Megawati opens telecom congress

NUSA DUA, Bali (JP): Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri extolled on Tuesday Indonesia's diversity, stressing that it should be perceived as an asset which should be celebrated.

In her address at the opening of the Asia Pacific regional preparatory meeting of the International Telecommunication Union here on Tuesday, the Vice President said the diversity in ethnicity, religion, tradition and culture were Indonesia's strongest resources.

"The differences in such diversity are so big. Nevertheless, we should never think of alleviating or eliminating them," Megawati said, reading a prepared speech in English.

Megawati did not touch on the current political instability and growing ethnic intolerance sweeping some areas, but instead highlighted the need to respect these distinctions rather than summarily eliminating them.

"We rather take them as blessings which are obliged to maintain so as to strengthen our nationhood," she added.

While she fluently read out her speech, Megawati often flashed a warm smile upon realizing that she had mispronounced the odd word.

She further remarked that despite ethnic conflicts in many parts of the country, the future remained bright in a united Indonesia.

Turning her attention to the rapid development of information technology, the Vice President warned that the divergence of capacity in the telecommunications sector should not be exploited by one nation to dominate another.

"The fact that there exist different levels of capacity to provide telecommunication infrastructure, coupled with such adagium as reflected in cybernetical laws, sooner or later it will create domination of a country or a group of countries over another," she noted.

The opening of the four-day meeting was delayed for nearly an hour due to her late arrival.

The ceremony's presenter, Tia Maryadi, did her best to fill the time in front of the 200 guests as she made several jokes and repeatedly assured the audience that the Vice President would arrive in due time.

The Vice President arrived in Bali on Tuesday morning for a two-day working visit.

Soon after her arrival, she visited the Bedugul Botanical Park to view the variety of orchids.

On Wednesday morning, Megawati is due to open from Bali a seminar and training on technology information for women in Jakarta via teleconference.(prb)