VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - President of Timor Leste José Ramos-Horta has said that the current global geopolitical tensions have not affected the sustainability of democracy.

"Global tension didn't necessarily (have an) impact on democracy," he observed during the Democracy Dialogue held by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and The Jakarta Post daily here on Monday.

He stressed that the current regional and global tensions have not affected the state of democracy in nations.

The future of a nation's democracy is determined by the situation within the country itself, he said.

Democracy is a social contract that the people of a nation enter into with their free will, he added.

"Because democracy (and) freedom are very much a part of us," he said.

When asked about the condition of democracy in Indonesia, he said that he has long been impressed with the democracy in the country.

"The vast majority of the Indonesian people are happy with the situation today in Indonesia. It is very peaceful, stable, can be prosperous, and the fourth best-performing economy in the world, and people also live in freedom. Now, what else (does it need)?" he said.  (Antaranews)