Heritage society meets to draft charter

YOGYAKARTA: In cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Indonesian Heritage Preservation Network (JPPI) and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) will begin a four-day workshop here on Wednesday to draft a heritage preservation charter for the country.

The workshop is expected to come up with a draft of a heritage preservation charter for Indonesia, which would be endorsed at a ceremony in December.

Chairwoman of the Indonesian Heritage Year 2003 Laretna T. Adishakti said on Monday that the country required such a charter that could be used as a moral and ethical guideline for heritage preservation efforts in the country.

"Heritage preservation efforts are currently based only on Law No. 5/1992 on Cultural Heritage, with related government regulations and charters belonging to other countries including Australia's Burra Charter and Italy's Venice Charter," she said.

She said Indonesia had an abundance of heritage sites, both modern and ancient.

Each of the heritage sites was different and specific, making it difficult for Indonesia to apply international standards in the management and revitalization of them, she said.

Differences in the political and value systems between counties were another factor that made it impossible for Indonesia to implement the foreign charters, Laretna added.

Moreover, Law No. 5/1992 was also widely perceived to have failed to accommodate all dimensions of the country's various and diverse natural and cultural heritages.

"For those reasons, the heritage society will meet to prepare for an 'Indonesian Charter', that will be specific to our value system and culture." --JP