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International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development Contact: JL.
Mampang Prapatan XI No. 23 Ms Pettifor is in Indonesia to meet with NGOs working on the crisis caused by Indonesia’s massive $150bn of debt, foreign and domestic; to address the INFID Forum in Yogyakarta (19th 20th June); and to meet with senior political and official figures. Ms Pettifor, while acknowledging the role played by the ex-President Suharto and his family in exacerbating the banking crisis, and in corruptly diverting funds, nevertheless insists that the crisis was triggered in the first instance by "fundamentally flawed advice, which came in the form of an edict from young, inexperienced IMF officers, to the government of Indonesia, on that fateful day in November, 1997. The government was instructed to suddenly and without preparation, close down 16 banks. " Ms Pettifor, who was in Nigeria recently at the invitation of the government of Nigeria, called upon the President of Indonesia to follow the example of President Obasanjo, and invite independent experts to an international consultation on Indonesia’s domestic and foreign debts. She also called for an end to the injustice of the IMF’s "kangaroo court- style of decision-making;". "It is vital" she said "that the people of Indonesia raise their voices, and demand their government convenes an independent international tribunal so that responsibility for Indonesia’s huge burden of debt can be judged within a just and fair framework. Under the current framework, it is the poor of Indonesia that are disciplined for mistakes, not the well-heeled shareholders or officials of the IMF. " Addressing a range of NGOs in Yogyakarta, Ms Pettifor added: "I don’t know how those responsible for these economic crimes can sleep in their beds at night, without being wracked with guilt. These debts are not being paid by the Suharto family, or by the tax evaders of this country. They are being paid, and they will continue to be paid, for a very long time, by the poorest of the poor in Indonesia. The Indonesian government, which had virtually no domestic debt before 1997, is now forced to prioritise repayment of these spiralling debts over plans to help the poor of Indonesia. As a result many Indonesian lives will be cut short. Millions are already facing the pain and loss of unemployment, illness and breakdown in many families. And most tragically, millions of young people will be denied a future. "Ms Pettifor noted that "the IMF is a nationalised, Soviet-style bank. It preaches free-market fundamentalism, but enjoys the kind of protection that Soviet banks could only have dreamed of. That protection comes from states and taxpayers in the G7, but also those in developing countries. Protected on all sides, bureaucrats in the IMF can make huge errors, but need never face the wrath of market forces, or the discipline of the law. "Today, in Indonesia,defying the very rule of law, the IMF acts as witness, plaintiff, judge and jury in its own court – and rules on its own claims. In this kangaroo court, the IMF finds itself innocent, and shifts all the liabilities on to the government, and therefore the poor of Indonesia. This is a profound injustice". Ms Pettifor noted that there is no international bankruptcy law, which draws a line under unpayable debts, and resolves crises, restoring countries to economic health, and making them creditworthy again – as happens to companies. As a result, international creditors act irresponsibly in the "wild west" that is the unregulated international financial system, knowing they will not be faced by liabilities – and can shift the burden to the poor in debtor nations. Ends. Notes to editors:
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