Nation should forgive sins of the past: Scholar
Nation should forgive sins of the past: Scholar
Muhammad Nafik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
In an effort to resolve the country's difficult problems, all Indonesians should forgive the sins of the past while at the same time ensuring that justice is upheld against past criminals, prominent Muslim scholar Azyumardi Azra said on Saturday.
"Historical resentment, let alone historical revenge and vigilantism ... will not settle the nation's problems, and could even lead the country toward worse social and political disintegration."
"Therefore, forgiveness and reconciliation are moves that should be made by every group in the community," Azyumardi said in a speech titled The Exoneration of History, the Exoneration of Culture, Forgiveness and Reconciliation for a New Indonesia, delivered at the Taman Ismail Marzuki cultural center.
Azyumardi, rector of Jakarta's Syarif Hidayatullah State Institute for Islamic Studies (IAIN), said, however, that forgiveness did not mean forgetting the mistakes committed during former president Soeharto's autocratic regime that collapsed in May 1998.
"Forgiveness in politics or in relation to other people should not necessarily remove or eliminate the need for every kind of punishment. But forgiveness should certainly stop vengeance," he added.
He called on all national leaders, including those from non- governmental organizations, to show responsibility in recognizing the country's past without necessarily becoming imprisoned by historical wounds.
"Every leader should wholeheartedly accept history as it is," he added.
After his speech, Azyumardi said the government should take the lead in the move toward forgiveness and reconciliation among all elements of the nation.
He cited as a laudable move the recent statement by Vice President Hamzah Haz calling for a reconciliation with separatist rebels in the restive province of Aceh.
"But, forgiveness without compensation and the enforcement of the law against abusers is useless," Azyumardi added.
Another prominent Muslim scholar, Nurcholish Madjid, also called for national reconciliation, or islah, without breaching the commitment to bringing to justice those responsible for crimes in the past.
Nurcholish, better known as Cak Nur, said islah was a rational solution to enable sweeping reforms to start, which many have said are being hindered by former power holders who still have an influential grip on politics.
The government has faced strong criticism from the public over its failure to enforce the law in cases of corruption, atrocities and human rights abuses across the country under Soeharto's New Order rule.
So far, only former trade and industry minister Muhammad 'Bob' Hasan, Soeharto's ex-golfing buddy, has been incarcerated for corruption. Others, including generals charged with killings in Aceh and East Timor, have yet to be brought to justice.
Soeharto himself has managed to evade the law with his lawyers and doctors saying he is too ill to face trial.
Last month, a Supreme Court review panel made a surprise, much-criticized decision acquitting Soeharto's youngest son Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra of corruption charges. However, Tommy has still to emerge from hiding.
The South Jakarta District Court last week sentenced Beddu Amang, a former chief of the State Logistics Agency (Bulog), to two years in jail on corruption charges. But it is still not clear whether he was sent to prison.
Analysts have questioned the government's unclear stance in dealing with Soeharto and his corrupt cronies -- whether to forgive them or strip them of their political connections.
After his speech, Azyumardi admitted that the government was still facing difficult obstacles in bringing senior corrupt officials to court due to their persistent links with the national legal system.
Azyumardi suggested that President Megawati Soekarnoputri's government hold talks with political and community leaders to decide on the issue and determine a stance.