The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 10/16/2010 6:55 PM | National|
Vice President Boediono said radicalism was a real threat to national interests and should therefore be shunned.
"Radicalism is a real threat. It can disunite the people," Boediono said in remarks to open a Global Peace Leadership Conference in Jakarta Saturday.
He said radicals were people trapped in the shallow-minded idea that human beings should be differentiated according to their race, skin color, language or religious belief. "Unfortunately such differentiations often trigger conflict in society," Boediono said as quoted by the Antara news agency.
He called on people to begin to realize the beauty of differences in society, including differences in religious beliefs. He also stressed the need for people to respect each other in the spirit of equality.
"For example, although the majority of Indonesians are Muslim, our state ideology tells us to respect people holding different religious beliefs. If we deviate from or contradict our basic ideology, the nation will come to ruin," the vice president said.
An instance of religious intolerance happened last September in Bekasi, West Java. Two members of the Huria Batak Christian Protestant (HKBP) church in the town, Asiah Lumbuan Toruan, 49, and pastor Luspida, 40, were attacked by eight people on motorcycles while the two were walking towards the location where they would attend a religious service.
Asiah suffered a stab wound to the right side of his abdomen, while Luspida suffered a bump on her head. After the attack the two were immediately taken to a nearby hospital for treatment while police detained nine suspects.
Regarding the motive behind the attack, former Jakarta Police chief, now proposed to be the chief of National Police, Insp. Gen. Timur Pradopo stated the suspects thought the church people had violated the law that prohibits the holding of a religious service at a location not covered by an official permit for the purpose.
Timur said he would act firmly based on the law against the ones who had stabbed one of the church-goers.
Meanwhile, Din Syamsuddin, chairman of Muhammadiyah (the second largest Muslim organization in Indonesia), has urged the police to investigate the recent attack on members of the HKBP church.
The same call was issued by the chairman of the Democratic Party faction in the West Java Legislative Council (DPRD), HM Achdar Sudrajat. He regretted the incident and also asked West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan to ask for a clarification on the incident from the Bekasi mayor.
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