The idea of nationhood in the 20th century

The idea of nationhood that emerged as the 20th century, who gave birth to nationality consciousness, across ethnicities, races, religions and origins, which was then named 'Indonesia'; the idea was certainly not born from empty space, but the birth of the 'feeling of kinship' is stronger than the reality of colonialism. so the idea was not only charged countrymen 'unity', but justice and prosperity also for the community. the idea was quickly scrolling to find the next moment, namely, strengthening the notion of independence, sovereignty, which gave birth to the 'state'; of Indonesia. we saw that the birth of the idea of nationality (nationalism) precedes the notion of state (static). the idea is to make static government centralized control of natural and human resources through the bureaucracy and the military administration that touches every aspect of life. on the next trip, it appears that the idea of nationhood has been seriously weakened by statics and the ideals of unity, justice and prosperity for the people of Indonesia has failed to be complaints.

Indeed, even after 'independence' achieved, the question of the relation of the free peoples' rights and the state becomes a crucial issue. immediately after the proclamation of independence, based conflicts, political, economic, social and cultural place and a lot of unresolved, so that this nation lost a chance to learn to be a nation more democratic and dignified.

During the struggle for independence, the founders of this nation is fully aware of the diversity of religious beliefs, political vision, economic level, education, and diversity in the appreciation of local culture. thus the founders of the nation has set a crucial political milestone for the social foundation of the state want to build is a who pancasila and the constitution. at the very least, the basics of the national commitment to raise the dignity of the Indonesian people as reflected in the preamble and torso 1945 is a struggle for human rights perspective in Indonesian. thus, the question of human rights enforcement in Indonesia is inseparable from the ideals of our nation to raise the dignity of the Indonesian people. our experience shows that abuse of state power has changed from the most dangerous threat to the continuity of our national life.

State has failed to become a facilitator for the diversity of the Indonesian nation, by allowing the emergence of regulations that reflect the dominance of religious groups / interests of certain groups which in turn easily sparked envy from other groups. nuanced religious conflicts that often arise, and unfortunately, the government as though 'defend' one group at the expense of other groups. driven by religious violence and vigilante acts are still often the case, and resolving problems in the courts or the settlement within the framework of social reconciliation is still disappointing. governments tend to let the institution / religious groups issued a fatwa that could trigger a conflict between religions.

Discrimination against vulnerable groups, such as difable groups, women and children, minorities, still occurs. partly because of neglect of their rights based on ignorance and partly due to strong socio-cultural legitimacy.

In the past, some of the violations of human rights carried out by the government's most serious political in the context of conflict in the country. the murder of civilians, including torture, rape, imprisonment without a fair legal process, enforced disappearances, and discrimination in the names of political differences, racial, and religious beliefs, still until now leaves the endless suffering for the victim. efforts taken by the victims to find out what really happened and who the main players in the event, as well as to solve all problems concerning civil and political rights and economic rights of on on their social culture, is still at a stalemate. immunity from the law remains the major obstacle, particularly for officials (civilian and military) that allegedly committed human rights abuses in the past. court of human rights has not been effective to the state accountability system in cases of severe human rights violations by its officials. until now there has never been convicted perpetrators of gross human rights violations. the court passed the perpetrators of abuses of human rights is always tough, so the circle of impunity and immune from any further strengthened.

A long series of gross human rights violations, and the history of an intention not fairly complete, has led to feelings and experiences increasingly strongly protected. right to life, right to assemble and networked, the right of religious freedom, economic rights, social and cultural identity, the harder it is secured.

Apparently not yet fully realized, that the fulfillment of human rights is a prerequisite for the creation of a dignified life. thus, efforts to create democratic governance reflects a recognition that the best guarantor of human rights is democracy flourished, government agencies are accountable, equal rights under a just rule of law, civil society healthy and strong, political pluralism and cultural and free media. human rights and democracy are inextricably linked, and both are essential for the growth of pride as a nation in the long term. a democratic country that respects people's rights helped lay the foundation for a lasting peace.

Indonesia has climbed new life on democracy, in which among others, marked by president election directly, and freedom are quite important in politics. although it has been placed Indonesia as a country on the path to reform and lay the groundwork for institutionalizing human rights protections, but this by itself does not guarantee that rights will be respected. corruption is still acute, particularly in law enforcement agencies (since the police, and in the courts), would become the main obstacle to the enforcement of human rights. similarly, a tendency that the tni is still involved in political life (although indirect) can also be a threat to human rights in Indonesia.

Reflections of our current 1999 years of Indonesian nationalism, statics rests on the fact that the nation has been eroded. in fact we see the strengthening of the tendency for civil society to mobilize resources to enter into the circle of power statics. that civil society organizations so consciously or unconsciously, have changed from mired into the hands of the current extension of statics. in between religion and life situations that are still vulnerable groups, civil society should some of the social forces, that promotes peace and reconciliation, has changed from trigger of a conflict and perpetuate the hostilities, with the pretext of 'truth' of self and others mistakes.

The question is, how we can realize peace and prosperity in the fact that so hard? are we going to changed from paralyzed or even challenged by the reality of injustice structural? could we establish a sense of nationhood that guarantees future open, with opportunities for more, greater social mobility, the distribution of natural resources is more equitable, more transparent government and an empowered civil society?

In order to find a solution for settlement of various conflicts, we can start with a question: how the demands of groups that the dispute could be negotiated again in a more democratic framework?