Soeharto calls for harmony

Soeharto calls for harmony

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto yesterday guaranteed every
citizen of the right to practice their own religion but stressed
that everyone must work to promote peaceful coexistence between
the various religious communities in Indonesia.

Soeharto said that freedom of religious is guaranteed under
the 1945 Constitution and Pancasila, the state ideology.

"The diversity of religions and their adherents in Indonesia
should not divide the people and undermine national unity," he
said while receiving participants of the national congress of the
Indonesian Bishops Assembly (KWI) at the State Palace.

Julius Cardinal Darmaatmadja, who led the congress
participants, including 34 bishops and hundreds of other Roman
Catholic leaders, briefed the President on the congress, which
was officially closed yesterday with a solemn Holy Mass.

Soeharto said Indonesia's pluralism and diversity should be
regarded as providing color in the archipelago's "flower garden."

"We should let colorful flowers grow and blossom in the
atmosphere of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika," he said, using the national
motto "Unity in Diversity."

"Our goal is a nation in which all citizens, regardless of
their religion, ethnicity or race, can improve their welfare,
physically and spiritually," he said.

While saying that freedom of religion is a basic human right
guaranteed by the state, the President said the various religious
communities must be able to live in harmony. "Only within such a
peace and harmony, can we attain our national goal," he said.

Later in the day, Cardinal Darmaatmadja said that during the
meeting with the President, he had pledged the Roman Catholic
community's commitment to supporting the national development
program, something that was underlined at the congress.

Commitment

"The Church's commitment was renewed and discussed in depth
during the congress, which also reviewed the role it has played
before and since Indonesia's independence," he said.

He cited as examples I.J. Kasimo, Slamet Rijadi and Yos
Sudarso among Roman Catholic figures who have been immortalized
as national heroes for their contribution to national
independence and development.

Cardinal Darmaatmadja, who at the media conference was
accompanied by KWI Secretary General Mgr. Martinus Dogma
Situmorang OFM Cap and Mgr Yos Sautan OSC, also responded to
questions about a controversial ruling in the predominantly Roman
Catholic province of East Timor, concerning the building of
houses of worship by non-Catholics.

A decree by East Timor Governor Abilio Jose Osorio Soares
requires non-Catholics to obtain permission from the local
Catholic parish priest before building such houses.

The Indonesian Ulemas Council says the degree has prevented
the minority Moslem community in East Timor from even repairing
the mosques that were damaged during the riots in the province in
September.

Cardinal Darmaatmadja said that, while the ruling runs counter
to the principle of freedom of religion guaranteed by the state,
the Roman Catholic community has been subjected to the same
requirement in many parts of Indonesia where they are a minority.

Many Roman Catholic communities in Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan
and Sulawesi have faced problems in building churches because the
regulations require them to obtain the consent of the local
community leaders.

A 1969 joint decree by the ministers of religious affairs and
home affairs ruled that houses of worship can only be built with
the consent of the local people. (rms)