All Citizens are Equal: President Jokowi

President Jokowi opens the Congress of the Association of Asian Constitutional Courts and Equivalent Institutions of 2017 in Solo, Central Java, Wednesday (9/8) (Photo: PR/ Anggun)

President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo said that as a diverse country, Indonesia has a long experience in managing diversity and difference. From this experience,Pancasila (the Five Principles, the Indonesian State Idelogy) as well as the 1945 Consitution hold a very important role to unite the people..

All citizens, the President added, upholds the Constitution to ensure that all of them get respect, protection, and there is no violation to their human rights. Thus, it means that all citizens are equal in the life of the nation. “In this country, there are no first class or second class citizens. They are all the citizens of the Republic of Indonesia,” the President said in his remarks when opening the Congress of the Association of Asian Constitutional Courts (AACC) and Equivalent Institutions of 2017 in UniversitasSebelas Maret (UNS) Auditorium, Solo, Wednesday (9/8) morning.

These facts, according to the President, make him believe that the Constitution protects diversity, either diversity of opinions that part of democracy, or diversity of ethnicity, culture, and religion.“It’s the constitution that protects that no one can impose his will on others without respecting other’srights. Moreover, as a democratic country, Indonesia uses the Constitution as the main referrence in building healthy and institutionalized democratic practices.

Not a Barrier

At the beginning of his remarks, President Jokowi told his experience when the was the Mayor of Solo; a city that reflects the diversity of Indonesia. He still remembers that every day he had to listen to various and dynamic demands and even protests from the people of Solo.“My experience in managing this city has taught me that dialogic democracy and the principles of the constitution are the best way in managing the diversity,” the President said.

The President thought that Solo is one of Indonesia’s diversity mosaics. Indonesia has 17 thousand islands spanning from Sabang to Merauke, from Miangas to Rote Island. Indonesia has 34 provinces, 516 regencies and cities, 714 tribes, and more than 1,100 local languages, as well as diverse arts and culture. “Diversity is not a barrier for us to unite. We are united by the same goals to manifest the values in Pancasila in the frame of the 1945 Constitution,” the President said.

The opening of the Congress was attended by the Chairman of Constitutional Court Arief Hidayat, heads of government institutions, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Wiranto, Presidential Chief of Staff Teten Masduki, Governor of Central Java Ganjar Pranowo, Chancellor of UNS Ravik Karsidi, and judges of constitutional courts from friendly countries.(DND/GUN/ES)(MMB/YM/Naster)