Why not a monument

Why not a monument
of peace in Aceh?

I have watched TV shows and read news articles on the
surrender of fire arms used by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and
the destruction of the arms and other paraphernalia.

This is indeed a pitiful phenomenon. Instead of destroying the
arms or selling them as scrap iron, we should place them in a
museum as authentic, historical evidence of the nation's
progress.

Moreover, GAM took the lives of Indonesian people; they also
destroyed property, hence making the people's lives miserable.

I have learned that many state documents have not been
properly managed and many have disappeared. The Proclamation
document, the Mar. 11 Letter of Instruction (Supersemar), the
Youth Pledge file, all these documents are gone.

Are we really responsible for all these losses to the younger
generations?

Being artists, we would like to propose that the destroyed
arms be collected and kept in one place. A monument should be
built to depict "Peace in Aceh". This monument would comprise two
huge doves. One dove would have a stem of rice in its beak, the
other an olive branch. This monument would symbolize peace and
prosperity.

The fire arms would be arranged in the form of the doves. May
the parties concerned respond positively to this appeal.

B.M. WIBOWO
Jakarta