Peace award honors Paku Buwono XII

Peace award honors Paku Buwono XII

The sultan of Surakarta, Paku Buwono XII, became the first
Indonesian national to receive the "Lifting Up the World with a
Oneness Heart" peace award. He was recognized as a figure who
actively struggled for peace.

The award, bestowed on Wednesday at the Surakarta palace, was
made by the New York-based organization, the Sri Chinmoy
International Institute.

Institute director Sri Chinmoy said the reason why he picked
Paku Buwono XII for the award was because the latter had amply
demonstrated his dedication to the creation of world peace.

The 81-year-old sultan was also considered to have worked hard
to preserve Javanese cultural traditions.

"With all of the knowledge and ideals we have about love and
human suffering, let's create peace for all the human race. I am
hoping that through this award, His Majesty Paku Buwono XII will
take this recognition as a symbol of world peace, a prize for all
he has done," the Indian spiritual leader said in his remarks.

The award, established in 1982, was presented previously to
Nelson Mandela, Mikhail Gorbachev, Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama,
Desmond Tutu, Pope John Paul II, Muhammad Ali, Princess Diana,
Ravi Shankar and Carl Lewis.

It is given to individuals who have dedicated themselves to
the pursuit of world peace.

In keeping with the name of the award -- the Lifting Up the
World with a Oneness Heart -- Chinmoy actually lifted the sultan,
who was asked to stand on a two-meter-high iron podium brought
from New York.

After the ceremony, Paku Buwono XII expressed his concern over
the prolonged crisis that had affected many aspects of national
life, and the various problems afflicting the world. He hoped to
see the world community working together to pursue global peace.

Among his subjects, the sultan is renowned for his
determination to preserve peace. When the city was hit by
widespread rioting in 1998, which also affected other parts of
the country, the sultan paid courtesy calls on the victims and
raised funds to repair the damage.

After the arrest of controversial Muslim cleric Abu Bakar
Ba'asyir, the sultan organized a massive prayer meeting involving
all religions in a bid to soothe the anger of Abu Bakar's
students and to share the message of maintaining harmony and
tolerance among different religions. -- Blontank Poer