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Indonesia activists see little to celebrate in upcoming ‘democracy forum’

Ending direct elections for local government heads a 'setback' for democracy
Indonesia activists see little to celebrate in upcoming ‘democracy forum’

Activists boycotting a democracy forum this week in Bali, Indonesia, pose for a picture October 7. (Photo by Ryan Dagur)

Published: October 08, 2014 11:01 AM GMT
Updated: October 08, 2014 12:22 AM GMT

Activists from 11 human rights organizations in Indonesia will boycott an international democracy forum in Bali this week, protesting what they say has been an alarming setback for political rights in the Southeast Asian country.

The organizations were among 14 groups invited to participate in the Bali Civil Society Forum this week. The gathering is part of the larger Bali Democracy Forum taking place Friday and Saturday.

The forum, originally spearheaded by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, will be attended by international delegates and has been used by Yudhoyono’s administration to buttress Indonesia’s reputation as a burgeoning democracy.

Rights groups, however, say recent events show the country’s democratic future is far from certain.

“The state’s commitment to strengthening democracy remains a question,” Titi Anggraini, executive director of the Association for Elections and Democracy, or Perludem, said at a press conference in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Critics say Yudhoyono has failed to protect citizens’ political rights in the wake of controversial legislation, passed by the House of Representatives in September, which would strip the rights of citizens to directly elect their local government heads. The law instead puts the power in the hands of legislative councils.

“The important principle in democracy is public participation, which includes people’s involvement in choosing their leaders. However, President Yudhoyono’s regime eliminates it,” Anggraini said.

Many observers saw the surprise legislation as a form of retribution against President-elect Joko Widodo initiated by supporters of the man he defeated in July elections, former military general Prabowo Subianto.

Yudhoyono expressed disappointment after the house passed the legislation. On October 2, he issued a decree seeking to suspend the new legislation, saying that it was urgently needed to protect local elections slated for next year.

But Yudhoyono’s decree must be voted on by the House of Representatives—effectively allowing the government body that approved the controversial legislation in the first place to vote on its repeal.

Rights groups say Yudhoyono could have instead axed the legislation outright. Selly Martini of Indonesia Corruption Watch, one of the 11 organization’s boycotting this week’s democracy forum, called the president’s actions “only rhetoric”.

“The issue of the government regulations in lieu of a law to annul the [local election] laws is only an effort to create a good image for President Yudhoyono’s government, instead of upholding democracy,” she said.

However, the head of Indonesia’s Constitutional Court, Hamdan Zoelva, previously told local media that the president has no right to axe the controversial election law himself.

And Deputy Foreign Minister Dino Patti Djalal maintains that Indonesian democracy is pushing forward, despite any perceived setbacks.

“Every country that is represented at the Bali Democracy Forum has its own issues and Indonesia is no exception. It is not a perfect country,” he told The Jakarta Globe, defending Yudhoyono’s actions.

“We are showing the world that this can happen in a democracy… That we may have a setback, but that we can also bounce back.”

Yudhoyono leaves office October 20. This week’s forum, then, is a platform for the two-term president to burnish a more flattering image as Indonesia’s leader during a crucial point in the post-Suharto era. But Ray Rangkuti, a political analyst from the Indonesian Civil Society Circle, told ucanews.com that the activists’ refusal to attend should be a “serious warning” for the government.

Yudhoyono, he said, “is the first president who was chosen directly and he has felt the benefits of it. But then he leaves a bad legacy for his successors.”

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