Hindus threaten massive strike

Hindus threaten massive strike

JAKARTA (JP): A Balinese activist who coordinated this week's
series of protests against a cabinet minister on Bali said on
Saturday that he planned to call a general strike among all
Hindus in Indonesia unless their demands were met.

I Nyoman Japa, field coordinator of the protests, said the
government had one month to respond to their demands which
include the resignation of the minister concerned and his
prosecution.

"If not, all Hindus throughout Indonesia will escalate their
actions. A call for a general strike will also be considered,"
Japa was quoted by Antara as saying in Denpasar, capital of Bali.

Predominantly Hindu Bali has been rocked by protests against
State Minister of Food and Horticulture A.M. Saefuddin for
remarks considered contemptuous of their religion.

In his remarks on next year's presidential election, Saefuddin
of the minority United Development Party (PPP) said that he would
make a better presidential candidate than Megawati Soekarnoputri
of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) Perjuangan.

Contending that Megawati was a Hindu, he questioned whether
predominantly Moslem Indonesia would accept a non-Moslem
president.

Megawati, who is a Moslem, has not responded to the challenge,
but thousands of Hindu Balinese in Bali and elsewhere in the
country have publicly condemned Saefuddin's remarks.

They consider Saefuddin's apology, made last week, as
insufficient, and have demanded that he retract the remark and
make an open apology to all Hindus.

Joining the fray of protests on Saturday were employees of
seven luxury hotels from the Nusa Dua beach resort, who visited
the Bali Governor's Office, appealing to everyone to work toward
preserving national unity and to fight against any form of
discrimination, the news agency said.

They also appealed for restraint, saying the protests could
disrupt tourism, peace and security, relations between the
various religious communities on Bali and the island's image as a
major tourist center.

Japa said, however, that he had received widespread support
from local leaders on Bali and Hindu leaders on the island and
elsewhere in Indonesia for his plan to call a general strike.

He said a general strike would not be that different from the
Hindu's Beratha Penyepian concept which forms the basis of the
Balinese's Nyepi (Day of Silence) holiday.

The concept says that on Nyepi, Hindus must refrain from work,
travel, entertainment and using light or fire.

"We just have to set the D Day. Every Hindu in Indonesia is
just waiting for the command," Japa said, adding that this was
considered the best form of protest because it was peaceful.

Japa said his group was organizing massive protests on Bali on
Wednesday to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the nation's
Youth Pledge.

The pledge of "One Country, One Nation and One Language:
Indonesia", was made by a group of youths during the Dutch
colonial era in 1928. It became the battle cry for the
independence movement.

Japa said the protests were not politically motivated and did
not necessarily reflect the Balinese support for Megawati as a
presidential candidate. "Saefuddin has slighted the Hindu
community," he said.

Megawati, a daughter of Indonesia's first president Sukarno,
was reelected as chairwoman of the PDI Perjuangan during a
congress on Bali this month. The party also named her as its
candidate for the presidential election scheduled next year.

A leader of the minority Moslem community on Bali said
Saefuddin had crossed the line from politics to religion.

"Saefuddin has set off a short circuit, and Hindus have been
at the receiving end. It's natural that the Hindu community feels
hurt," Sunhadji Rafii, the chairman of the Bali chapter of the
Indonesian Ulemas Council, was quoted by Antara as saying in
Denpasar. (emb)