National commitment to unitary state questioned<\/p>\n
Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Ahead of Youth Pledge Day later this month, local and foreign
\nexperts will take part in a seminar here on Thursday to discuss
\nthe numerous issues facing Indonesia as it attempts to build a
\ndemocracy.<\/p>\n
Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security
\nAffairs Widodo A.S. is scheduled to open the seminar, which will
\nbe held at the Four Seasons Hotel.<\/p>\n
Organizing committee chairman Fanny Habibie said on Wednesday
\nthe seminar would feature a number of experts discussing the
\nnation's commitment to the Oct. 28, 1928, Youth Pledge -- one
\nland, one nation and one language.<\/p>\n
These experts will include Van Baalen, a member of the Dutch
\nparliament, and Bilver Singh, a professor at the National
\nUniversity of Singapore, Fanny said.<\/p>\n
Singh will present a paper on injustice and its impact on
\nsecessionist movements in Indonesia, while Baalen will discuss
\nissues related to Papua and Aceh.<\/p>\n
Fanny, who is also a legislator with the Democratic Party,
\nsaid National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas) governor Muladi was
\nexpected to discuss a number of issues connected to the state
\nideology Pancasila.<\/p>\n
Historian Anhar Gonggong will address the Youth Pledge's role
\nin uniting a country that has so many different cultures, ethnic
\ngroups and religions, and the pledge's relevance to current
\nconditions.<\/p>\n
The seminar is jointly organized by Lemhanas, the Ministry of
\nForeign Affairs, Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta and the
\nPela Gandong Foundation.<\/p>\n
Seminar organizing committee deputy chairman Isaac Latuconsina
\nsaid the experts would also identify some of the challenges
\nfacing the nation and the government in carrying out the national
\nreform agenda for democracy.<\/p>\n
\"The seminar will be a good forum to evaluate President Susilo
\nBambang Yudhoyono's first year in office in the political,
\neconomic, social and human rights fields,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Fanny expressed regret that 77 years after the first Youth
\nPledge Day and 60 years after Indonesia gained independence,
\nthere were still questions about the Indonesian unitary state
\n(NKRI).<\/p>\n
\"We should no longer have to question NKRI and the status of
\nPapua, Maluku and Aceh as integral parts of Indonesia. The
\nsecessionist movements in Papua and Aceh have brought us back to
\nreviewing our national policies of the past and to fighting
\nagainst injustices and rampant corruption,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/national-commitment-to-unitary-state-questioned-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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