Unity through repression?

I was alarmed after reading an article in the "Across the Archipelago" section of the June 9 edition of The Jakarta Post reporting that the speaker of the South Sumatra provincial legislature had publicly called on Chinese-Indonesians to use Indonesian or the predominant ethnic language of the area for everyday use. I was puzzled when, in almost the same breath, he also urged a stop to discrimination in the country.

The speaker made the announcement after meeting with a group of Taman Siswa University students who argued that the use of Chinese in public detracted from national unity and the development of nationalism. They said the 1945 Constitution stipulated that Indonesian was the national language.

At the same time, the students asserted they fully supported an end to discriminatory practices in the country.

Do these students and the speaker actually believe that asking an ethnic minority not to use their preferred language in public is not discriminatory?

If we take their logic a step further, then we should be asking all Javanese living in Kalimantan not to use the Javanese language in public since they are indeed a minority there. And in Jakarta, the use of Javanese, Sundanese, Madurese, etc. should not be used in public since the predominant language here is Indonesian.

Or do the students and the speaker wish to only discourage the public use of languages not indigenous to the shores of Indonesia? This would be a convenient way of saying that Chinese is not welcome here.

Being an American, do they propose that I should have to use Indonesian when speaking in public with another American friend to make sure we don't threaten national unity? Should two Indonesians practicing English, Dutch or Japanese only do so behind closed doors? Or are the students and the speaker proposing to single out only the Chinese language?

The fact that they are not urging me, my Javanese friends or my Sundanese friends to use only Indonesian in Jakarta while they are asking Chinese-Indonesians to do so is outrageously discriminatory.

Indonesian has been a truly unifying language for this country. It has enabled people from Aceh to Irian Jaya to communicate freely in everyday business, governmental and personal contacts. But I don't believe Indonesia's founders ever intended the national language to stamp out regional and ethnic languages in the process.

To the contrary, Indonesia is rightfully proud of maintaining its diverse cultural heritage. The question is: When will the majority of Indonesians accept the fact that Chinese culture, too, is a part of this country's heritage since almost 10 million of its citizens claim it as part of their ancestry?

When a country singles out one of its ethnic groups by denying or curbing the maintenance of its cultural heritage, then how can that group feel like it is a respected component of society? Is national unity forged through the repression of the country's minorities?

What has happened to the idea behind Indonesia's seal that states: Bhinneka Tunggal Eka (unity in diversity)?

JAMIE DAVIS

Jakarta