BUYUNG SLAMS IDEA TO FIND IDEAL DEMOCRACY FOR RI

Jakarta, Jan 9 (ANTARA) - Senior law expert Adnan Buyung Nasution has ridiculed a recent meeting between President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the University Rectors' Forum where it was decided to formulate a democracy model most suited to Indonesian conditions.

"I don't agree with the result of the meeting between the president and the Rectors' Forum." Buyung said here Friday.

He said the wish to find a democracy model tailored to Indonesian conditions could be described as "a whisper of the devil" because the values of democracy were universal and not only applicable in certain parts or countries of the world.

There was only one democracy model , and it was nonsense to make a distinction between "western democracy" and "eastern democracy" or between "northern democracy" and "southern democracy," he said.

Buyung called to mind that anti-democracy practices had happened in Indonesia in the past because its leaders at the time also wanted to find a democracy model best suited to Indonesian conditions.

"During the 50s, Soekarno sought a government system that was more adapted to the Indonesian people's spirit and identity. And during the New Order era, Soeharto also wanted a democracy that he considered to be more in keeping with the Indonesian people's identity," Buyung said.

Earlier, the University Rectors'Forum had stated it would sponsor a study to identify a democracy model that was most suitable for Indonesia, a model where the pluralism of Indonesian society was combined in a unique way with a government system capable of ensuring stability.

The statement was made by University Rectors' Forum chairman Edy Suandy Hamid after a meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the latter's office on Tuesday (January 5).

The idea of a study to formulate a democracy model for Indonesia would be further discussed at a Campus Conference to be held at Tanjungpura University in Pontianak, West Kaliamantan, on Janaury 8-9.

The conference would be attended by about 200 rectors of state and private universiities from throughout Indonesia.