Rectors Forum to facilitate talks on reconciliation<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Troubled by the continuing failure to bring the
\nmembers of the country's fractious political elite to the table
\nof reconciliation, the Rectors Forum announced on Tuesday its
\nreadiness to facilitate such reconciliation talks.<\/p>\n
\"This country is falling apart and the civilian politicians
\nare busy fighting each other.<\/p>\n
\"The various efforts to reconcile or unite them have gone
\nunheeded as each of them is driven by his or her big ego,\" the
\nrector of Trisakti University Thoby Mutis, who is also Jakarta
\ncoordinator of the Rectors Forum, told The Jakarta Post on
\nTuesday.<\/p>\n
Established in 1998, the forum consists of 600 rectors of
\npublic and private universities from across the country.<\/p>\n
\"Like the other parties who have tried such a reconciliation
\neffort before, the Rectors Forum will try to reach the nation's
\nleaders in both formal and informal ways,\" he said.<\/p>\n
A similar effort to bring about a uniformity of perception
\namong the country's leaders had been undertaken by the Yogyakarta
\nmonarch Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X in Yogyakarta ahead of the
\nAnnual Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) last
\nAugust.<\/p>\n
President Abdurrahman Wahid's administration actually still
\nhas a chance to bounce back and better the country's situation,
\nThoby said.<\/p>\n
\"Rumors about efforts to topple him (Abdurrahman) and even to
\nforce him to resign have been circulating.. but we believe that
\nthis administration can actually survive.<\/p>\n
\"If Gus Dur eventually resigns, it will have to be done in an
\nelegant way, not by violence. Those in the political elite do not
\nrealize that what they are doing now is completely negating the
\nentire reform movement,\" the professor said.<\/p>\n
The forum is scheduled to meet with Vice President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The group's members include, among others, chairman Eko
\nBudihardjo of the Semarang-based Diponegoro University, Denpasar-
\nbased Udayana University rector I Ketut Sukardika, and Makassar-
\nbased Hasanuddin University rector Tradigharini.<\/p>\n
Thoby Mutis along with Minister of National Education Yahya
\nMuhaimin met with President Abdurrahman Wahid at the latter's
\noffice earlier on Monday.<\/p>\n
\"We've met informally with House of Representatives (DPR)
\nSpeaker Akbar Tandjung a couple of weeks ago and Assembly Speaker
\nAmien Rais.<\/p>\n
\"Actually, our proposition is simple. Everyone has to work on
\nhis or her own domain and stop messing with the business of
\nothers. In this sense, Gus Dur must stop intervening
\nunnecessarily and so must the DPR\/MPR,\" Thoby said.<\/p>\n
The leaders have to understand the basic concept of sharing
\npower and authority and stop making bombastic or sarcastic
\nstatements that will only cause tensions, rector Eko Budihardjo
\nsaid earlier on Monday.<\/p>\n
He said people were tired of conflict and were on the brink of
\nlosing all trust in the current administration.<\/p>\n
\"People don't know what to believe anymore. They tend to
\nresort to violence and rebellious acts in solving problems and
\nthe leaders are more or less the same,\" Eko said.<\/p>\n
\"And, unfortunately, these civilian leaders are just too
\nstupid to realize that in order to forge civil society and
\ngradually reduce the military's role, they will have to unite,\"
\nhe added.<\/p>\n
In a bid to share a better understanding of problem solving,
\nseveral universities have started to introduce new subjects such
\nas conflict resolution, civics, nationhood and nationality, human
\nrights, democracy and literary studies on ethnic and religious
\nwars. (edt)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rectors-forum-to-facilitate-talks-on-reconciliation-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}