President : reform movement already on right track

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the reform movement in Indonesia was now "already on the right track and adhering to the right agenda."

"In the ten years since the reform movement began, we have undergone a transformation and democratization process. It means the reform movement is already on the right track and adhering to the right agenda," Yudhoyono said at a gathering with North Sumatra`s governor, district heads and mayors at the Grand Angkasa Hotel here on Thursday evening.

The president admitted deviations from the right course of the reform movement had happened resulting in certain excesses but the reform movement itself was unstoppable.

Therefore, he called on all parties to make self correction and reflection and not to ignore the irregularities.

"If we head to a wrong direction, we will be a wrong country. Therefore we should continue to manage the process of democracy," Yudhoyono said.

Before the mayors and district heads across North Sumatra, the president pointed out that the government had gained a lot of progress in the improvement of human rights.

He also said the government had overcome the communal conflict in Aceh and Poso, and was able to maintain the national unity.

The president also pointed out that the poverty rate had been reduced and the country`s debts to the International Monetary Fund had all been paid.

source: Antara | July 2008