Try tells youths to cooperate, set aside differences

Try tells youths to cooperate, set aside differences

JAKARTA (JP): Vice President Try Sutrisno told some 120 youth
leaders from 12 Asian and Pacific countries yesterday never to
let differences hamper cooperation.

Opening the Forum for Asia-Pacific Youth Leaders meeting in
Bandung, West Java, Try said "differences are beautiful" and
should be a source of strength to build "cohesion and
friendship".

"Differences should not become a divider that can lead to gaps
of status among the youths in the regions," he said. "Differences
should be used to develop respect for each other ..."

Try said that efforts to instill strong sense of
responsibility among youths should start with the development of
mutual respect and understanding. "The efforts should then be
continued by building cooperation and sensitivity toward the
conditions in and development of the community," Try said.

"Mutual trust among youths should be further developed, given
the heterogeneity of nations in the region, in terms of skin-
color, levels of social welfare and historical background," he
said.

The Vice President was quoted by the Antara news agency as
saying that the Asia-Pacific region was once a source of dispute
among colonial powers because of its wealth of natural resources.

The next century, he said, will see the region develop into a
center of the world economy. "This is why the young people of
this region should from now on prepare themselves for the future
by building their sense of responsibility," he said.

The three-day gathering is organized by the Indonesian
National Youth Committee (KNPI) in cooperation with the Asia-
Australia Institute.

KNPI chairman Tubagus Hayono said the forum is seeking to
formulate common concepts on youth leadership, taking into
account the diversity among groups. The event is aimed at helping
the youths prepare to greet the 21st century, which has been
dubbed to be the "Century of the Asia-Pacific".

Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs Hayono Isman and West
Java Governor R. Nuriana also addressed the gathering. Several
cabinet ministers, including Minister for Tourism, Post and
Telecommunications Joop Ave, attended the opening ceremony.

Crises

Meanwhile in Jakarta, a number of local youth leaders said
that Indonesian young people are currently undergoing "a crisis
of achievement" and that they lack the ability to apply the
spirit of the past youth leaders, as expressed in the 1928 Youth
Pledge, to today's realities.

The criticism was voiced in a discussion to mark the 66th
anniversary of the Youth Pledge. Those who spoke at the gathering
included chairman of the GP Ansor Moslem youth organization, M.
Iqbal Assegaff, KNPI leader Kristiya Kartika, and chairman of the
Indonesian Buddhist Center, Rusjdi Rukmarata.

"The lack of creativity and a pro-active attitude has
aggravated the condition of our young people, who are
already...less than dynamic," Iqbal said.

"Past youth leaders, under the oppression of the colonial
power, were able to produce the monumental Youth Pledge. Now,
what can our young people do to contribute to the life of this
nation?" he asked.

"Too many young people are busy talking, but fail to do much,"
he said. "The problem of social gaps is now on the agenda of the
nation and needs to be urgently addressed. Will talking be
enough?" he asked further.

He criticized contemporary young people as lacking
independence. "If their parents provide opportunities for them,
they progress. If not, they just follow passively," he said. "The
youths are suffering from a fear to act..They are afraid to do
things..." he added. (swe)