Political tension robs children of fun

JAKARTA (JP): Children are the losers in the prolonged bickering between the country's political elite and its ensuing violence, a cultural activist said on Saturday.

The director of the Jakarta Playhouse (GKJ), Farida Oetoyo, while opening the second Indonesian Pearl Children's Art Festival, said the current political tension and the threat of disintegration facing the nation robbed the country's children of fun and peace.

"We must restore the happy and peaceful life that we have unconsciously snatched from the children, as the tension and violence that are escalating in the country have forced them to grow up in fear," Farida said as quoted by Antara.

She said its concern for children inspired GKJ to hold the art festival, which will run through March 18.

A children's rights activist, Arist Merdeka Sirait, estimated the number of children living in refugee camps across the country at 150,000. The latest ethnic conflict in Central Kalimantan has added to this figure.

The government is now dealing with over 800,000 refugees from strife-torn areas in Aceh, Kalimantan, East Timor and Maluku.

Farida said the festival gave children's art groups the opportunity to display their skills, adding that such groups were seldom able to perform in public.

The art festival, she added, also offered children the chance simply to enjoy themselves.

Among the activities planned for the festival are a drawing contest, children's games, stories, art performances, an art workshop and a seminar on children's creative rights.

Choirs from Strada St. Ignatius and Al Azhar elementary schools and a number of children's art groups are participating in the week-long festival. (amd)