Nationalism and justice

Nationalism and justice

No sooner has the problem of East Timor entered the early
stage of a final settlement then a similar demand (for an
internationally supervised free referendum) is aired by the
people of Aceh. The ulemas, who represented Islamic educational
institutions all across the province, obviously did not make this
demand lightly.

It is quite possible that other troubled provinces such as
Irian Jaya will follow with similar demands in the days that are
ahead. But why is this happening? What has become of the sense of
nationalism which our government officials are so fond of
touting? What is happening to the Indonesian nation?

One crucial step that we can make toward restoring our sense
of belonging as a nation is by paying due regard to the sense of
justice that is alive in our community. But this can only be done
by the next government. The current administration has obviously
already failed in this respect, and not only are its days as good
as numbered, its policies tend to create rather than solve
problems.

Our community leaders and political elites could do much to
achieve this -- among other things by showing a greater degree of
statesmanship in their response to problems, by listening more
attentively to the people's wishes and by working to establish a
dialog among the various components of our society.

This job must be started now or people will continue to make
demands that could lead toward the nation's disintegration.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta