Social injustice a threat to Indonesian unity

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The following are excerpts from a paper presented at a seminar organized by the Driyarkara School of Philosophy recently in connection with its 25th anniversary. This is the second of a two-part article. __________________________________________________________________

By Franz Magnis-Suseno

JAKARTA: If we examine the primordial conflicts, we will see that most of them should not have broken out in the first place.

Conflicts such as the ones in Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Cashmere, Burundi, Rwanda, Northern Ireland and Catatonia broke out because the respective minority groups had been subjected to oppression and discrimination for tens, sometimes even hundreds of years.

There are also ethnic-related primordial conflicts that seem to have broken out of ethnic hatreds that had been going on for generations, such as the ones in the former Yugoslavia and in Central Asia (in Afghanistan and Georgia). However, the majority of primordial conflicts are the results of long-lasting social injustice. Such is the case with fundamentalist primordialism in Algiers and Egypt.

According to experts, the conflicts earned their momentum following the decades in which the fate of the peasants remained the same while, at the same time, they watched extravagance being enjoyed by those on top.

Similarly, exaggerated centralism and disrespect for demands for regional autonomy will prompt separatist reactions, as they violate the perception of justice of the people in the affected regions.

Although, at the outside, there seems to be no direct connection between the fading of nationalism and social injustice, in reality social injustice is the most serious long- term threat on the national unity and solidarity.

It is not difficult to see why this is the case. The moment a nation becomes segmented into the privileged and those who continue to be asked to sacrifice and continue to feel oppressed, the perception among the latter that they belong to the same nation with the privileged deteriorates.

The segmentation may be vertical -- between the upper and middle classes and lower in the cities, or regional -- the regions watch the glories of metropolitan cities, while their own development suffers from stagnation, or whether the structure of power is discriminating and tilted toward one direction. However, the results will always be the same: the sentiment of nationalism will be eroded.

Social injustice makes it impossible to foster the basic sentiment of national unity: the awareness that we all share the good and the bad. If, like in Indonesia, the national unity is based on ethos and history, the erosion of such a sentiment will be totally fatal as it is our only basis for national unity.

Therefore, the most important requirement for the rebuilding of national sentiment is the creation of a living condition that can be perceived as humane and just by every member of the socie ty. The efforts should include elimination of all kinds of dis crimination, such as the one based on ethnic background, lan guage, religion or place of origin. Also included are the due respect for autonomy and cultural identity of all communities in the framework of national unity. Nationalism can develop posi tively only if everybody in the community feels involved.

Can national sentiments be pumped up? One of the methods that may actually be effective is impossible for us to use as it is against the essence of Indonesia's nationalism, that is, to promote nationalistic sentiments by calling another nation as our enemy, or by mobilizing the majority of our people by calling a particular minority group the enemy.

Inflating the nationalistic sentiment through speeches and lectures, will not be effective either; it can even prove to be counterproductive if the government officials who give them, in their own arrogance and upscale lifestyle, just represent injustice. Ceremonies, such as flag-rising and the routine seventeenth-day-of-the-month forms, certainly have their meaning -- Rousseau considered civil religion ceremonies important in fostering patriotism. However, their function is limited to only complementary. The basic nationalistic sentiments should already exist before all such complementary ceremonies and rituals can have effects.

Nationalistic sentiments cannot be forced. They should grow on their own as the result of the interaction within national life. Proud, sad, touched, involved, shocked, or affectionate are the feelings that emerge alternately with participation in national life, including participation through the mass-media.

What we can now create is a conducive condition so that the nationalistic sentiments will remain strong in the society. As has been mentioned, these sentiments include the feeling of sharing the good and the bad, the pride for being an Indonesian, the happiness and remorse for the fate of the nation, affection for the nation, solidarity towards compatriots, willingness to make sacrifices for the sake of the nation and the state, will ingness to forego one's own interests.

We have looked at the conditions that have to be met, that is, the entire society should feel respected in their dignity as human and should be treated fairly. Nationalistic sentiments requires that members of the nation can build their lives according to their own ideal way of living together that is proper, decent, and fair.

Here, we go back to Pancasila, as Pancasila contains the ideals of the Indonesian nation about the proper, decent and fair way of living together. This means that Nationalism, the third principle in Pancasila, cannot be promoted in isolation.

It will be fostered and will play a positive role on its own provided other principles are also put into practice. Indonesians should feel justified and supported in their religious yearning, in their just and civilized human dignity. National unity should be clearly visible, and it should be based on equality.

Every Indonesian should have a share in the ownership of the state by being allowed to participate in a democratic way in various levels of true deliberation, and he should be able to see that social justice is truly fought for.

We can also say that nationalistic sentiments will grow strong only if religiosity of the Indonesian people is respected, if their basic rights as human are protected, if the society creates a democracy in which they can participate in the responsibility for moving forward together, and if living together is truly based on fairness.

Dr. Franz Magnis-Suseno is a senior lecturer at Driyarkara School of Philosophy.