South Korean President to Co-Chair Third Bali Democracy Forum

NUSA DUA, KOMPAS.com - Amid the world’s concern about  the intermittent hostilities in the  Korean Peninsula, Indonesia is for the third time hosting the Bali Democracy Forum (BDF) due to be opened in Bali’s  Nusa Dua resort  on Thursday.  South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has confirmed his plan to attend the two-day meeting to cochair it with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Two other government leaders, Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei Darussalam, and Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao of East Timor would also take part in the meeting themed  "Democracy and the Promotion of Peace and Stability."
      
North and South Korea have been involved in a number of  serious military incidents this year. Among the incidents were the sinking of a South Korean warship  allegedly by a torpedo from a North Korean submarine, and an exchange of fire between the two Koreas following a North Korean artillery attack on Yeonpyeong island.

According to an  Indonesian foreign ministry press statement made available to newsmen at the BDF media center at the Westin Hotel, Nusa Dua,  the meeting would be attended by delegates and observers from 71 countries. Among them were 18 foreign ministers and top government officials from such countries as Australia, Afghanistan, Georgia, Iraq, Iran, Myanmar, and Jordan.

During the leaders’ session on Thursday, the participating leaders and heads of delegations would focus on "democracy and the promotion of peace and stability" in their remarks.  The leaders’ session would be followed by interactive sessions on Friday.

At the session, representatives of participating countries will discuss  ways  under the democratic system to help prevent the occurrence and escalation of violent conflict, and the significance of democracy and economic development for peace-building.

The meeting is expected to produce a "chairman’s statement". It would contain comprehensive recommendations on the role of democracy in the promotion of peace and stability based on the participants’ discussions.
      
The chairman’s statement functions as a guide for the 2011 programs and activities of the Institute for Peace and Democracy. President Yudhoyono and his South Korean counterpart, Lee Myung-bak, were also scheduled to give a joint press conference on the the meeting’s results.

The BDF was originally initiated by Indonesia and started in 2008 as the first intergovernmental forum in Asia about democracy.   At the first meeting in December 2008, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had emphasized "sharing experience, thoughts and ideas for cooperation to advance democracy" as  the BDF’s main objective.
      
At the time, the Indonesian head of state said "We are not trying to impose a particular model on any of us. We are not here to debate a commonly agreed definition of democracy for which I believe there is none."
      
"We have come here (to Bali) not to preach, not to point fingers. Indeed, we have come here to share our respective experience, our thoughts and or ideas for cooperation  to advance democracy," President Yudhoyono said in his opening remark three years ago.