Back in April 2005, soon after I began my first term as President of Indonesia, I addressed this very same audience in this same beautiful city. I am glad to be here again.

Last night I met the Indonesian community here in Sydney and I could see very well that they are happy being here. Thank you for receiving them well and making them feel that they belong. Thank you for making them a part of your great city and I hope that they will contribute something to its prosperity and to the colourful fabric of its culture.

And yesterday I had the honour of addressing the Australian Parliament. This privilege is rarely given to a foreign leader. It was therefore a historic moment for me and I was humbled by the graciousness with which the representatives of the great Australian people received my message. It was a message of friendship and confidence in our partnership.

I met with the Leader of the Opposition, too. And I understood his position on issues. There is a great deal of the bipartisan spirit prevailing in Australia today. That is good for Australia. It is also good for Indonesia.

My meeting with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was particularly fruitful. We agreed to intensify the Indonesia-Australia Leaders’ Dialogue: we are going to have an annual bilateral summit. We are going to enhance our people-to-people contacts. We will wage a fierce battle against people smuggling, to enhance our border management, and the attendant legal processes, including consular arrangements.

We decided to increase cooperation in research and tertiary education. We even agreed on regular sports exchanges and friendly games. Maybe we will learn the secret of Australia’s success in sports.

Above all, we agreed to enlarge and strengthen our business and economic linkages. And that is where you come in. 

Governments make policies, and we certainly strive to make wise policies that encourage entrepreneurship and good corporate governance. And Governments facilitate. But without you who are ...

Mittwoch, 10 März 2010 | Hits: 3972

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OPENING STATEMENT
H.E. DR. SUSILO BAMBANG YUDHOYONO
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA

AT INAUGURAL SESSION OF BALI DEMOCRACY FORUM
NUSA DUA, BALI 10 DESEMBER 2008

His Excellency Prime Minister Kevin Rudd,

His Excellency Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao,

Excellencies, Distinguished Participants,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am pleased and honoured 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 discussions 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. Asians 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 our ideas for cooperation to advance democracy.

For no matter what political systems 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 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 231 years from the Declaration of Independence, and French democracy 218 years 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 ...

Mittwoch, 10 Dezember 2008 | Hits: 3797

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