Unity in danger, Mega warns

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President Megawati Soekarnoputri warned on Monday that excessive ethnic pride, currently widespread in the country, posed a threat to national unity.

Referring to the increased tendency within the regions to emphasize regional distinctiveness in the wake of the implementation of regional autonomy in the country, the President said it opened up the possibility of Indonesia becoming another Balkans.

"Consciously or not, we often make a disproportionate use of ethnic or local symbols...I am very concerned when people use ethnic pride, 'local people' or even religious symbols to support regional autonomy," Megawati said during the opening ceremony of a working meeting on national development.

Speaking in front of governors and the heads of districts and municipalities from across the country, Megawati said that the spirit of national unity formulated by the founding fathers would be transgressed if each region were to focus on pursuing its own interests.

"If we are not careful in managing those sentiments then we may find ourselves caught up in a situation that runs against the spirit of national unity and cohesion," the President remarked.

The President, the daughter of founding president Sukarno, added that, while the former government may have caused much disappointment for many regions in Indonesia, that was no reason to break the country up.

She reminded her audience that the founding fathers understood a strong Indonesian nation could only be built on the unity of many regions and nations, as they also represented a variety of ethnic and religious backgrounds.

"We have seen many small countries in the world, established on the basis of narrow-minded local pride, that were unable to improve on the conditions that prevailed previously, when they were integrated into a larger country," she remarked.

Megawati has repeated her warning of national disintegration a number of times. As a strong nationalist, she has won popular support for her opposition to total regional autonomy.

On Sunday, during the commemoration of National Youth Pledge Day, she warned that the country could perish if regional sentiments continued to grow.

She repeated her concern that regional autonomy, which was introduced in January 2001, could produce excessive regional pride, especially in those territories rich in natural resources, as they may believe they would better off outside Indonesia.

"We should not get carried away with the assets that we have now, in terms of their potential to allow us to stand on our own two feet. We should not forget that those resources carry many problems with them," she remarked.

Megawati asserted that the implementation of regional autonomy would bring the regions not only more revenue sharing and authority, but also responsibilities to develop the regions effectively.

"It is not meant to delegate sovereignty. Regional autonomy is granted to increase welfare and finally strengthen the national unity of the country," she said.

Separatist sentiment has grown in resource-rich regions, such as Aceh and Riau in Sumatra, as well as in the easternmost province of Papua, formerly Irian Jaya.