Unity through repression?

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