FEATURE: Indonesia spreads the democratic word

From dictatorship to the world's third largest democracy - in a decade, Indonesia has undergone rapid political change, and now it wants to share what it has learnt with its neighbours.

Last Updated: Thu, 8 Jan 2009 15:45:00 +1100

Ten years after the fall of President Suharto, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has hosted a forum in Bali to spread the democratic message across Asia and discuss ways to promote democratic reform.

But across the Asia-Pacific, democracy is facing more than its share of strife.

Thailand is in turmoil, Indonesians themselves are apathetic about next year's elections, Burma continues to be under military rule, and Vietnam is a one party state.

"Democracy is a process which is never ending, a process constantly evolving, so we can always talk about democracy," said President Yudhoyono at the forum.

"Asia is unique - it has Asian values, western values and Islam. Democracy has universal values but it must also be mixed with local conditions."

Australia's prime minister, Kevin Rudd, is co-chair of the event, and his country has pledged funding to help build a democracy institute in Indonesia.

"This is an important initiative because it is the republic of Indonesia - a newly reformed democracy taking the message of democracy to the wider region and beyond," he said.

Thirty-two countries sent delegates to this first democracy forum, but Indonesia's president says the forum was not a place to preach or point fingers.

For as President Yudhoyono knows, ten years is all it took for Indonesia to attain its democratic potential in a region that frequently rejects trends toward freedom.

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