Surat Protes Franz Magnis atas Rencana Penghargaan Negarawan untuk SBY

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com — Pakar Etika Politik Sekolah Tinggi Filsafat Diyarkara, Romo Franz Magnis Suseno SJ, menyampaikan protes atas rencana pemberian penghargaan negarawan dunia 2013 atau "World Statesman Award" kepada Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Penghargaan tersebut akan diberikan oleh organisasi yang mempromosikan perdamaian, demokrasi, toleransi, dan dialog antarkepercayaan yang berbasis di New York, Amerika Serikat, yakni Appeal of Conscience Foundation (ACF). Penghargaan akan diberikan di sela-sela kunjungan Presiden ke AS akhir Mei 2013.

Magnis yang dihubungi Kompas.com, Jumat (17/5/2013), membenarkan bahwa dirinya mengirim surat protes kepada ACF. Surat dikirim ke ACF melalui e-mail pada Rabu (15/5/2013), setelah dirinya mendengar rencana pemberian penghargaan itu dari media massa. Hingga saat ini, kata dia, belum ada tanggapan dari ACF.

"Presiden mau diberi penghargaan saya tidak ada komentar. Tapi kalau disebut penghargaan karena jasanya memajukan toleransi, saya sangat keberatan. Selama hampir 10 tahun toleransi keagamaan di Indonesia berkurang," kata Magnis.

Dalam suratnya Magnis menulis, penghargaan itu hanya akan membuat malu ACF. Menurut Magnis, selama 8,5 tahun kepemimpinan Presiden Yudhoyono, kaum minoritas Indonesia justru berada dalam situasi tertekan. Presiden bahkan tidak pernah memberikan seruan sepatah kata pun kepada rakyatnya untuk menghormati hak-hak kaum minoritas.

Berikut surat protes yang diperoleh Kompas.com dari Romo Magnis.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation (ACF),

I am a Catholic Priest and professor of philosophy in Jakarta. In Indonesia we learnt that you are going to bestow this year's World Stateman Award to our President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono because of his merits regarding religious tolerance.

This is a shame, a shame for you. It discredits any claim you might make as a an institution with moral intentions.
How can you take such a decision without asking concerned people in Indonesia? Hopefully you have not made this decission in response to prodding by people of our Government or of the entourage of the President.

Do you not know about the growing difficulties of Christians to get permits for opening places of prayer, about the growing number of forced closures of churches, about the growth of regulations tha make worshipping for minorities more difficult, thus about growing intolerance on the grassroot level?

And particularly, have you never heard about the shameful and quite dangerous attitudes of hardline religious groups towards so called deviant teachings, meaning members of the Achmadiyah and the Shia communities, and the government of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono just doing nothing and saying nothing to protect them? Hundreds of their people have under Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's presidentship been driven out of their houses, they still live miserably in places like sports halls, there have allready Achmadis and Shia people been killed (so that the question arises whether Indonesia will deteriorate to conditions like Pakistan dan Iran [favor of President G. W. Bush] where every months hundreds of Shia people are being killed because of religious motivations)?

Do you not know that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during his up to now 8 1/2 years in office has not a single time said something to the Indonesian people, that they should respect their minorities? That he has shamefully avoided responsibility regarding growing violence towards Achmadiyah and Shia people?

Again, whom did you ask for information before making you award choice? What could be your motivation to bestow upon this President a reward for religious tolerance who so obviously lacks any courage to do his duty protecting minorities?

I have to add that I am not a radical, not even a "human right extremist" (if such exist). I am just appaled about so much hypocrisy. You are playing in the hands of those - still few - radicals that want to purify Indonesia of all what they regard as heresies and heathen.

Franz Magnis-Suseno SJ

Sebelumnya, Juru Bicara Presiden Julian Aldrin Pasha mengatakan, semua pihak hendaknya menilai dengan obyektif penghargaan dari Appeal of Conscience Foundation (ACF) yang akan diberikan kepada Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Penilaian hendaknya tidak menggunakan penafsiran filsafat politik yang salah.

"Awards diberikan dalam konteks kenegarawanan seseorang yang dinilai berjasa dan berhasil bagi terciptanya perdamaian, toleransi beragama, dan demokrasi," kata Julian, Kamis (16/5/2013) malam. Ia mengatakan, ACF merupakan lembaga independen dan mempunyai kredibilitas yang baik.

Selengkapnya komentar Julian terkait protes atas penghargaan ini baca: Istana: Tolong Nilai dengan Obyektif Penghargaan ACF untuk Presiden