Celebrating unity -- but what about diversity?

Celebrating unity -- but what about diversity?

Endy M. Bayuni, Jakarta

This year Indonesia marks its 60th independence anniversary.
Given the diversity of this nation of about 220 million people,
we have every reason to pride ourselves that we have remained as
one nation, through good and bad times, for six decades now.

This year's Aug. 17th Independence Day will be celebrated in a
special way, just as we do every time we commemorate another
decade of our national independence. We can reflect on the
struggle that our founding fathers went through to secure our
independence, and the subsequent struggle to build this
collection of peoples of different races, ethnicities, cultures,
languages and faiths, as one free nation called Indonesia.

Much blood, sweat and tears were shed by our predecessors,
some of them long dead, some still alive, some recognized and
honored as heroes, many others anonymous, forgotten or even
banished. It is to each and every one of them, the known and the
unknown, that we owe our gratitude. We should honor and respect
their part in making Indonesia a united nation.

While we may rejoice at six decades of unity, we cannot,
unfortunately, rejoice too much concerning our diversity.

There are still too many individuals and groups in our society
who continue to face persecution, as well as discriminatory
policies, practices and harassment because of their religion,
their political beliefs, the color of their skin, their culture
or language, their educational background, their wealth (or lack
of it), their gender and even their sexual orientation.

For six decades now, we have learned that our diversity is a
source of national strength. But we have also learned that this
diversity, from time to time, from one corner of the archipelago
to another, has become a source of tension and friction that has
often erupted into ugly and bloody conflicts.

Just as we cannot take our unity for granted, we should also
not take our diversity for granted.

Indonesia may be a diverse nation, but ours is far from being
an ideal pluralist nation.

Going by the broad definition of pluralism -- a framework for
interaction in which groups show sufficient respect and tolerance
of each other that they can fruitfully coexist and interact
without conflict or assimilation -- then Indonesia is, at best,
an imperfect pluralist nation.

Melani Budianta of the University of Indonesia calls it
"selective pluralism" because while the state may try to promote
pluralism, it restricts some groups, such as the minority Chinese
and people holding convictions outside the five religions
recognized by the state, from this process.

Since the proclamation of our independence in 1945, every
single administration has worked hard at forging the unity of the
Indonesian state. Very often, especially during the 32 years of
President Soeharto's tyrannous "New Order" regime, such unity was
imposed upon the nation through the use of violence.

But even after Soeharto's downfall in 1998, subsequent
Indonesian leaders elected through democratic processes remained
obsessed with forging Indonesia's unity, and less with its
diversity, and even less again with its pluralism.

The only president who showed some concern towards pluralism
was Abdurrahman Wahid. He was the one who did away with the
ruling that banned Chinese New Year's celebrations and most other
measures that led to the unsuccessful experience of forced
assimilation of the minority ethnic Chinese during the Soeharto
years. Gus Dur's attempt to remove the official ban on the
spreading of communist teachings was foiled, and it marked the
beginning of his unpopularity that eventually led to his
impeachment in July 2001. So much for pluralism.

Subsequent presidents, Megawati Soekarnoputri and Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono, as well as most of our elected leaders today,
appear to be far more concerned about our unity.

This is clear from their continued obsession with maintaining
Indonesia's "territorial integrity" under the concept of Negara
Kesatuan Republic Indonesia (NKRI -- the Unitary State of the
Republic of Indonesia).

The emphasis has always been on preserving Indonesia's
territorial claim "From Sabang to Merauke", that is from the
westernmost town in Aceh to the easternmost town in Papua.

Rarely has the NKRI concept been discussed in terms of the
diversity or plurality of the people who live in this territory.
On the contrary, the overemphasis on unity has often come at the
expense of suppressing the diversity and pluralistic nature of
our nation.

Pluralism is not even part of the vocabulary of our leaders
and politicians today.

Hence, Indonesia marks another milestone in its independence
this year at a time when many of its people -- as individuals or
groups -- live in constant fear and suppression because of what
they are or because of what they believe.

Ask people in Maluku and the Central Sulawesi regency of Poso,
where Christians and Muslims are still fighting and killing each
other; ask people in Papua and Aceh, where they live in fear
because of the war between the Indonesian military and armed
separatist rebels; ask Madurese and Javanese migrants who were
the target of violent ethnic cleansing campaigns in West
Kalimantan and Aceh respectively; ask the minority ethnic Chinese
who fear more anti-Chinese riots; ask the minority religious
communities who are prevented from building their houses of
prayer because the dominant community says they can't; and ask
women and other marginalized groups in society who continue to
face harassment and discrimination in their daily lives.

Ask them what is the meaning of this year's independence
anniversary.

For most, there is little really to celebrate come Aug. 17th.

The writer is chief editor of The Jakarta Post. He
participated in the Journalism Asia Forum 2004 "Media Ethics and
Pluralism in Asia" in Bangkok January 28-29.