Indonesia, 2001

On behalf of the

Indonesian delegation, I am pleased to congratulate

you, Sir, on your election to the presidency of the

General Assembly at the fifty-sixth session. We are

pleased that the stewardship of this session has been

entrusted to so capable a diplomat from a fraternal

Asian country, with which Indonesia has always

enjoyed the most cordial of relations.

I wish to preface my statement by expressing

once again, on behalf of the Government and people of

Indonesia, our deepest condolences and sympathy to

the Government and people of the United States with

regard to the massive tragedy that they suffered

recently, and have borne so admirably.

Indeed, international terrorism today looms on

the horizon as one of the major threats to human life

and civilization. The truth, of course, is that multiple

threats and challenges are an inherent and coexisting

feature of inter-State relations. We cannot grapple with

this threat and leave other threats to wreak havoc on

the world. It is the urgent and compelling task of this

world Organization to address them all, for each of

them has the potential to destroy a large part, if not all,

of the human race.

The threat of nuclear annihilation is still there. It

has by no means faded with the demise of the cold war,

as the campaign for nuclear disarmament remains

stalled. With conventional weapons, mostly small arms,

wars and other forms of mass violence are being

carried out in various parts of the world. Thus, whole

populations — involving millions — are being

displaced, maimed or killed, 90 percent of whom are

civilians, and the majority of them women, children

and the elderly.

In the Middle East, the killing of innocent

Palestinians continues even while Israeli forces

partially withdraw from occupied Palestinian towns.

For as long as the inalienable right of the Palestinians

to self-determination is being violated with impunity,

there can be no lasting peace in that part of the world.

In the economic sphere, we have not been able to

solve the basic problem of poverty in spite of the fact

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that we have the resources and the technical capability

to at least wage an effective war against this scourge of

humankind.

The economies of South-East Asia have just

begun to recover from the devastation of a global

financial crisis that erupted just a few years ago and

already we are facing the unwelcome prospect of its

possible recurrence. New international architectures

that would shield vulnerable economies from such a

crisis remain a distant dream. The global economic

environment is simply getting less hospitable to the

aspirations of the developing world for growth.

Without the resources and technology for sustainable

development, developing countries are rapidly losing

their natural resources, while the physical environment

of the world continues to deteriorate.

To us Indonesians, these global problems become

even more poignant as they are replicated in our

country and as they impact on the lives of our people.

In the financial crisis of 1997-1998, as the rupia

plummeted in value and factories and businesses closed

down, millions lost their jobs and were reduced to

abject poverty. Since then, our economy has begun to

recover. Last year, Indonesia enjoyed an economic

growth of some 5 per cent, in contrast to the 13.5 per

cent contraction that followed the onset of the financial

crisis in 1997. Also, in the year 2000, Indonesia

attained a level of trade that surpassed those achieved

before the crisis. However, the current global economic

downturn, compounded by the events of 11 September,

has lowered the expected target for economic growth to

3 per cent in 2001.

In the face of these realities, we need massive

direct investment flows in order to consolidate our

recovery and march steadily on the road of

development. We feel that the situation in Indonesia

today already merits the confidence of investors, but

we can barely make a good case for this in the light of

lingering threats to the sovereignty and territorial

integrity of our Republic.

Like many other developing countries — and,

indeed, some developed countries — Indonesia needs

to overcome the problem of graft and corruption in its

bureaucracies and in the corporate sector. The

deficiencies of our legal system and judiciary and the

past human rights record of our police and military

establishment have produced less than optimum

conditions for Indonesia’s economic recovery. These

are daunting challenges, as daunting as the global

problems that they replicate and reflect.

Yet, in confronting these national problems, I do

not despair, just as I do not despair in contemplating

the global challenges and problems of our time. I

believe that all these problems, global and national, can

be traced to a single common root — a deficiency in

human relationships — for wherever there is inequality

and it is not acceptable to the weaker party, there can

only be tension and conflict. Wherever the powerful

can get away with exploiting the weak, a sense of

outrage smoulders and there can be neither stability nor

peace. Wherever there is injustice and it is not

redressed, there arises a culture of vengeance.

If the problem is basically an imbalance in human

relationships, then the solution lies in the rectification

of that imbalance — in the recognition that all human

beings are of equal worth and have basically equal

rights before the law of God and human law. As they

are all equals, each is accountable for what he does to

any other and everyone’s common sense of justice is

satisfied.

This solution is not something I discovered on my

way to this forum. It is something that we all have

known for a very long time now, and we have been

calling it democracy. Against the expectations of many

outside — and, indeed, within —our own nation over

the past three years, and especially the last six months,

and in the midst of our financial crisis, Indonesia has

relentlessly pursued the difficult process of reform and

democratization. We have been able to manage

successive transitions of power in a democratic,

peaceful and constitutional manner.

Thus, Indonesia today stands proud as one of the

largest democracies in the world. As a nation with an

overwhelmingly Muslim population, we are the living

refutation of the erroneous notion that Islam and

democracy are incompatible. Islam has always stood

for the equality and fraternity of all human beings and

for the optimum exercise of the human will. If only in

that, we Indonesians have a natural affinity for

democracy.

The challenge for all of us is to ensure that

democracy works and that it does actually deliver a

better life for the people. In the case of Indonesia,

pivotal to this outcome is the recent introduction of

bold and far-reaching measures on the relationship

between the central Government and regional

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authorities in order to address the legitimate aspirations

of the societies in the region. Likewise, my

Government has made a democratic response to the

challenge of separatism in Aceh and Irian Jaya.

We will sincerely bring redress for their

grievances. We will meet their legitimate demands by

introducing special autonomy and a greater sharing of

resources, and guarantee respect for their culture and

ethnic identities. We will not, however, tolerate any

acts of terror or violence for separatist ends against the

territorial integrity and national unity of our Republic.

In this regard, Members of this Organization have

extended overwhelming support for Indonesia’s

territorial integrity and national unity, consistent with

the principle of the territorial integrity of States

enshrined in the United Nations Charter.

Through the strict and impartial enforcement of

recently passed anti-graft laws, we are cleansing our

bureaucracy and corporate sector of the taint of graft

and corruption. Through strict and equal application of

laws on economic reform, we assure every

entrepreneur an equal chance in his business

undertakings.

We are reforming the legal system and the

judiciary so that every individual stands equal before

the law, whoever his adversary in litigation may be.

Both the police and the military have undergone reform

and have proven themselves to be faithful to the

Constitution and to the democratic process. They have

the encouragement of my Government and the

Indonesian people as they continue reforming

themselves.

We will see to it, however, that those who have

perpetrated human rights violations, including those

who carried out the gross human rights violations in

East Timor in the wake of the popular consultation, are

brought to justice. Thus, immediately after assuming

office, President Megawati Soekarnoputri signed an

amending presidential decree that would enable,

starting next month, an ad hoc human rights court to

adjudicate cases of human rights abuses prior to and

following the popular consultation.

These are the main lines of our democratic

response to the many and formidable challenges that

Indonesia must contend with. I have no illusions that

they will be met without difficulty and occasional

setbacks, but I have faith in the rightness of working

for human relationships that are based on the equality

of individual human worth. It is the decent, enlightened

thing to do. I therefore have no doubt that, ultimately,

these measures will yield sufficiently positive results to

move us forward on the road of development.

I am no less confident that the democratic

response will be just as effective in addressing the

global challenges of our time. Consider the problem of

armed conflicts in various parts of the world. The use

of violence against other human beings, whether

carried out through nuclear weapons or through small

arms, is an assertion of a view that those others have no

equal right to life. That is why violence is escalating

everywhere and that is why there are terrorists —

madmen who regard the lives of innocent people as

worthless compared to their political agenda. In a

democratic setting, where everyone is committed to

equality and every human life is as precious as any

other, violence cannot thrive, certainly not on a

massive scale.

If the nuclear disarmament agenda has not been

moving forward, it is because the nuclear Powers enjoy

a real advantage over everybody else and those that are

nuclear-capable strive to become nuclear Powers

themselves. Inequality thus becomes an incentive for

nuclear proliferation. In a democratic setting, that

incentive is not available.

The same is true with respect to the endeavours to

reform the United Nations, particularly the Security

Council. So long as the present permanent members

see others as not equal to themselves and act on that

basis, there will never be equitable representation on

the Council. To say that we are reforming the world

Organization in order to make it more democratic is to

put the cart before the horse. First, let us all embrace

democracy and then it will not be difficult to reform

the United Nations.

In the economic sphere, the fundamental

challenge is simply to create a level playing field for

all nations, whether it be in trade or international

financial flows. We may all be paying lip service to the

sovereign equality of all nations, but if a reality check

shows that multilateralism is on the wane, that in fact

means that a good number of developed nations do not

really believe that the developing countries thus

deprived are their equals.

International financial flows for development will

resume, the debt burden of poor countries will be eased

and barriers to the exports of developing countries will

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be lifted if and when the entire developed world

sincerely regards the developing countries as true

equals, and not as recipients of charity. Since people in

developing countries, particularly those that are most

vulnerable, are down today, they need a helping hand

to raise them to a position commensurate with their

dignity as equal human beings. In this regard, a special

case could be made for the teeming millions in the

countries of Africa, a continent that has already given

so much of itself to the rest of the world.

The principle of equality among all human beings

must be applied as well in the use of natural resources

and its profound impact on the environment. It would

be the cruellest form of inequality if the present

imbalances in the use of resources among nations were

left unaddressed and if the present generation were to

use the earth’s resources and leave nothing to sustain

future generations of humanity.

This yearning for democracy has been with us for

a long time. It is the spirit behind every reform

movement, the French and American revolutions and

the struggle of colonized countries for independence,

Indonesia among them.

This is the spirit to which the first generation of

leaders of Asia and Africa gave voice in Bandung in

1955. It guided the founding and the growth of the

Non-Aligned Movement and brought about the demise

of apartheid.

In my region, South-East Asia it gave rise to the

birth and growth of the Association of South-East

Asian Nations (ASEAN), just as it earlier ushered in

the founding and enlargement of the United Nations. It

is what we need today to reform the United Nations, to

make it a more effective instrument of global peace and

development. It is what we need to translate into

concrete reality the provisions of the Millennium

Declaration. And, indeed, the democratic spirit is what

we need in order to wage an effective struggle against

the dark forces of international terrorism. Without that

spirit, we can only fail.

The best course, therefore, would be to launch

collective action on the basis of the United Nations

Charter. For this war against international terrorism to

be able to cover all fronts and to be sustainable and

imbued with long-term legitimacy, it is imperative that

the United Nations play an active and primary role.

The global campaign should be complemented at the

regional level by coordinated efforts such as those

launched by ASEAN just over a week ago. In that way,

we will ensure that our response to terrorism is a

democratic one.

Indonesia has consistently emphasized the role of

the United Nations in addressing the unfolding

developments in Afghanistan. It therefore welcomes

the adoption yesterday by the Security Council of

resolution 1378 (2001), for this development represents

manifest recognition of the need to enhance political

and diplomatic efforts to find a comprehensive solution

to the Afghan crisis. At the same time, however, it is

important to underline that the role of the United

Nations can only be to support the efforts of the

Afghan people themselves, most notably in the

establishment of a new and transitional administration

that is broad-based, multi-ethnic and representative of

all the Afghan people. For its part, Indonesia is

committed to supporting the United Nations in these

noble endeavours. Indonesia stands ready to contribute

to any future peacekeeping operations needed to

support peace-building in Afghanistan.

To my mind there is no question of whether the

democratic response will work as a way of resolving

this problem and all the other global problems of our

time. Nothing else will work. The question is whether

we are courageous, sincere and enlightened enough to

apply it.

History, it has been said, is a race between

enlightenment and catastrophe. Let us become

enlightened now, before catastrophe overtakes us.