Jakarta – Interfaith religious organizations in Indonesia condemned the Myanmar military junta Monday for its irresponsible use of force and insisted the republic facilitate peaceful dialogs between conflicting parties.
"There is nothing violence can do to solve a single problem in this world," Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin told a news conference at the office of the Indonesian Committee on Religions for Peace (ICRP) in Jakarta.
"To thousands of victims who are suffering from their own government's irresponsible and ruthless actions, we offer our deepest condolences," he said.
Din said the interfaith leaders grouped in the committee demanded the Myanmar government stop taking military action in response to civil mass rallies.
The Myanmar government, he added, should also release every prisoner taken during the demonstration period, as well as dissident leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under detention or house arrest for some 12 years.
Executive director of the Interfaith Commission of the Indonesian Bishops Conference, Benny Susetyo said, "We also urge the United Nations to take any action required to prevent Myanmar from further violence".
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon last week urged Myanmar's authorities to exercise restraint and to commence a reconciliation process without delay. A special UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari has visited Myanmar in an attempt to commence dialogues with the junta.
Protests began five weeks ago when the Myanmar government decided to raise fuel prices, causing commodities to skyrocket. Students and citizens held mass rallies against the government's policy across the country.
Buddhist monks joined the movement in force after a September 5 rally in Pakokku, Central Myanmar, that saw soldiers fire warning shots at protesters. Some pro-junta organizations also allegedly beat protesters.
Buddhist monks have long been known as the country's second largest organization after the military, with around 400,000 members.
Indonesian Buddhist monk Tadisa Paramita Shavira said he expected international Buddhist organizations and the Indonesian government to set up regional meetings in order to discuss the most effective way to push Myanmar into dialogues with the protesters.
Some 1,000 people in Myanmar have been detained. During the height of the demonstrations, many protesters, including students, monks and one Japanese journalist, were gunned down by soldiers.
Myanmar last experienced fatal protest activity in August 1988, when students led protests against junta policies. The protests ended with troops killing at least 3,000 people.
Indonesian lawmaker Sutradara Gintings said the republic must be careful in its efforts to help resolve the Myanmar crisis, because the current upheaval was a human rights issue with political and economic overtones.
He said many countries, especially in the West, had interest in Myanmar's oil reserves. Currently, China operates most of Myanmar's oil facilities.