Monday, November 5, 2007

PARADOX NATION

Maybe the most paradoxical nation in the world is Indonesia. Everything in this country is a contradictory.

Indonesia has been elected as the leader of UN human right body. Of course, lots of things have changed since there was a shift of power in Indonesia but the changings are not significant enough to give Indonesia this kind of responsibility. Less state's power abuse, sure it does but human right is not only in physcal abuse but also in the right to gain self emancipation politically, socially, culturally, and economically.

Politically, this restriction is not obvious but in the substantial phase, discrimination to political access is still exist in Indonesia. Not everybody has the ability to be part of any political power without finacial back up. This practice is a major issue since most of Indonesian does not have this kind of support since they live in poverty. This mean that the access has been neglected by economical capability. The problem does not stop here, lack of financial ability will cause them the opportunity to have a better education and health service. The result? Absolute poverty. And poverty is one of the major issue in the war againts discrimination.

Like it or not, Indonesians are still in learning process in how to live civilizely in a democratic atmosphere which give Indonesia a status of apprentice. There is no way a mere apprentice could lead an enormous movement where even the mentor does not give a high value to the subject.

There is another paradox in Indonesia recently. Indonesia will held UNFCC conference in Bali in December 2007. Just the other day, local high court in Medan has discharged the lower court decesion in illegal logging case. Adelin Lis, the suspect, with his PT. KNDI has been freed from all of his legal conviction. The higher court decide that all of attorney's accusations are not proven and the defendant are free of all charge. The only guilt that Adelin Lis done is administrative failure and it's not a crime.

What they considered as administrative failure has added Indonesia's sin as one of the world leading carbon producer. Thousands of hectares of forest had been swept away by PT. KNDI in Mandailing Natal District. The enourmous lost will reduce Indonesia' rain forest conservation to a dangerous limit. The economic value of this Industry, in the long run, does not enough to justified its practice.

Indonesia should do what Uruguay does. Instead of deforesting their rain forest, Uruguay plants more and more trees to substitute their lost. In this project they are able to gain economic benefits in carbon trading.

These paradoxes are only a small examples of Indonesia's inconsistency in their reformation which done only in surface level. The biggest question is not who should be blame for this but will we keep on doing this?





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