YouSaid · the spoken record

Hassan WIRAJUDA

lines on the record

59

first

2004-09-24

most recent

2009-09-24

sittings or episodes

4

sources

un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

1. “As the world’s third largest pluralistic democracy, the fourth most populous country, the world’s largest Muslim nation, a country of tremendous cultural diversity and a member with a track record of serving in various peace initiatives of the United Nations, Indonesia has an important global constituency on the Council. Indonesia has served in more than 30 peacekeeping missions, starting with the very first, in the Middle East in 1957. Today, Indonesian soldiers and military observers are deployed in peacekeeping missions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Georgia.”

   2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)

2. “And even the wealthiest nations in the world cannot bear all the costs of global security. The privilege and burden of decision-making must be shared by all. Hence, we must empower the United Nations to serve as the effective tool of multilateralism that it was always meant to be. We must reform the United Nations comprehensively, including the Security Council, by making it more democratic, in terms of procedure and representation, in order to reflect today’s geographical realities. In this regard, it may be recalled that Australia last year proposed the inclusion of Indonesia as a permanent member on the Council. We appreciate Australia’s position. It has greatly encouraged us.”

   2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)

3. “We still have to make democracy work for us some more and to keep it working. This is what 230 million Indonesians devoutly wish, and they deserve no less. Moreover, no democracy is safe without being assured of a democratic environment at the global level. That environment cannot be created by unilateral action, no matter how mighty and well-intended. At the global level, democracy can be promoted only by democratic means, through multilateral institutions like the United Nations. If, as its detractors say, the United Nations is not an effective tool of collective security and development, this is only because it has been denied the support that it deserves from its strongest and most influential Members. But we need the United Nations to give legitimacy to the necessary use of force in the cause of collective security.”

   2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)

4. “With political fears allayed and investor confidence boosted, we look forward to 4.8 per cent growth this year, and 5.5 per cent next year. We can now wage a stronger battle against poverty. By consolidating our efforts to promote the rule of law, greater respect for human rights and effective regional autonomy as the main pillars of our reform, we are confident that we can overcome threats to our national unity and security, including communal violence, separatism and terrorism. We continue to strengthen our relations with all our neighbours. We have made a fresh start with Timor-Leste, and we are building a strong relationship. 13 We look forward to a future of bilateral peace, friendship and cooperation. This does not mean that we have solved all our problems.”

   2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)

5. “It was also our beacon towards reform; and reform has worked for us. Although the Asian crisis instantly doubled the number of Indonesians living below the poverty line, we have since been able to reduce the poverty rate to its pre- crisis level. We did this by shifting from a Government-driven poverty-reduction strategy to one of community empowerment. This effort required funding of more than US$1 billion, making it one of the largest such programmes in the world. Through fiscal controls that dramatically lowered inflation, we stabilized the prices of essential goods. Through social safety net programmes, we helped the poor to weather the crisis. By doing this, we denied the terrorists what could have been a dangerous mass base. Since then, consumer confidence has led our economic growth.”

   2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)

6. “The Emir of Qatar, speaking as Chairman of the Group of 77, told this Assembly at its 3rd meeting, “Political reform and people’s participation in decision-making are no longer an option but have become a definite necessity”. Hence, we are proud of this democracy of ours. It is the fulfilment of a universal human aspiration, and yet it is unique to us. It sprang from our native soil, a true child of our culture. It was not imposed from outside, at gunpoint. And it put to rest the debate on whether Islam and democracy can ever mix. As the country with the largest Muslim population, Indonesia has proven that Islam can be a bastion of democracy and social justice. Indeed, our deep sense of spirituality inspired our people to resoundingly reject money politics, corruption, terrorism and all forms of extremism.”

   2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)

7. “But whoever the new national leaders of Indonesia may be, they will have a clear and strong mandate from the people — not from the elite, not from the party bosses, nor from power brokers or vested interests — but from the people. This is the climax of a transition from authoritarian rule to a full- fledged democracy, a process that began six years ago in the crucible of the Asian crisis, which devastated our economy and mangled our socio-political system. We have thus become the full-fledged democracy that the founding fathers of our Republic long ago envisioned. This need for political reform is also felt by other nations.”

   2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)

8. “That was the third national political exercise that we had to carry out — not just once, but three times — in a period of six months, the previous two being the parliamentary elections and the first round of the presidential elections. All of them were peaceful, fair and democratic. Each of them was an enormous operation, covering some 6,000 islands in an archipelago with an expanse as wide as Europe’s, and involving millions of election workers attending to some 575,000 polling stations. As we coped with the massive logistical requirements of that undertaking, we were extended support and assistance by the United Nations and friendly countries. We are grateful for this. It will be some time before the official results of the vote are in.”

   2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)

9. “I am pleased to congratulate you, Sir, on your election as President of the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session. May I also pay tribute to your predecessor, Mr. Julian Robert Hunte of Saint Lucia, for having ably presided over our deliberations during the previous session of the General Assembly. Even as I speak, a magnificent transformation is being completed on the other side of the globe — in my country. Many of us in Indonesia have waited all our lives to witness this historic event: our people finally rising to take their destiny into their own hands. Exactly a week ago, some 125 million men and women trooped to the polling stations and chose the President and Vice-President who will govern in the name of 230 million Indonesians.”

   2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)