Eras Poke, Kupang – Hundreds of students and church leaders took part in a peace rally on Thursday night in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, to urge a return to peace and interfaith harmony following a recent spate of religious violence in several parts of the country.
Participants at the rally lit 1,000 candles to symbolize the return to peace and the end of mob actions. They also called on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to make good on his promise to uphold religious freedom and the supremacy of law.
The rally was held in front of the East Nusa Tenggara Police headquarters, with participants taking turns giving speeches calling for a thorough investigation into the recent violence by Islamic hard-liners that they said had tainted the country's image as one whose people were united amid their diversity.
The rally leaders called on the younger generation to be active participants in promoting religious freedom and tolerance in the country.
Some students in the rally carried placards with messages criticizing the government for what they perceived as its inability to ensure religious freedom and its lax law enforcement against those who committed violent acts in the name of religion.
One pastors in the rally, Romo Leo Mali, said the president's promises to uphold religious freedom had yet to come true. As a result, he said, several groups that did not hold pluralism in high regard felt emboldened in carrying out acts that demeaned the nation's principles and basic human rights.
Romo said he hoped the government would take firm action to maintain the country's dignity and uphold the supremacy of the law.
Are De Peskin, the coordinator of students in the rally, said it was regrettable that the government had become so permissive under Yudhoyono's leadership that it had allowed religious- and ethnic-based conflicts to erupt across the country.
"This sectarian unrest keeps occurring because the president fails to act firmly against those inciting the acts and their supporters," he said.
He added that this failure to guarantee religious freedom was most apparent when the president came to Kupang to inaugurate the Peace Gong earlier this week, amid the backdrop of attacks against minority religious groups by Islamic hard-liners in Banten and Central Java.
"Mass organizations that support mob attacks are being allowed to act as though the government has no power over them," Are said. "The government should show some dignity."
Friday's rally concluded with the singing of the national anthem and songs calling for unity in diversity. There was a heavy police presence at the rally to prevent rioting or an attack by rival groups.