OBSERVERS : RELIGION NOT TO CAUSE CONFLICTS IN ELECTIONS

Jakarta, March 6 (ANTARA) - Religion will not be a factor triggering conflict among people during the upcoming legislative elections in April, observers said here on Thursday.

An associate chairman of the country's largest Islamic organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), KH Said Aqil Siradj, said the most dominant factor that could cause conflicts was interest, especially among political parties having similar mass bases.
Siradj was speaking in a discussion themed "Anticipation Towards Conflicts Among Religious Followers Ahead of General Elections in 2009," at the NU Headquarters in Jakarta.
"So, Islamic parties may well become involved in conflict if they have the same interests. But they would not clash with the Christian-based Prosperous Peace Party (PDS), for instance, because the PDS has a different platform," he said.
Sharing Siradj's view, Catholic priest Beny Susetyo said if conflicts did occur in the election surely religious factors would not be their cause because politicization of religions was no longer popular in Indonesia.
He said the cause of conflicts among poltical parties was likely to be about such things like the application of the vote collection system to determine the election's winners.
Another factor that might cause conflicts was the professionalism of election workers. "If the workers are not professional, or not fair, it is not impossible a conflict will occur," he said.
The executive director of the Reform Institute, Yudi Latif, meanwhile said the causes of political conflicts had shifted.
In the past it was religion or ideology that could cause conflicts but now it was interests, particularly of political parties or legislative candidates.
Golkar Party politician Slamet Effendy Yusuf meanwhile said that conflicts during the election period could be avoided through among things image building. Therefore, the image of peaceful elections must continuously be promoted, he said.