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)