Sultan to faciliate peace in Maluku

Sultan to faciliate peace in Maluku

Ati Nurbaiti, The Jakarta Post, Ambon

In an attempt to reinforce the message of peace between warring
Christians and Muslims in Maluku, the province's traditional
leaders appointed Yogyakarta Governor and Sultan Hamengku Buwono
X an honorary king at the end of a three-day gathering here on
Saturday.

The leaders said it was the first time that Muslim and
Christian symbols had been incorporated into the province's
traditional costume, which they put on the Sultan, who they
called Upulatu (father of kings) Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X.

Working with the Baku Bae peace movement, the Sultan earlier
helped facilitate meetings between several of the Christian and
Muslim leaders in Yogyakarta, before the larger meeting of 110
traditional leaders, or raja, here from Jan. 8 to Jan. 10.

The leaders said Hamengku Buwono X was the only national
figure that they would trust to help resolve the situation in
Maluku, which remains under civil emergency.

"I hope that this will be the gathering that finalizes the
commitment of all to peace," he said in an interview.

In his address, the Sultan cited lessons learned from the
country's founding fathers, who in their debates displayed
openness and tolerance in the face of the harshest criticism. He
also cited the country's diversity, as observed by
anthropologists, composers and poets.

Despite the potential for conflict, he said the relative
integration of society had been maintained by force or state
dominance and by economic interdependence, followed by dominance
of one group over another, whether ethnic, religious or political
groups.

The problem, he said, "is whether the dominance required for
stability is a compulsory thing? Isn't dominance a source of
prejudice, tension and conflict"?

The Sultan said the future dominance of an economic sector by
certain groups should be prevented. The dominance of trade in
Maluku by Muslim migrants has been cited as one source of the
conflict there, which erupted in early 1999.

He also urged that there be space for society to heal itself
through institutions which come from the grass roots, instead of
institutions started by others or the political and military
elite.

He also stressed the need to reinforce the roles of
traditional institutions of brotherhood among villages,
regardless of religion. This tradition is locally known as pela
gandong.

The recent Idul Fitri and Christmas holidays, he said, should
also remind people of the message of humanity delivered by both
religions.

Meanwhile, the gathering of the raja, hosted by Pattimura
University and Baku Bae, produced a number of recommendations
regarding education, refugees, law and security, as well as the
role of the raja.

On education, the traditional leaders urged a 25 percent
allocation in the provincial budget for education; the hiring of
both Christian and Muslim teachers in neutral areas; the
continued rebuilding of damaged schools; and the assertion that
"education cannot be provided on a discriminative basis".

Regarding the economy, the raja of Paso, Theresia Maimutu,
reported that the gathering noted the low quality of human
resources, high unemployment, limited access to markets because
of geographical isolation and poor infrastructure in Maluku. The
leaders urged that the sea and its resources become the focus of
the area's economy.

On refugees, last estimated at 30,000 people, the leaders
urged the authorities to take a very cautious stand in helping
refugees return to their homes, taking into account specific
situations regarding special groups.

The leaders also recommended that the traditional roles of the
raja be restored, in accordance with the 1999 law on regional
autonomy, to allow them to become involved in creating provincial
regulations.