Gumelar appeals to leaders' sense of responsibility
JAKARTA (JP): Governor of the National Resilience Institute Lt. Gen. Agum Gumelar appealed on Tuesday to the responsibility of the political elite in preventing further turmoil.
It would be "highly dependent" on the will of the political elite and public figures, he said, to help bring an end to the "endless uncertainty of politics" while the people were increasingly suffering.
"Does our moral responsibility still exist to help this nation recover without differentiating from where we come from, our skin color or our religion?" Agum asked, addressing a meeting between religious leaders. He appealed to the religious leaders, who are influential given Indonesia's "paternalistic and religious society", to avoid "exploiting" followers.
He also reiterated the need for a national dialog given the fear of more intense disturbances in the wake of next year's general election.
The idea of such a dialog, he said, had not received an adequate response, but the Institute would not impose the idea on people. Agum was a speaker at a dialog sponsored by Gandi, the new movement against discrimination, and a group called the Communication Forum of the Nation's Unity, of which Agum is a deputy on its advisory board.
The "big task" now, he said, was to unite various religious components in a similar vision of nationhood. "Our love of this nation alerts us to the fact that (the state motto) Unity in Diversity cannot be realized through hidden or overt discrimination," Agum said.
President B.J. Habibie has said that the idea to gather leaders of different communities is far from easy, while Minister/State Secretary Akbar Tanjung has said that meetings between public figures -- such as when Abdurrahman Wahid, also known as Gus Dur, chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama Islamic organization, met Habibie at the latter's home on Saturday -- could be considered a national dialog.
Abdurrahman is one of four signatories of the Ciganjur Declaration, named after his residence where the declaration was drawn up along with Yogyakarta monarch and governor Sultan Hamengku Buwono X, chairwoman of one faction of the splintered Indonesian Democratic Party Megawati Soekarnoputri and Amien Rais, chairman of the National Mandate Party.
Amien on Monday said that he hoped Gus Dur's meeting with Habibie was not claimed to be on behalf of the other signatories of the Ciganjur Declaration.
Speakers at Tuesday's dialog expressed fears of the use of religion for political ends, especially following last month's religious-related riots in Ketapang, Jakarta, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara and Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi. Donations collected at Tuesday's dialog went to the renovation of destroyed churches and mosques in Ketapang and Kupang, organizers said.
Other speakers included Catholic priest B.S. Mardiatmaja, Mulyadi Wahono of the Buddha Nalanda School and Protestant priest Eka Darma Putra. (anr)