Tutu, Moon vet call for peace at conference<\/p>\n
I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post\/\/Ubud<\/p>\n
A Nobel Peace Prize winner and a former astronaut were among
\nprominent activists and religious leaders from around the world
\nwho met to call for global tolerance, universal spirituality and
\na new world order, in the Balinese town of Ubud this week.<\/p>\n
Around 400 social workers and peace activists, scholars and
\nreligious leaders from 25 countries gathered in what participants
\nsaid could be the one of the most defining conferences ever held
\non the island.<\/p>\n
Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who was awarded the Nobel
\nPeace Prize in 1984 for his nonviolent struggle against South
\nAfrica's apartheid regime, and astronaut Edgar Mitchell, the
\nsixth man to set foot on the Moon, were prominent speakers.<\/p>\n
Others included former director of Amnesty International's
\nWashington office James O'Dea, the director of the Center for
\nGlobal Peace, Abdul Aziz Said, and outspoken social activist and
\nleading Balinese psychiatrist LK Suryani.<\/p>\n
The Quest for Global Healing, a five-day gathering, was
\norganized by California-based Jaffe Enterprises and the Cross-
\nCultural Journeys Foundation.<\/p>\n
The conference was held in the spacious, beautiful compound of
\nthe Agung Rai Museum of Art from Saturday to Wednesday this week.
\nIn conjunction with the conference, a solo exhibition of one of
\nBali's leading painters, I Made Sumadiyasa, One World, One Heart,
\nopened at the same venue.<\/p>\n
"We are concerned that the world is now moving in the wrong
\ndirection, that man is increasingly out of balance and at war
\nwith the natural world and each other," conference co-organizer
\nWilford Welch said.<\/p>\n
Bali was selected as the venue of the gathering because, as
\nWelch pointed out, the island and its people had devoted a lot of
\ntime and energy to be in balance with nature, fellow human beings
\nand with God.<\/p>\n
Moreover, as Tutu acknowledged, the Balinese experienced a
\nterrible shock two years ago when terrorists detonated powerful
\nbombs at two packed nightclubs in the island's popular Kuta
\nresort area.<\/p>\n
At least 202 people were killed, mostly tourists, in the
\nattack. It also caused the island's economy to slump, putting
\nthousands out of work.<\/p>\n
However, as Tutu noted, the Balinese had managed to respond to
\nthe tragedy in peaceful, spiritual ways instead of resorting to
\nviolence and militancy.<\/p>\n
"Bali is (therefore) the best place to hold a conference on
\nhow to heal the world," he said.<\/p>\n
The conference organizers generously provided 150 scholarships
\nto enable Balinese people from various walks of life to
\nparticipate.<\/p>\n
The scholarships gave them with an opportunity to share the
\ntraditional values and wisdom of the island, which has long been
\nknown for its religious tolerance and peaceful way of life.<\/p>\n
Speakers noted that the U.S.-sponsored global war on terror
\nhad increasingly polarized the world into two potentially
\nopposing camps -- the predominantly Muslim developing nations and
\nthe predominantly Christian developed ones -- and relations
\nbetween religions was an important issue discussed during the
\nconference.<\/p>\n
"We use whatever reason to separate one human being from
\nanother. We use race, we demonize each other. We use religion in
\nthe same way.<\/p>\n
"Religion is like a knife. You can use one to cut bread or you
\ncan stab someone. It can make us either good or awful people. It
\nis what we do with religion that is important, not what religion
\nis in itself," Tutu said in response to a question on whether
\norganized religion was part of the problem or the solution.<\/p>\n
On the war on terror, Tutu stated that unless a shift in
\nattitude took place from one of violence to one of peace, it
\nwould be impossible for the world to win that war.<\/p>\n
"We are not going to win the war against terror as long as
\nthere are conditions in various parts of the world that make
\npeople desperate. If someone is hungry or people live in poverty,
\nthey will get to the point where they will get desperate," he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
"Desperate people do desperate things," he said.<\/p>\n
In order to win the war, people should deal with the root
\ncauses of terrorism. Social injustice, poverty and religious
\nignorance were some of those causes, he said.<\/p>\n
During the conference gala evening, Dr. AAM Djelantik from
\nBali was awarded the first Global Healing Award for his lifetime
\nof service. Born into the powerful Karangasem royal family,
\nDjelantik pursued a career as a medical doctor.<\/p>\n
He served as a United Nations tropical diseases specialist,
\nspending many long years in isolated parts of Africa and Asia.
\nUpon his retirement, Djelantik returned to Bali and became a
\nrespected figure in the island's art and education circles. He
\nwas a founder of the Udayana University School of Medicine, and
\nthe Institute of Fine Arts in Denpasar.<\/p>",
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