'Religious diversity is a strength'

DILI, East Timor (JP): President Soeharto stated yesterday that religious diversity should not be seen as a weakness or source of conflict but as a strength and catalyst to help propel the wheels of development.

Speaking at the inauguration of the 27-meter high statue of Jesus Christ located on the Fatucama peninsula eight kilometers east of Dili, Soeharto underlined the significance of the first principle of the state ideology, Pancasila. This requires a belief in one supreme god.

"With this principle our state does not force one religion on people. The state guarantees people's freedom to believe and worship based on their own convictions," Soeharto said.

Soeharto was on a brief one-day visit to East Timor to inaugurate several projects in the province, including the statue. This was his third trip to the province; the previous one were in 1978 and 1988.

East Timor was integrated into Indonesia and became its 27th province in 1976. The population is predominantly Catholic, unlike Indonesia as a whole which is 87 percent are Moslem.

According to Soeharto, the first tenet of Pancasila gives a special characteristic to the country. He identified freedom of religion as one of the core elements of human rights.

His statement on religious diversity and tolerance comes on the heels of a mass riot in which several churches were burned in East Java.

Soeharto also said yesterday that Indonesia has its own set of cultural values derived from the many tribes in the country.

"The construction of the Christ statue shows that after East Timor became part of Indonesia, the sacred and religious values of the area continued to live and develop," the President said.

The statue is the second highest in the world after the famed statue above Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. The 27-meter height represents East Timor being the 27th province.

The President and several of his aides then took a helicopter ride for an aerial view of the statue. Antara reported that Dili Bishop Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo, who became the first Indonesian to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last week, accompanied the President.

Belo told reporters that during the helicopter ride, he and President Soeharto discussed the Catholic people in the province.

"The President asked me how many churches and Catholic people there were in East Timor," Belo said.

Soeharto and Belo were demonstratively amiable, shaking hands three times.

Earlier on in the day, Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander Gen. Feisal Tanjung, who accompanied Soeharto, congratulated Belo on his Nobel prize.

In another part of his speech yesterday, Soeharto pointed out how cultural values such as brotherhood also facilitated national unity. This meant the state does not discriminate against one group in favor of others, he said.

"Our values do not allow discrimination in any form or on any grounds. We don't differentiate majority groups against minorities, much less polarize them," he said. "What we're developing, instead, is harmony and balance."

Soeharto also name a 4.2-kilometer road in Dili after the late First Lady Mrs. Tien Soeharto. The total value of the projects inaugurated yesterday exceeded Rp 90 billion.

Community leaders bestowed on Soeharto yesterday the title of "Father of Integration."

Soeharto was also accompanied by Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono, Minister of Forestry Djamaloedin Soeryohadikoesoemo and Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher.

In his address East Timor Governor Abilio Jose Osorio Soares said the various developments in the region over the past 20- years have helped the East Timorese people regain their dignity and self-respect as an integral part of the Indonesian population.

Abilio then noted how per capita income had jumped from Rp 40,000 in 1976 to the present rate of Rp 850,000. (03/mds)

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