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Religious figures call for peace
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A number of young people hold posters during an action organized by Inter-Ethnic Nusantara in Jakarta recently to reject the exploitation of ethnic, religious, racial and social group (SARA) sentiments prior to the regional elections on Feb. 15, 2017. (Antara/Reno Esnir)
Religious figures have made a joint statement to call for peace and tolerance for the regional elections.
The statement was made following a mass demonstration against Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama because of his statement on a verse from the Quran.
The Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI) general secretary Gomar Gultom, who read the statement, said that the religious figures had been concerned by the antagonistic discourse from the public.
"This situation has potential to disturb the harmony among people of different religions. This could further disturb the state's unity," he said at the Center for Dialogue and Cooperation among Civilizations (CDCC) in Central Jakarta on Monday.
Therefore, religious figures from PGI, Inter-Religious Council (IRC), Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), Indonesian Buddhists Association (Walubi), Confucian Supreme Council of Indonesia (Matakin), Indonesian Bishops Conference (KWI) and Indonesian Hindu Religious Councils (PHDI) urged the public to avoid violence and to uphold moral and religious values.
"We hope for peace and harmony. To achieve it, we should be ready to live together in peace without excluding other parties. Harmony will be built through tolerance and respect among the people," the IRC president Din Syamsudin said.
The leaders suggest that the government should mitigate conflict to prevent this from occurring again in the future and to implement the election properly according to the law. (bbn)
