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Statement of Civil Society Coalition for Economic Justice
President Soesilo Bambang Yudhoyono Presence on the G20 Forum will be in Vain
IF only Generate New Debt and Unable to Fight for the Interest of Indonesian People
G20 High Level Forum will be held on 3-4 November 201, in Cannes, France. This meeting will
discuss several global issues toward global economic crisis and legitimacy of global financial
architecture that has been shocked by its failure on solving global economic crisis problem. Under
France leadership, the agenda of G20 is setting out pathways to cope with the unfinished global
crisis by reforming global economic system, strengthening financial regulation, getting over thefood price fluctuation, encouraging job creation, fighting against corruption, and strengthening
development agenda.
Though, developed countries on G20 tried to aim the priority at financial crisis solution faced by
Greece and Spain, which is predicted to give impact to European countries. With this situation, it
seems G20 forum will be used by developed countries (especially European Union and United
States of America) for rescuing their position from economic bankruptcy. On the other hand, G20
ignored the interest of global people majority who become much poorer and more slumped by
global economic system that has failed to fulfill their wealth.
The High Level Forum of G20 is held in the middle of economic crisis in Europe. The beginning of
the crisis is the accumulation of government debt burden and it becomes more deeply. One of G20
efforts to maintain the sustainability of economic order is by conducting fiscal consolidation to keep
government financial endurance from the next crisis.
Eventhough G20 is called as a the most influential world economy forum replacing G8 that has lost
its legitimacy, but the whole commitments still refer to global economic scheme which put market
and financial sector liberalization as the priority, accommodating international financial
institutions, and giving new debts for poverty alleviation. Alternative problem solving initiated by
non-G7 on G20, BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), has not yet broken down
domination of economy global power that using Washington Consensus way as the main solution.
Agreements achieved on G20 tend to give benefit for G7 countries and closed the opportunity of
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developing countries to formulate its own economy policy on settling poverty problem and welfare
distribution.
There will be no much changes that could be expected from G20 forum in Cannes on the upcoming
3-4 November 2011. There will be no policy penetration that could give new hope for global people
and poor countries in preparation for domino effect of US and Europe financial crisis.
In the globalized world economic system, mitigation of global financial crisis as the main agenda
from series of G20 forum will put into effect if G20 could support and give a democratic space and
also freedom for countries in the world to implement economic system that take sides on their own
national interest, but still get maximum benefit from every global advancement.
Some of national economic policy adopted from G20 agreement has worsened gender inequality in
Indonesia. Policy on trade liberalization and privatization of public service increasing work-loadand worsening women and child health degree, and also violating equal opportunity principal for
every people, man and woman, to enjoy their civil-political and economy-social-culture rights.
One of the concrete ways of privatization public service that has been conducted in Indonesia is
water privatization. World Bank and Asian Development Bank always put Indonesia in on-the-track
position for clean water and sanitation goal on MDGs, but privatization and financing through
public-private-partnership as solutions from those international financial institutions keep away
the poor people from access to right of clean water and sanitation.
Economically, Indonesias position is a developing country (middle-income country), but its
presence on G20 Forum does not fight for developing countries interest seriously, including
Indonesia national interest itself. Pragmatically, Indonesia takes G20 Forum as an arena to get new
negotiation on foreign debt, on behalf of poverty alleviation or handling climate change. Ironically,
eventhough the last two years of Finance Ministerial Meeting of G20 recommended debt reduction
but the government of Indonesia stays still to increase new debt with safe debt ratio as the excuse.
Indonesia tends to use its position on G20 as an image tool. Indonesian pride as a Chair Working
Group on Development Agenda and Co-Chair Working Group on Anti-Corruption is not reflected on
its effort to fight for those agendas in national level and G20 forum or other international forums
level.
On the development agenda, Indonesia looks reluctant to fulfill global commitment on poverty
alleviation, the Millennium Development Goals. Indonesia put the ambitious agenda on Masterplan
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of Economic Development as the priority, which does not integrate with Road Map to Accelerate
Achievement of MDGs in Indonesia. Therefore, it is not surprised that hard for Indonesia to achieve
the whole targets in MDGs. Moreover, according to Human Development Report 2011 launched
today, Human Development Index of Indonesia is declined drastically from 109th rank (position in
2010) to 124th rank (position in 2011).
On this G20 Forum, President Soesilo Bambang Yudhoyono will deliver a speech on development in
developing countries and promote PNPM (National Program on Community Empowerment) as the
best practice for development of developing countries. For us, that is very ironic. According to
critical study on PNPM, so many problems are found on PNPM. PNPM is a poverty alleviation
program using debt as one of the main financial sources. Several studies conducted by civil society
showed that most of financing for PNPM, especially PNPM for Village, used for infrastructure
development, such as village road and irrigation, and very minimum on people empowerment.PNPM also created new institutions, for instance Womens Saving and Credit Institution, when the
people actually has had and built their own institution. The construction of this new institution has
destroyed the existing institutions that have established before. PNPM also creates conflict among
people because the programs are not directly on target. The main cause is most of program
receivers are not poor people but village-elite people.
The fact is PNPM is not significance for village development in Indonesia. Moreover, it becomes new
burden due to debt that should be paid by Indonesian people. PNPM is also a development model
that not coming from peoples initiative but from donors initiative, which is the World Bank.
Planning of PNPM does not integrate with the existing national development planning, which is
Musrenbang, but it developed its own planning system.
In corruption eradication, the result is more astonishing. Today, media served various news on
political corruption on three pillars of government: executive, legislative, and judicative. Many
corruption rank institution put Indonesia as the champion in corruption.
Another thing that should be fighting of on G20 diplomacy is the abolition of death-penalty faced by
Indonesian migrant workers in Saudi Arabia and China. Saudi Arabia and China are two members of
G20 and many Indonesian migrant workers facing death-penalty in those countries. Why should
we put death-penalty problem on G20 Forum? For the information, on the G20 meeting in France in
the end of July 2011, France as the Chair of G20 officially stated protest to Saudi Arabia on Ruyati
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execution. From this, it is clear that actually France leadership could be used by Indonesia to
release Indonesian migrant workers who faced death-penalty.
According to those situations, Civil Society Coalition for Economic Justice stated that President
Soesilo Bambang Yudhoyono presence on G20 Forum would be in vain if Indonesia could not fight
for Indonesian interest itself and developing countries on G20 Forum. Being a member on G20 only
caused new problem and disaster for Indonesian people if the government persistently using global
economic agenda that has failed to give people welfare.
Jakarta, 2 November 2011
Civil Society Coalition for Economic Justice
INFID Koalisi Perempuan Indonesia KAPAL Perempuan Migrant CARE ICW KruHA
YAKKUM - ELSAM