RE: Indonesia's Double Standard? (Kamloops Daily News, Saturday, June 2, page B1).
As a Torontonian having lived in Indonesia for over two years, accompanying 190-odd uniformed Jakartan Muslim teens attending Thompson Rivers University until July, I can confirm the accuracy of Saturday's article, “Indonesia's double standard?”
For those reading the frontpage byline, “Does Indonesia have a double standard?” — as untimely and suspect as it was large — the article went on to prolong revealing the answer: no, Indonesia does not.
In reiteration, Indonesia is not a Muslim country, and though it is in the constitution that all must have a religion, people are otherwise free to do as they please. This freedom results in ongoings that could be misconstrued as contradictory when singling out the ideals of the powerful Muslim majority, and in ceaseless demonstrations in the capital city.
The whole Gaga saga was the result of those rightfully tagged 'the hard-liners,' just another group of picketers and activists with strong beliefs and equally strong political influence. It is impossible to pass judgment on the standards of 230 million individuals — some moderate, some hardline, some Hindu, some Confucian, some Gaga, some Ayu Ting Ting.
Having just stepped off the bus with 190 teens from Indonesia, my entourage and I wonder just when else does this country's rather obscure name headline the cover of The Daily News in Kamloops? Nevertheless, and speaking for all of us, thank you for clarifying for readers that no, things are not that simple in the extraordinarily beautiful and far-flung Democratic Republic of Indonesia.
DAVID ARTHUR
Burk’s Falls, Ont.
