Bali Democracy Forum opens in Indonesia

INDONESIA: Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono opened the second Bali Democracy Forum on Thursday with a call for more equitable growth after the global financial crisis.

Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and senior officials from more than 20 countries attended the start of the two-day gathering at a luxury beachside resort on the tourist island of Bali.

Under the broad theme of “promoting synergy between democracy and development in Asia”, the two-day forum is the second in an initiative launched last year by the Indonesian Government.

In his keynote address, Yudhoyono said that as the world clawed its way out of financial turmoil, economies had to restructure in a way that protected the “poor and weak”.

“The crisis has forced the world to conduct restructuring that is more democratic. One of the consequences (of the crisis) is the surge in demand for more inclusive growth,” he said.

He said representative, accountable government would be “hollow” without development.

“Many have the opinion that democracy is not the ultimate objective. The ultimate objective of democracy as well as development is creating prosperity for the people,” he said.

Hatoyama said elections this year in India, Indonesia and Japan testified to the health of democracy in the region. But he said challenges remained in countries like China, Myanmar and North Korea.

There were “great expectations” that Beijing would “continue to make progress as a responsible power on the issues of democracy and human rights”.

He said Japan would “continue to encourage rather than impose” democratic change in Myanmar, and called for the junta to ensure elections scheduled for next year are free and fair. Japan would also continue to work through the six-party talks — which also group the two Koreas, Russia, China and the US — to encourage Pyongyang to “join the trend in Asia and elsewhere” for greater openness and democracy. Nusa Dua, Thursdday, AFP