RETIRED Indonesia General Agus Widjojo says Fijians are in a better place than Indonesians because the transition to a democratic rule has already started.
Sharing the Indonesian perspective on the subject 'Democratic Transition: Comparative Experience' this week at the Fiji National University's Nasinu campus, General Widjojo said the fact that Fiji had started the process of rewriting its constitution showed the re-democratisation process had begun.
General Widjojo said Fiji was in a better place than Indonesia because Fijians had embarked on holding public consultations and collecting public views which would be reflected in the new constitution. He said Indonesia had never passed this phase.
"Fiji is in a better place to launch a transition or a planned transition," he said.
General Widjojo said it was important to understand the essence of the Indonesian military transition and to understand the historic backdrop of where it came from and why the military was thrust into political power.