ABRI chief warns military of provocation
ABRI chief warns military of provocation
MEDAN, North Sumatra (JP): Armed Forces Chief Gen. Feisal
Tanjung warned soldiers Saturday to beware of attempts made to
pit them against the public.
Speaking during a Christmas celebration at Hermina Hall here,
Feisal said soldiers must work to strengthen the present
religious harmony while practicing their own religious faith.
"(A faithful) congregation won't be easily provoked by
unfounded rumors, nor will they be easily coaxed to fight against
another," he said.
Feisal was speaking at a Christmas celebration attended by
3,000 people, comprising soldiers from the city garrison and
enthusiastic local residents.
Also present was Doloksaribu, a priest from the North Sumatra
chapter of the Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI).
In his address, Feisal also urged soldiers not to simply
celebrate Christmas as an "annual routine" but instead be
introspective and become more faithful to God.
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Feisal said that national development should be greeted in the
same that Christians welcome Christmas as "joyful news".
"Development is joyful news," the military chief, who also
used the occasion to hand over hundreds of Christmas packages to
the forces' members and a computer set to PGI, said.
He called on Armed Forces members to "transform" the value and
spirit of Christmas to incorporate "the spirit of development".
"On the other hand, the dynamics of development must also be
conducive to the development and practice of religious values."
"A good soldier is a religious soldier ... It is not an
absolute that strong weapons always win battles and wars. But it
is absolutely necessary for a soldiers to fortify their moral
integrity and attitude," he remarked.
Feisal conceded that the hardest part of development has been
in the sociocultural field, which he described as "dynamic,
sensitive and vulnerable".
He said the sociocultural field embodied the issues of ethnic,
religious, race, and intergroup relations.
"It is in this context that any efforts to nurture tolerance
and solidarity among religious groups should be regarded as an
urgent and important effort."
He called on soldiers to be "creative" in fostering and
strengthening cooperation between different religious groups in
society.
Feisal warned his audience of the tough challenges that have
been created by globalization, which he said "might not be as
easy to face as those in the past".
"Ethical values and religious faith have become the pillars of
our lives and without (such beliefs), we'll see more violations
of ethical values such as abortion, sexual harassment, crime, and
other forms of moral decadence."
Feisal during the ceremony expressed his joy to be able to
meet with soldiers on such an informal occasion. He took the
opportunity to symbolically present various gifts including a
computer to the North Sumatra chapter of the Indonesian Communion
of Churches (PGI). (21/aan)