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