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 the food 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 1

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-load and 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 2

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

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