Indonesia and Democracy, Separatism and Stability

"Sometimes what's right isn't as important as what's profitable." - Trey Parker and Matt Stone

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Can You Teach Democracy?

"Sceptics had argued that Indonesia would break up after the fall of Suharto, buffeted by a ravaging recession and torn apart by social, racial and religious tensions. But, Yudhoyono said, the advent of democratic rule had helped Indonesia to weather the storm, with the separatist conflict in Aceh resolved and the old question of a choice between democracy and economic growth proven to be a false dichotomy.

'We have shown that Islam, democracy and modernity can grow together,' said the president of the world's largest Muslim nation, which is also the world's third-largest democracy and the third-fastest growing economy in the G20 (after China and India)...

Many of Burma's neighbours, he said, accept at face value the junta's argument that a strong military is vital to keep the country together given the profusion of separatist conflicts. But didn't Indonesia's experience show that a democratic government was actually better placed to resolve such issues?"