Tolerance in Indonesia : Appropriate Response in Crisis is Substansial
The Setara Institute, an organization that focuses on pluralism, humanity and democracy, conducted research on Tolerant Cities in Indonesia after conducting studies in 94 cities out of a total of 98 cities in Indonesia. The research, which was released at the end of February 2021, ranks the top 10 most tolerant cities in Indonesia.
The ten cities and regencies are Salatiga (Central Java), Singkawang (West Kalimantan), Manado (North Sulawesi), Tomohon (North Sulawesi), Kupang (East – Nusa Tenggara), Surabaya (East Java), Ambon (Maluku), Kediri (East Java), Sukabumi (West Java) and Bekasi (West Java).According to The Deputy Chairperson of the Setara Institute Governing Board, Bonar Tigor Naipospos, the indication of a city being said to be tolerant does not only depend on the presence or absence of intolerance in the area.
He gave an example with Surabaya City in East Java. When the survey was conducted, Surabaya was still recovering the condition of its city after experiencing a suicide bomb attack at the Santa Maria Immaculate Church in Surabaya, May 13, 2018. At that time, the Mayor of Surabaya, which was still held by Tri Risma Harini, issued a statement indicating a very appropriate response in a crisis.
One of them is asking the school to accompany and entertain the students so that they are not affected by the tense atmosphere after the terror attack. Actions taken by the Head of Government in a City will show how responsive the City is to things that can injure tolerance.
Risma has issued policies that support the creation of a conducive atmosphere. As a regional leader, Risma has fulfilled her obligations to protect, to promote and to fulfill. Meanwhile, even though an area has never experienced incidents of intolerance, it must be seen what kind of regulations, policies and actions in that area Bonar exemplified with the conditions in Aceh Singkil which has restrictions on the construction of houses of worship for minorities.
“We see whether there is discrimination in regulations or policies in the region, whether it encourages tolerance or even inhibits it,” he told TheApex Chronicles.
In Indonesia, according to Bonar, there are regions that have regulations that tend to favor certain religions or certain groups. In addition, the extent to which a city promotes it, such as providing a budget for a tolerance campaign and how to accommodate the aspirations of minority groups.
Peaceful Village
Nglinggi Village is a village located in the administrative area of Klaten Regency, Central Java, being one of 30 Peace Villages across the archipelago, Wahid Foundation’s moderate Islamic think-tank initiative program. This village has a village head from a minority group, which is Christian.
From the website managed by Nglinggi Village, there are currently 1604 Muslims, 687 Catholics, 77 Christians, 31 Hindus, and 3 Buddhists in the village. The village head, Sugeng Mulyadi, managed to get 52% of the vote in the 2013 Nglinggi village head election, at which time there were only 20 Christians.
“This program supports economic empowerment, peace-building mechanisms and women’s empowerment,” Wahid Foundation Assistant Director Visna Vulovik said via text message to The Apex Chronicles.
Village economic development and women’s empowerment are believed to be one of the solutions to counter intolerance and radicalism. Therefore, there are two things that become the main concern in the Peace Village program. First, providing access to capital and entrepreneurship training through women’s development. Second, training for village communities to see potential conflicts that stem from intolerance.
In Indonesia, based on research by the Setara Institute on intolerance, in 2020 there were 180 incidents of intolerance with 442 acts of which 42 were carried out by religious organizations. This number is not much different from the results of research in 2019 which recorded 200 incidents of intolerance with 327 violations.
Peace Village itself is a regional and government unit that has a structure to prevent conflict, the development of intolerance, and extremism based on violence and radicalism.