Indonesia, Turkey Crucial for Democracy in Islamic World
By Peter Dhondt
BRUSSELS, Jun 19 (IPS) – People in Europe and the United States may tend to associate Islam with immigrants, autocratic regimes in the Middle East and political violence. But many more Muslims live in democratic countries in Asia, where political developments are less spectacular and not as headline-grabbling, but as decisive.
"The peaceful transition of Indonesia is phenomenal, and we absolutely need this experiment with democracy to succeed", said former Malaysian deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim.
Anwar, a key opposition figure in Malaysia and is with the People’s Justice Party (Parti Keadilan Rakyat), spoke here on Tuesday at a discussion event in the 'Asian Voices in Europe' seminar series, organised by the European Policy Center with the Japan-based Sasakawa Peace Foundation.
Since Sep. 11, 2001 and even more following the 2004 and 2005 terrorist attacks in Madrid and London, European interest in political developments in the Islamic world has grown. But that does not really apply to South and South-east Asia, although Indonesia, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh have more Muslim citizens than any country in the Middle East.
That blind spot keeps people from developing a more balanced view of mainly Muslim societies that are democratic as well.
Indeed, Indonesia, where majority of its more than 240 million people are Muslim, is the country to watch as a last resort of democracy in the region given what appears to be a trend away from openness and democratic processes.
"In most other countries, we are now witnessing the fragility of the so-called democracies", said Anwar. "The Philippines is plagued by rampant poverty and corruption, which means that the country remains extremely volatile. Thailand (which had a military coup in September 2006) shows how democracy can be hijacked. In Malaysia, we do not have one single newspaper, radio or television or network that is free.”
“Democratic development in South-east Asia is gloomy. We are left with Vietnam, which is opening up a little bit, and with Indonesia, which emerged after 30 years of dictatorship (in 1998)."
"(But) Even in Indonesia, democracy will not be sustainable if the enormous challenges of poverty and corruption are not tackled”, Anwar thinks. “Countries need much stronger institutions, free and fair elections, free media and an independent judiciary. We need all of it; I do not believe in 'soft democracy' that would respect 'Asian values'."
Anwar argued that the international community needs to support Indonesia where it can on its way to reform. And Indonesia itself, which used to be a dictatorship under Suharto until he was ousted amid public protests in 1998, will have to change fundamentally.
"Democracy without sound macro-economics and accountability of those who govern is a recipe for disaster. And this important experiment needs to succeed, just as Europe needs Turkey to succeed in remaining democratic,” explained Anwar, who was freed in 2004 after years behind bars following conviction on corruption that his camp says were trumped-up charges by the government of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
Over the past years, the Turkish government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his conservative AKP party showed that Islamic parties can rule without taking down democracy. Bur Erdogan has to carefully steer clear of provoking the secular Turkish Army to intervene.
Shada Islam, a Pakistani journalist based in Brussels, agreed that a lot of Asian countries are looking at Indonesia and Turkey. “Turkey is an experiment that neither Europe nor Turkey should fail. And the country has become an example for Islamic Asia.”
How to confront extremist Islamists? And what can Europe do? Anwar says that he is not a man of compromise. “We should be tough with terrorists. And one should not compromise on the basic principles of democracy. But we must engage Islamic parties and argue with them, for fear of pushing them towards more extremism. I always refer to the high objectives of Islam: freedom of conscience, freedom of expression, the sanctity of life and respect of property. It all forms part of the sharia (Islamic religious laws).
But Anwar also cautions the west against using double standards. “Europe and the US first of all have to be consistent. If they apply the same standards to all countries and abide by the rules themselves, I am sure that Islamic people will not reject their requests.” (END/IPSAP/PD/JS/190607)
