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)