The Director General of Information and Public Diplomacy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, AM Fachir, said in Denpasar on Monday that the Bali Democracy Forum is themed Consolidated Democracy in Pluralistic Society.
He noted that the theme was relevant because democracy is not yet well established in many countries which have pluralistic society.
To be present in the Bali Democracy Forum this time are among others President Yudhoyono, Timor Leste President Taur Matan Ruak, Sultan of Brunei Darussalam Hassanal Bolkiah, representatives from 53 Asia-Pacific countries, and a number of international observers outside the region.
Fachir said that during the discussion, the development of democracy in a number of countries in the Middle East and Africa would also be touched upon.
He said participating countries would discuss the evolving of democracy in various countries, in view of democratic movements in Syria and Egypt.
According to him, there are three principles that could be offered by the Bali Democracy Forum to the participating countries, including that democracy can be the foundation of a nation, but it must grow out of its own will.
Secondly, democracy must promote pluralism while, thirdly, it must be inclusive, he said.
"Regarding how countries would implement these principles, it would be their own decisions, since outsiders could not force changes on them," he said.
The deputy ambassador of the European Union for Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam and ASEAN, Colin Crooks, meanwhile, said the forum was a good example of how Indonesia could play a larger role at international diplomatic levels with regard to the development of democracy.
He said Indonesia might support a number of countries in Asia and the world to uphold democratic values.
"We are supporting Indonesia in discussions about democracy. We see BDF positively, not as a media event for achieving bilateral interests, but as a dialog forum for the development of democracy," he said.
(O001/ )
Editor: AA Ariwibowo
Copyright © ANTARA 2013
