Government must maintain unity

The fall of the New Order and the change to an era of reform has seen diverse demands which are not easily accommodated by the new government.

One demand that greatly worries Indonesians is the desire of some of our brothers in a number of regions to separate from the unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia.

We would like to tell them that we are aware of the feelings of dissatisfaction and injustice during the former governments, but those sentiments should not be settled by breaking away. Holding dialogs is the best step toward solving the problems.

It would not be intelligent to heap all the mistakes on the new government because the reformist forces want this government to exist to take the nation out of the crisis so it can again deliver solid developments.

We hope that President Abdurrahman Wahid and Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri will immediately hold dialogs with all representatives from the respective regions, but still within the context of the unitary state of the Republic.

We appeal to the President and the Vice President not to give any space for an option that aims at the breakup of the Indonesian territory. In addition, rights violations and injustices in many places should be immediately settled in an indiscriminate, proportional and constitutional way.

JAKARTA BRANCH, ALUMNI ASSOCIATION OF DIPONEGORO UNIVERSITY

Dr. MUHARSO, SKM, Chairman

Dr. MUH. A. ARISTYAWAN, Secretary

Tangerang