Community speaks up to prevent unrest in jittery Bali

By I Wayan Juniarta

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): The once peaceful Bali is being threatened by fresh violence and riots, but the local community is taking action to protect their home.

No one in Bali could have predicted that their peaceful island would be rocked by unrest, but last October they saw brutality, violence and hatred spread across the island of the gods.

Early last month, the neighboring island of Lombok was also hit by violence related to ethnic and religious conflict. Bali, again, was shocked and on the alert.

Attempts to broaden the scope of this unrest from Lombok to Bali by so-called provocateurs were prevented.

On Jan. 30, religious leaders and representatives from various professional bodies, youth groups and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) sat down together for a reconciliation dialog sponsored by the Balinese Peaceful Communion.

The communion includes a number of organizations representing people from different religions, such as Muslims, Hindus and Christians, and NGOs such as Manikaya Kauci and Bali's Legal Institute.

Agus Indra Udayana, coordinator of Ashram Bali Gandhi Vidyapith (a religious organization promoting nonviolence and tolerance), said people in Bali were now working very seriously to strengthen the relationship and understanding among different religious communities and ethnic groups living on the island.

"We could no longer accept and tolerate violent action in the name of religion," explained Agus.

Last week, thousands of Balinese held a joint prayer involving people of different religious and ethnic backgrounds. The participants gathered at Kuta Beach to pray for peace on their island.

Joseph Theodorus Wulianadi, popularly known as Joger, called on the Balinese to respect each other's beliefs and cultures.

"Our enemies are not Chinese, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, Balinese or Javanese. We are all the same, human beings," said Joger, owner of the popular Joger T-shirts.

Students in Bali have already begun to organize dialogs and activities to boost religious tolerance.

The Indonesian Muslim Student Association (PMII) held a series of activities such as social and political dialogs and cultural discussions to broaden people's horizon.

PMII is an inclusive organization whose members include Muslim and Christian students and other community members.

The Balinese Peaceful Communion has launched a major program to promote ethnic and religious tolerance among residents in Bali.

It has also begun a program to assist refugees from Mataram, Lombok, who number more than 3,000 people in 18 locations.

To prevent internal conflict, members of the communion decided to remove all outward signs of their own personal religious beliefs.

"We will never discuss our backgrounds. What we are doing now is helping people and creating a better understanding among human beings," said Arifudin, the organization's secretary.

Other organizations are also active in nurturing harmony in Bali. Anak Agung Gde Kusuma Wardhana, an aristocrat from Puri Kesima (Kesima Palace) in Denpasar, established the Independent Forum for the Monitoring of Developments in Bali.

Last month, the forum hosted a gathering at Puri Kesiman to commemorate Christmas, Galungan and Idul Fitri.

Wardhana previously promised to safeguard Bali from intrusion by outsiders. He claimed to have prepared hundreds of civil guards from Puri Kesima.

The recent conflicts among different religious and ethnic groups may also have resulted from the friction caused by economic difficulties. Whatever the cause, Bali has been witnessed to mutual distrust among different religious groups recently.

A few days before Christmas, a conflict broke out between members of the Hindu and Christian communities.

A rumor that Christians were handing out Balinese versions of the Bible caused an uproar among Hindu students, who protested any efforts to convert the Hindu Balinese.

There were also rumors that mobs planned to burn a church in Banyupoh, Singaraja, and attack Christian communities in Melaya, Jembrana, West Bali.

The most recent rumor was that Bali would be hit by another riot on Feb. 3. According to the rumor, hundreds of vessels were heading from an East Java town to Bali, bringing with them rioters and provocateurs.

Bali Police chief Brig. Gen. Togar Sianipar has vowed to protect Bali and maintain its reputation as a safe place for its residents and visitors.