Equal treatment key to stable society

Equal treatment key to stable society

A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Amien Rais
underscored on Thursday the importance of respecting differences
between people and the need for equal treatment for all as basic
tenets of civil society in Indonesia.

Coercion of from one group, especially a majority, on the
wishes of others would merely spark conflict which would, in
turn, destroy any chance for peaceful coexistence for the entire
community, he said.

Speaking at a two-day seminar entitled "Living in a
Pluralistic Society," Amien said that Muslims, as the majority
here, should take prominent roles in uniting the nation by
protecting, while respectfully recognizing, minorities in
society.

"Muslims bear that responsibility since, most often, the
majority rules the country.

"However, to create harmony, Muslims must remember that they
cannot impose their will on other groups in society -- especially
minorities," Amien also said at the seminar, which was held
jointly by Muhammadiyah Youth and the British Council at the
Hilton Hotel.

Amien, who delivered his keynote speech in English, reminded
his audience that time after time in different nations,
situations in which a majority attempted to impose its will on
society end civil society.

He added that Indonesia should draw lessons from the breakaway
republics of the former Soviet Union, and the Yugoslav wars of
secession in the past decade.

According to Amien, the will imposed by majority groups within
the two countries had left the minorities frustrated.

This led to discrimination, followed by unequal job
opportunities, which spurred widespread dissatisfaction.

This prolonged frustration eventually led to explosions, and
the collapse of the rule of law in some cases.

The two countries used to be big and influential, but because
of their discriminatory policies, they finally broke into
splintered into smaller states.

"Needless to say, the two countries are now a part of
history," Amien, a former lecturer in international relations at
Gadjah Mada University, said.

Amien added that the lesson was one that could be taken into
consideration by the leaders of this country -- that the majority
has to accommodate the interests of religious and ethnic
minorities.

However, Amien said that the burden to create a stable society
must not only rest with the majority.

Besides having the right to protection, minorities also have
an obligation to behave well and respectfully within such a
diverse community as Indonesia.

"That is what we are vying for -- to have a balance in the
community. Minorities must not be thinking of having a dominant
role in the community, since it would merely create a tyranny of
the minority, which would also be fertile ground for social
chaos," he said.

The best example of this, Amien said, could be seen in the
case of Rwanda, where a genocidal pogrom claimed hundreds of
thousands of lives over a three-month period before a minority
Tutsi government assumed power in the predominantly Hutu nation.

Amien said that he believed such a grievous situation could
not happen here, since Indonesia is a tolerant country.

Meanwhile, Haleh Afshar, another speaker in the seminar,
stressed that understanding differences would be the best
solution to create a civil society in Indonesia.

"The rooms of dialogue among different groups, in terms of
race, ethnicity and others must be encouraged to create a better
understanding," said Haleh, a professor of politics at the
University of York in Britain

Such improved communication would diminish potential social
and religious conflicts in a country diverse as Indonesia, she
said.