Unity in danger, Mega warns

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.