I believe what brings us together in this Bali Democracy Forum is our common recognition that a democracy remains a work in progress. There is no such thing as a perfect democracy. Democracy is a never ending journey. Remember: it took British Democracy 792 years from the Magna Charta, American Democracy 218 yeas since the French Revolution, to get to where they are now. And even today these democracies are still evolving.
This is certainly true for Indonesia, where democracy has been an endless process of soul-searching and trial-and-error. Since our independence in 1945, we have tried out a series of political systems. We experienced a liberal democracy that eventually collapsed. We experimented with Guided Democracy, under President Soekarno. We adopted Pancasila Democracy, under President Soeharto. We went through an authoritarian phase for several decades. All these systems turned out to be problematic.
Our present democracy is now 10 years old, born in the aftermath of a financial crisis that gave birth to the reformasi movement. We have made much progress in our democratic transition, but there is still much more to be done, and we will continue to evolve our democracy, drawing on lesson from the past.
In truth, our democratic experiment has been anything but easy. Indeed, it has been painful. We went trough periods of instability, crisis, paralysis, uncertainty, conflicts, regression, self-doubt, polarization. There was never any guarantee that we would be Balkanized – broken-up to little pieces.
But we survived. We overcame. Our people kept their faith in democracy, despite all its imperfections and idiosyncrasies. As a result, Indonesia today is better, stronger, and more united.
And along the way, we leaned many things. We learned that in the wake of every challenge we faced-be it terrorism, ethnic conflicts or economic crisis –our response, our instinct has always been to strengthen, not lessen, democracy-what we would call a “democratic response”.
We learned that democracy is anything BUT easy, and takes a lot of hard work and getting used to. It demands that we evolve an appropriate political culture to nourish it.
We learned that the best way to consolidate a democracy is by strengthening its institutions, and by subordinating even the high and mighty to the supremacy of the law.
We learned that in Indonesia democracy effortlessly goes hand-in-hand with Islam and modernity.
We learned democracy is best served when we enhance the people’s political participation, and when we enact policies that bring the greatest benefit to the greatest number.
And we learned that the health of a democracy is very much linked to the concepts of tolerance, pluralism, and civic culture.
These lessons have been relevant to our democratic development. Bu we are also eager to learn from others with similar or entirely different experiences.
Ultimately, we have to learn from one another. That is the essence of the chosen theme for this Forum, that is: Building and Consolidating Democracy : A strategic Agenda for Asia. “
Our collective ability to advance democracy will shape the face of Asia in the years and decades to come. It will also determine what I believe will be Asian Century.
In recent years, we are seeing a seismic shift in the international system. The old power structure-previously dominated by the West—is giving way to a new one. This is manifest in the present global financial crisis, which demonstrates the vulnerability of the West as well as the important role of emerging marketing the unfolding 21st century global economic order. And in this global shift, Asia—with its huge population, large market, growing middle-class, social dynamism, enormous natural resources and newfound confidence-with all this, Asia is rising.
The rise of Asia in the 21st century will still be determined by our ability to meet the challenge of peace, and the challenge of development. But our fate will also be increasingly determined by the challenge of democracy. Our ability to meet this democratic challenge will be critical because unlike the 20th century which was the century of hard power, the 21st century will be the century of soft power. And much of this soft power will be sourced in our democratic development.
I do not believe in the nation that “democracy is not for Asia”. Many of democracy’s success stories have occurred in Asia. And while the Greeks get the credit for inventing the term “democracy”, democratic practices were found pervasively in many Asian societies for centuries, including here Indonesia.
There are many records of the practice of pluralism, consultation, tolerance, consensus-building, mutual accommodation, egalitarianism, protection of minority rights throughout Asia.
We in Indonesia can relate to this reality very well, since we are on the crossroads of civilizations and I mean that not only in a geographical sense. Indonesia is a unique blend of Islamic, Oriental and Western civilizations. Hindu and Buddhist influences came to our people in the third century. Islam arrived in the 13th century, and western civilization came in the 17th century, first in the form of colonialism but later in the form of modern nationalism. Over the centuries, we absorbed influences from those civilizations. There is always the possibility that these influence collide. But our democracy is providing a home for these civilization influences to blend harmoniously.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
This Bali Democracy Forum came forth because we realized the need for an organized learning process-a comprehensive dialogue on democracy. A high level dialogue that is wider, more inclusive and more focused than any that has been attempted before.
Such a dialogue entails exchanges in experiences and best practices that will help develop and refine notions of democratic governance. Each participating country can then apply these nations in its own distinctive way on its unique situation. Because this dialogue will be a sustained one, it will have to be supported by an institutionalized body of scientist of various disciplines.
The Bali Democracy Forum shall not be mistaken for an exclusive dialogue of democracies. It is inclusive and it aims to promote cooperation among stages in the development of social and political institutions necessary for democratic governance.
For that reason, this Forum will discuss a number of issues that are relevant to democratic development : such as regular and genuine elections; a multi-party system in a pluralistic and tolerant society; effective parliaments; an independent judiciary; the rule of law; protection and promotion of human rights; good governance; creating an active and vibrant media; benefit of an open and competitive economy that ensures social justice for all; forging strong and dynamic civil society; the role of a professional military in a democratic society, just to name a few.
These are indeed critical issues to any democracy and to countries undergoing democratic transition. They are relevant to how we address a key challenge: how to connect democracy and governance-something that Indonesia has also been grappling with. The failure to connect with governance has caused many democracies to falter or even crumble. The success of our effort to promote democracy will much depend on our ability to ensure that democracy does not run ahead of good governance, since they should go together.
I am also pleased to inform this forum that later today I will go though the Jimbaran Hill Campus of the University of Udayana o inaugurate the Institute for Peace and Democracy.
An independent non-profit organization, the Institute will support the Forum by organizing workshop, conducting studies and research, networking with related organizations and institutions, and publishing papers and periodicals.
We have thus begun a day meaningful activities by which we observe a watershed event in modern political history. It is no coincidence that as we launch the Bali Democracy Forum today, we also mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. There can be no better time than this day for launching a forum that is dedicated to the promotion of democracy. I will have every hope, and confidence, that this Forum will grow, and will contribute to our respective democratic development and to the stability and cooperation of our region.
For democracy is nothing if it is not about the people’s exercise of one of their most basic human rights-the right to be their own sovereigns. Only through the exercise of that right can all the other human right be promoted and protected.
Your Majesty,
Excellencies,
Our basic role as leaders in a democracy is to serve the people. It is my fervent hope that through the Bali Democracy Forum, through the fostering of effective servants of our peoples that we already are.
And finally, by saying Bismillah Hirrahmanir-rahim, I take great pleasure in declaring in this Bali Democracy Forum open