|
|
|
Celebrating
Unity -- But What About Diversity?
Endy M. Bayuni, Jakarta
This year Indonesia marks its 60th independence
anniversary. Given the diversity of this nation of about
220 million people, we have every reason to pride ourselves
that we have remained as one nation, through good and bad
times, for six decades now.
This year's Aug. 17th Independence Day will be celebrated
in a special way, just as we do every time we commemorate
another decade of our national independence. We can reflect
on the struggle that our founding fathers went through to
secure our independence, and the subsequent struggle to
build this collection of peoples of different races, ethnicities,
cultures, languages and faiths, as one free nation called
Indonesia.
Much blood, sweat and tears were shed by our predecessors,
some of them long dead, some still alive, some recognized
and honored as heroes, many others anonymous, forgotten
or even banished. It is to each and every one of them, the
known and the unknown, that we owe our gratitude. We should
honor and respect their part in making Indonesia a united
nation.
While we may rejoice at six decades of unity, we cannot,
unfortunately, rejoice too much concerning our diversity.
There are still too many individuals and groups in our society
who continue to face persecution, as well as discriminatory
policies, practices and harassment because of their religion,
their political beliefs, the color of their skin, their
culture or language, their educational background, their
wealth (or lack of it), their gender and even their sexual
orientation.
For six decades now, we have learned that our diversity
is a source of national strength. But we have also learned
that this diversity, from time to time, from one corner
of the archipelago to another, has become a source of tension
and friction that has often erupted into ugly and bloody
conflicts.
Just as we cannot take our unity for granted, we should
also not take our diversity for granted.
Indonesia may be a diverse nation, but ours is far from
being an ideal pluralist nation.
Going by the broad definition of pluralism -- a framework
for interaction in which groups show sufficient respect
and tolerance of each other that they can fruitfully coexist
and interact without conflict or assimilation -- then Indonesia
is, at best, an imperfect pluralist nation.
Melani Budianta of the University of Indonesia calls it
"selective pluralism" because while the state
may try to promote pluralism, it restricts some groups,
such as the minority Chinese and people holding convictions
outside the five religions recognized by the state, from
this process.
Since the proclamation of our independence in 1945, every
single administration has worked hard at forging the unity
of the Indonesian state. Very often, especially during the
32 years of President Soeharto's tyrannous "New Order"
regime, such unity was imposed upon the nation through the
use of violence.
But even after Soeharto's downfall in 1998, subsequent Indonesian
leaders elected through democratic processes remained obsessed
with forging Indonesia's unity, and less with its diversity,
and even less again with its pluralism.
The only president who showed some concern towards pluralism
was Abdurrahman Wahid. He was the one who did away with
the ruling that banned Chinese New Year's celebrations and
most other measures that led to the unsuccessful experience
of forced assimilation of the minority ethnic Chinese during
the Soeharto years. Gus Dur's attempt to remove the official
ban on the spreading of communist teachings was foiled,
and it marked the beginning of his unpopularity that eventually
led to his impeachment in July 2001. So much for pluralism.
Subsequent presidents, Megawati Soekarnoputri and Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono, as well as most of our elected leaders
today, appear to be far more concerned about our unity.
This is clear from their continued obsession with maintaining
Indonesia's "territorial integrity" under the
concept of Negara Kesatuan Republic Indonesia (NKRI -- the
Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia).
The emphasis has always been on preserving Indonesia's territorial
claim "From Sabang to Merauke", that is from the
westernmost town in Aceh to the easternmost town in Papua.
Rarely has the NKRI concept been discussed in terms of the
diversity or plurality of the people who live in this territory.
On the contrary, the overemphasis on unity has often come
at the expense of suppressing the diversity and pluralistic
nature of our nation.
Pluralism is not even part of the vocabulary of our leaders
and politicians today.
Hence, Indonesia marks another milestone in its independence
this year at a time when many of its people -- as individuals
or groups -- live in constant fear and suppression because
of what they are or because of what they believe.
Ask people in Maluku and the Central Sulawesi regency of
Poso, where Christians and Muslims are still fighting and
killing each other; ask people in Papua and Aceh, where
they live in fear because of the war between the Indonesian
military and armed separatist rebels; ask Madurese and Javanese
migrants who were the target of violent ethnic cleansing
campaigns in West Kalimantan and Aceh respectively; ask
the minority ethnic Chinese who fear more anti-Chinese riots;
ask the minority religious communities who are prevented
from building their houses of prayer because the dominant
community says they can't; and ask women and other marginalized
groups in society who continue to face harassment and discrimination
in their daily lives.
Ask them what is the meaning of this year's independence
anniversary.
For most, there is little really to celebrate come Aug.
17th. M (EMB/JP/IM) The writer is chief editor of The Jakarta
Post. He participated in the Journalism Asia Forum 2004
"Media Ethics and Pluralism in Asia" in Bangkok
January 28-29.
|
