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Ministers hold meeting on Bela Negara, to incorporate it in schools
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Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo. (Antara/Hafidz Mubarak A)
D
efense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu held on Thursday an annual meeting with other ministers, including Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo, to discuss the country’s defense strategy this year, including the controversial Bela Negara program.
The meeting, which was closed to journalists, discussed, among other things, Indonesia’s cooperation with neighboring countries, the country’s roles in peacekeeping operations and Bela Negara for all Indonesian citizens, the ministry said in a statement.
The Bela Negara program has received harsh criticism from democracy activists, with protests intensifying recently following an event in which Lebak Military Command trained members of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI).
Minister Tjahjo told reporters after the meeting that the government was finalizing regulations on the Bela Negara program, which he said would later be incorporated into school and university curriculum to familiarize citizens with the basic ideas of the state’s ideology, Pancasila, and the Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity) principle.
“If we do not implement the Bela Negara program, 100 years from now, [our generations] will have no idea when asked about Pancasila,” Tjahjo said. (evi)
