Artists reminded about security

Artists reminded about security

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto said yesterday that the government understands the need for a conducive artistic climate but that national security takes priority.

"We can all work together to create conditions and opportunities (for artists to create)..." Soeharto said yesterday.

"The fundamental issue in developing the arts is in creating conditions and opportunities that will enable artists to develop their creativity to their full capacity," the President told participants of the National Arts Congress.

To foster creativity, "we need the astuteness to capture the challenges of life," Soeharto said. "Together we need to foster a secure and safe situation in our society."

The message on the third day of the ongoing Congress came in response to artists and their complaints about permits, which limit their freedom to perform and exhibit.

Soeharto reminded the artists of the need for nationalism when incorporating foreign elements in their work.

"Activities in the arts particularly require this nationalist awareness," he said.

Indonesia's history, he said, is full of cultural exchanges between different ethnicities and different countries.

But it is the creativity of Indonesians which has molded all these influences into the nation's culture, he said. "We need to sharpen our wisdom to identify and foster the creativity among us as a nation."

"We must not merely copy other nations ... In technique and in style, we can mold those developed in other countries, but we must show the strength of our own identity," the President said.

He called for increased knowledge and appreciation of various local arts, "to avoid the growth of narrow ethnic sentiments."

"Our most important task is to build and strengthen our national culture, a modern Indonesian culture rooted in our heritage," Soeharto said.

Nearly 500 artists, officials and observers are attending the conference, which ends today. (anr)