Student senates make plea for greater tolerance
Student senates make plea for greater tolerance
JAKARTA (JP): Concerned over the recent religious violence in
Situbondo, East Java, several prestigious Christian Protestant
universities called Saturday for greater tolerance.
In a joint statement, they said it was ironic that such an
incident should have occurred in Indonesia, where freedom of
religion is guaranteed by law and is even enshrined in the state
ideology Pancasila.
"There needs to be a re-examination of inter-religious life in
Indonesia to make sure such incidents do not happen again," read
the statement addressed to President Soeharto, senior government
officials and the mass media.
The students called for the authorities to take concrete steps
to prevent religious conflict in the future.
The statement was signed by representatives from the student
senate of Yogyakarta's Krida Wacana Christian University,
Salatiga's Satya Wacana Christian University, Surabaya's Petra
Christian University, Bandung's Maranatha Christian University,
Jakarta's Indonesian Christian University and the Jakarta School
of Theology.
They said that apart from material and physical damage, the
event in Situbondo has also resulted in deep psychological trauma
among the congregation.
Angry mobs ran amok in Situbondo, East Java, burning a court
house and churches after a local court was perceived to be overly
lenient on a man charged with blasphemy.
"This event is very hurtful to Christians in Indonesia, and
the whole world," read the statement.
They called on the government to thoroughly and transparently
investigate the incident and find a fair solution.
Apart from the Situbondo incident, the students in their
statement also expressed concern over a similar religious riot
which occurred in Surabaya in June, in which 10 churches were
also attacked.
They pointed out that the public has yet to see what the
authorities are planning to do about the Surabaya affair, and
underlined that the rule of law must be upheld.
They also called on the media to report "proportionally" on
the incident, mindful of the repercussions it could have if the
reporting was overly exaggerated.
Meanwhile the East Nusa Tenggara and East Timor branches of
the Indonesian Bishop Conference and the Communion of Churches in
Indonesia, called Saturday for calm following the Situbondo
incident.
They warned that the riot should not be viewed merely as
religious contention.
"Let's not get trapped in the belief that the Situbondo
incident is a conflict between the Islamic majority and the
Christian minority," Minister Yewangoe of the Communion of
Churches was quoted by Antara as saying.
Yewangoe said he believes the riots involved people who don't
understand Pancasila, and some who are anti-Pancasila. (mds)