Opening Remarks by President of RI at The Meeting of Non-Aligned Movement, Bali, 25 May 2011

 
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OPENING REMARKS

BY

PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA

AT

THE OPENING SESSION OF THE 16th MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE AND COMMEMORATIVE MEETING OF THE 50th ANNIVERSARY OF THE NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT

BALI, 25 MAY 2011

 

 

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim,

Your Excellency Mr. Joseph Diess, President of the UN General Assembly,           

Your Excellency Dr. Nabil Al Araby, Foreign Minister of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Chair of The Non-Aligned Movement,                                                        

Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Heads of Delegation of Member and Observer Countries,

Heads and Representative of Observer Organizations of NAM,

Ministers and Heads of Delegations of Guest Countries and Organizations, Ministers, Members of Parliament,

Governor of Bali,                         

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

Welcome,

The Government and people of the Republic of Indonesia join me, in welcoming all of you to the island of Bali, Indonesia. 

 

Bali is a Hindu island at the heart of the world's largest archipelago, where Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists live in peace and harmony. I believe such "Unity in Diversity" is also what sustains the Non-Aligned Movement.

 

Indonesia is proud, to host the 16th Ministerial Conference of the Non-Aligned. I am pleased to commend the Arab Republic of Egypt for its stewardship of our Movement since 2009, and for carrying the distinguished baton of Chairmanship that goes back 50 years ago. 

 

Today, we celebrate half a century of our Movement's long struggle for a better world. As a founding member of the Non-Aligned, Indonesia is honored and humbled to be part of this largest movement for peace in history. As we mark our achievements, this is also a good time for all of us, to determine how the Non-Aligned can be a greater force for peace, justice and prosperity in the 21st century.

 

Indeed, our Movement can take pride in what we have achieved in the last 50 years. We have significantly grown from a Movement of states of 25 countries in 1961 to more than 120 countries, and counting. Today, we make up of around 60% of the states in the international system. Evidently, rather than keeping a distance from us, countries are drawn to and joining our Movement.

 

Our Movement did more than just avoiding or surviving the Cold War. We helped shape the world order, contained the spread of conflicts, and preserved and expanded peace where we could. We also successfully advanced decolonization by supporting the struggle of nations for liberation and self-determination. We effectively helped to end apartheid. We worked very hard, to advance a vision of a world of zero nuclear weapons.

 

We advanced multilateralism, and pushed for reforms of the United Nations. A United Nations that equally serves the interest of all nations, developed and developing, large and small, and we worked hard for and helped ensure the universal recognition of economic and social rights, as also part of fundamental human rights, and through all this, we altered the weight of the world, and changed the dynamics of the international system.

 

I have no doubt that world history would be quite different, without the Non-Aligned Movement. Without us, dangerous bipolarism would totally dominate the 20th Century, and the developing countries would be marginalized. But our good work is far from finished, and our Movement is far from perfect. The last 50 years have been full of swings - upward and downward. There were conflicts between our members that burdened us. There were times when we seemed to lose steam without clear direction, and there were times we shouted too loud, that we did not hear what the world was whispering.

 

I think one of the best lessons from the past and our future is this: it is not enough for our Movement just to be a "moral force". Our conscience must be a weapon that we can effectively use on a wide range of issues in the international agenda. The Non-Aligned already has the power of number - 120 member states. But how do we convert that power of number into collective influence? The size of our Movement alone does automatically translate into power. It is the weight of our political and socio-economic achievements, the quality of our activism and the power of our ideas that ultimately define our success as a Movement. 

 

Another lesson is that, confrontation may work on some occasions, but there are times when engagement and cooperation can achieve much better results. Our Movement has always been about the struggle, but it is also about finding solutions, and these days, solutions can best be found through engagement and international cooperation. We will need plenty of these lessons, as we navigate the brave new world ahead of us.

 

The bottom line is, every international and regional organization has had to adapt to the new global political and economic landscapes. 

 

This is true for the UN, for NATO, for OIC, for World Bank and IMF, for OPEC or APEC, for ASEAN, and for others, and this is certainly true to the Non-Aligned Movement. We have stepped into the second decade of the 21st century which is so different from the 1960s, when our Movement was founded. We do not have a name yet for this new world. Whatever we call it, it is clear that it is a world marked by rapid power-shifts. New power centers with growing economic, military and diplomatic resources are emerging. They are changing the weight of the world.

 

It is also a much more crowded and complex world, where the media, NGOs, civil society, the private sector, and individuals have all found their capacity, resources and influence multiplied. Ordinary people all over the world want to take their destiny, into their own hands. They want to take part in all decision-making processes that affect their lives. Indeed, most of the political events around the world that we see today are interplay of this phenomenon.

 

Today, a generation has risen who has neither experience nor memory of the Cold War. This generation will ask of our Movement: "What are we aligned FOR? What are we aligned AGAINST?"  That generation too, like us, will have to continue to connect the dots between 1961 and the 21st century. That is why, the best way for our Movement to be relevant is to be pertinent to today's challenges, and responsive to opportunities.

 

With regard to the challenges, let me say that progress and prosperity are still elusive in many parts of the world, and among members of our Movement. Global political and economic imbalances still persist, and can be the source of instability, and even though inter-state conflicts are declining, regional flashpoints still threaten world peace. The Arab-Israeli conflict remains unresolved. We are also seeing growing trend of resources competition, that may lead to resources conflict. Ethnic disputes and religious intolerance, including Islamophobia, are also on the rise. We also predict rising cases of terrorism and trans-national crime. Despite these complex challenges, our world is still full of opportunities. 

 

In fact, I would argue that the world situation today is much more conducive to the attainment of our long-standing objectives. There is plenty of new diplomatic space for us, to advance our cause. Today, relations between and among the major powers are relatively stable. They have begun to see cooperation, as the wiser alternative to rivalry. Long-established nuclear powers have taken meaningful steps, toward nuclear disarmament. Doors have been opened to the cause of disarmament, a cause to which our Movement has been dedicated from the very start.

 

Multilateralism is now more widely accepted as more prudent than unilateralism on matters of security. Diplomatic partnerships between nations and between regions are also proliferating. The spirit of regionalism is on the rise. That is why, here in the Asia-Pacific, we are building a regional architecture, based on dynamic equilibrium. A regional architecture where no single power predominates, and every nation is in a win-win relationship with all others. Meanwhile, all over the world, democratic values are gaining ground. There are now 123 democracies in the world, the highest number in history.

 

In the economic realm, the outlook is just as promising. The world economic pie is getting bigger, and the developing world is assuming a larger part of it. In fact, 75 % of growth in global demand is coming from the developing world, including emerging economies. In such a world of challenge and opportunity, we should be neither defensive nor dogmatic, in carrying our Movement forward. Now is the time for us to progress, not only with confidence and courage, but more importantly, with a forward looking mind-set, and with a win-win worldview.

 

If in 1961, our Movement was borne as a REACTIVE response to a world marked by bipolar pressures, in the 21st century our Movement can be much more PROACTIVE to help shape the new world. Thus, our Movement should have a new vision and approach.

 

- A vision and approach that will enable our Movement to fight for peace, justice, and prosperity in the 21st century.

- A vision and approach that will enable our Movement to promote democracy and good governance. 

- A vision and approach that will ensure, that the prosperity we achieve for our peoples will be equitable and inclusive.

To realize that vision, we in the Movement are called upon to take proactive measures in major areas.

 

First, our Movement can be a net contributor, to a culture of global peace and security.

 

We must encourage the major powers to maintain stable and cooperative relations. We must help to ensure that the seismic power-shifts do not lead to new strategic tension. Where possible, we should encourage a constructive process of cooperative security, so that enemies become friends, and friends become partners. In the tradition of the Non-Aligned, we also need to ensure, that better relations among the big powers do not take place at the expense of smaller states. This is why a win-win approach is totally necessary. We have to make common cause with the major powers, in the struggle to achieve total nuclear disarmament. We must encourage all nations to resolve disputes and conflicts through dialogue, negotiations and other peaceful means, and finally, we must never cease promoting dialogue among the faiths, cultures and civilizations where the voice of reason and mutual respect can be better heard above the din, created by the marketers of hatred, intolerance and terrorist ideologies.

 

At the global level, we must sustain our efforts at reforming governance, not only in the economic field, but also and especially in the security field. This means overhauling the UN Security Council, so that it reflects the reality of the world today. A world where emerging powers have so much more to contribute to global peace and security. This also entails the revitalization of the General Assembly, where the NAM's numerical superiority can be put to work, in the cause of peace and development.

 

Second, our Movement should be a net contributor to political development, promotion of democracy, and advancement of good governance.

 

The trend toward democratization will keep going. The demand for good governance will grow louder. The Movement should be at the forefront of a global political development process. We must not fail to hold dialogue with other players, engaged in governance at the global, regional and national levels. These include the media, the business sector, NGOs, civil society and the academia. We must take into account the views of all stakeholders, as well as their anxieties and their aspirations. This is so that, our Movement as a whole and its individual members, can better respond to people's demand for democratic governance.

 

The final point is, our Movement should be a net contributor to equitable global prosperity, where no nation should be left behind.

 

To address global economic challenges, we need an effective global partnership, based on already existing international agreements; a strengthening of multilateralism in world economic affairs, and a contract of partnership between the developed and developing world which I proposed at our Summit in Havana in September 2006. Developed and developing countries must do their part to ensure strong, sustain and balance growth of our economy. We must make every effort and work together to manage the world economy. We must earnestly push forward for the reform of the international financial architecture, by giving the developing world a greater voice, in the decision-making processes of these institutions. We must ensure financial flows for development. This is necessary for the full recovery of the global economy. We need to work together to develop and share the technological innovation, that is urgently needed in the developing world. On our part, we need to take development path that is driven by good governance with zero tolerance on corruption.

 

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,      

 

Though the world has radically changed and will keep on changing, let me assure you that there are things that do not change. Of course, we must change our methods and procedures, our strategies and our approaches. But we must never change our values. The ideals and principles we live by. The ideals and principles enshrined in the UN Charter, and in the Dasa Sila Bandung.

 

In the 21st century, that means we must wage peace so that there will be no more wars. We must fight for justice, so that people will never lose hope, and we must create prosperity, that is inclusive of all humankind. That means we must never let go of the Bandung Spirit.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

Finally, if we are faithful to the Bandung Spirit in all its purity, then we can be sure of this:

As we overcame the hurdles and challenges of the past 50 years, we will rise above greater challenges in the next half century, and as we accomplished so much in the past 50 years, insyaAllah we can look forward to another 50 years, that will be even more fruitful.

I thank you.

 

Asisten Deputi Naskah dan Penerjemahan,

Deputi Bidang Dukungan Kebijakan,

Kementerian Sekretariat Negara RI

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