JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The world needs Indonesia heritage of pluralism to maintain and maintain peace and mutual respect for one another in the future. It will be a great gift from Indonesia to the world as the vision and desire of Yap Thiam Hien, an anti-discrimination figure. This conclusion emerged from the presentation of Amnesty International’s Secretary General Salil Shetty at a Yap Thiam Hien Human Rights lecture entitled “Pluralism and the Struggle for Justice and Equality”, in Jakarta, Thursday (23/3/2017).
The lecture was organized by the Yap Thiam Hien Foundation in collaboration with the Tahir Foundation, the Indonesia Legal Roundtable, and Ikadin. Chairman of the Yap Thiam Hien Foundation Todung Mulya Lubis acknowledged that the issue of pluralism is currently an issue for all countries. Fundamentalism threatens harmony and diversity. “Indonesia is no longer what it used to be. Now it’s us and them, friends and foes,” said Todung, who hoped that Indonesia could get out of this narrow thinking. The Head of the National Unity and Political Affairs Agency of DKI Jakarta Darwis M Adji, who read the remarks of the Acting Governor of DKI Jakarta Soni Sumarsono, hoped that the figure of Yap Thiam Hien would appear in the present and future. “We have a policy to protect diversity in various ways. For this reason, a full understanding of pluralism is important because misunderstandings will be unproductive,” he said.
Furthermore, Shetty identified four signs that could attack pluralism and tolerance in a nation like Indonesia. The first sign of religious intolerance and the challenge of pluralism is the emergence of demonization and hatred of certain groups. The second is discrimination, which is when the government serves or treats one group unequally with another group. The third is when legislation is used to impose a religious hierarchy in society. The last is violence or cruelty. “The four signs must serve as guidelines to restore pluralism and equality in society. When we think about fighting back, we have to take these four signs into account,” said Shetty.
Original article: ” Dunia Butuh Indonesia dengan Warisan Pluralisme”.
https://www.kompas.id/baca/politik/2017/03/24/dunia-butuh-indonesia-dengan-warisan-pluralisme/
