PSMTI decries discrimination

BATAM, Riau: The Chinese-Indonesian community's Paguyuban Sosial Marga Tionghoa Indonesia (PSMTI) ended its first congress here on Friday night with pledge against any form of discrimination.

In its statements read by the secretary of the plenary session Dharma Yudha, PSMTI said that Chinese descends (in Indonesia) were part of the Indonesian nation as reflected in its slogan Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Diversity in One).

"The Chinese-Indonesians by all means have the rights for the same legal treatment with other Indonesians, and that any form of discrimination, which is against human rights, must be eliminated," the statements said.

"The Chinese-Indonesians will always take part in any development activities toward the democratic Indonesia, which respects ethnicity."

The three-day congress also reelected Brig. Gen. (ret) Tedy Yusuf PSMTI chairman for the 2000-2003 period.

Tedy said that the lineup of the new executive board would be completed within two months.

"The result of the congress will be reported to President Abdurrahman Wahid," Tedy said, adding that PSMTI's future program would be focused on efforts to minimize (national) conflicts and internal conflicts among the Chinese-Indonesian community. (26/sur)