Indonesian President Joko Widodo speaks at the international summit of religious authorities. (Photo: antaranews.com)Jakarta (VNA) - The international summit ofreligious authorities, part of the G20 Religious Forum (R20), opened in Jakarta,Indonesia, on November 27.
Speaking at the event, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said that open wars and genocidesthat have occurred in today's world are absurd and do not make sense, ANTARA News reported.
Regarding the conflict between Hamas and Israel that claimed the lives of innocent civilians, including women and children, the President emphasised that the humanitarian tragedy cannot betolerated at all.
He said a ceasefiremust be implemented along with the delivery of humanitarian assistance andpeace negotiations that must begin.
According to thePresident, Indonesia is home to 280 million people of714 tribes, with more than 1,300 local languages. They believe in differentreligions and live on 17 thousand different islands.
“It is not easy to unite them all, but we manage to do such athing," he remarked.
He said that unity in diversity cannot be realised withoutsupport from religious leaders who teach that love for the country andtolerance are part of faith. The role of religion, religious figures, andsociety are very important in creating peace, harmony, and unity within acountry, in the region, and in the world.
He called for dialogue between religions and across nations to bridge differences and stopall forms of disputes.
For his part, Yahya Cholil Staquf, Chairman of NahdlatulUlama, Indonesia's largest Muslim organisation, expressed his hope that ISORA willreach an agreement with specific actions to solve current conflicts, includingthat between Israel and Hamas.
Yahya said that with the participation of many religiousleaders from R20 forum member countries, ISORA will focus on discussing commonsubjects to resolve conflicts./.
