Awareness of Maluku people is amazing: Sultan

Awareness of Maluku people is amazing: Sultan

Yogyakarta monarch and governor Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X
was in Ambon on Saturday at the request of 110 traditional
leaders, or raja (kings), to close their three-day gathering and
to accept his appointment as an honorary king, or Upulatu. The
Sultan talked to The Jakarta Post's Ati Nurbaiti before
addressing the gathering. The following is an excerpt:

Question: You are seen by the raja here as a traditional
leader and national figure with much clout, who they hope can
help bring peace to their land. How do you see this?

Answer: I helped facilitate their early meetings in Yogyakarta
in 2000, with the Baku Bae peace movement, which included two
closed workshops and one open workshop. They seem to really want
peace now and I am very glad to help. It is a cultural approach
that has helped raise a new awareness (of peace despite
differences). Given this large gathering of 110 raja, I hope this
is the last meeting that finalizes their commitment to peace.

Q: How can traditional leaders be made relevant to the younger
generations?

A: The key is how to build dialog, how to maintain empathy and to
be honest with oneself. It is not possible to instill everything
into youngsters, as is the case with our own children. It is
natural that the understanding of cultural heritage is not
entirely grasped by the younger generations.

Q: In a diverse society still traumatized by violence, how can
the traditional leaders maintain their respect and authority?

A: Although they are elected (usually from among those descended
from kings), they must still build up their legitimacy, precisely
because they were elected and considered ... to have additional
values compared to the others, and to be someone with leadership.
This leads to the tendency for people to follow his words, to
appreciate him as long as he retains his morality and ethics.

The traditional leaders have authority of a relatively small
scope, but there is a new awareness now of the significance of
their leadership (in reconciliation attempts).

Q: Can the leaders really remain relevant in today's Maluku?

A: They are definitely still relevant as informal community
leaders; one cannot rely only on the bureaucracy. A similar role
can be seen with the village heads in Java and teachers. Now the
issue is, how can these informal leaders establish a
communication with the provincial government and how can they
form a network (among themselves and formal institutions).

Q: During the gathering, the leaders did not seriously discuss
the civil emergency status in Maluku. Does this reflect apathy
toward government policies regarding Maluku? Many attribute the
improved conditions here to the people themselves.

A: The civil emergency status is only a tool of the government to
avoid anything untoward happening, so it is beneficial and it
might end quickly indeed (if the situation permits).

The civil emergency status is also a tool of dialog for the
military and the police to regulate the people in preventing
conflict. As a main tool of awareness (to avoid conflict), this
is difficult given the aspect of power involved. But it's best if
the awareness comes from the people themselves. The civil
emergency status would not have been there in the first place if
there was adequate appreciation of humanity.

Q: And how could such widespread awareness be achieved?

A: In the past two to three years there has been a constant
process of dialog. Hopefully, this is the last dialog (among
leaders) that will lead to a positive end. The historic relations
among community leaders (from various ethnic groups and
religions) that has passed the test of decades, such as that
displayed during the holy festivities of Idul Fitri and
Christmas.

And if this meeting of Maluku leaders can declare peace the
central government might provide a wider opportunity (to improve
the situation); the curfew might be ended, for example, depending
on the people's awareness.

Q: Despite Jakarta's deadline of Jan. 15 for the return of
refugees, many of whom were minorities in Christian or Muslim-
dominated settlements, many say they cannot return. How do you
see this?

A: They look and don't believe that the situation is yet
conducive to return. Nevertheless, the religion-related conflict
here is being resolved very rapidly compared to others in the
world. Look at the Crusades, Chechnya and the United Kingdom. The
awareness of the people in Maluku is amazing. This is because of
the awareness on both the leaders and the grass roots.

Q: Given the extraordinary awareness of the people, as you said,
what about the responsibility of the state, which can be said to
have neglected the security of its citizens, leading to the loss
of thousands of lives? Shouldn't arrests and prosecutions
continue of those responsible for the conflict?

A: People here no longer want to be dragged into (more potential
conflicts), though there may be some people who want to disrupt
the situation. The important thing here is the awareness of being
more critical of disinformation attempts, and being more
rational. There's a new awareness to try to heal old wounds,
otherwise there will never be peace; there would instead be
continued suspicion, fear.

The role of the government would be to facilitate all
necessary dialog.