Udayana University , through the Political Science Study Program, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, is collaborating with the Consulate General of Timor Leste to discuss preserving memory towards reconciliation.
"We remember the past to preserve shared memories, but this is not just a reflection. The past is gone, but there are positive things we need to take to shape a better future," said Udayana University Chancellor I Ketut Sudarsana.
Sudarsana explained in Denpasar on Tuesday that through this dialogue, he hoped that Indonesia and Timor Leste would no longer see who was right and who was wrong in past disputes.
Like the motto Jas Merah popularized by the proclaimer Ir Soekarno, namely never abandon history , the task of the current and next generations is to preserve the memory of the past and live side by side in peace
"If we look at memory from a negative perspective, there are many collective memories that hold wounds. However, in the art of politics, we acknowledge that true reconciliation will not be achieved by forgetting, but by remembering together, remembering honestly," said Sudarsana.
Executive Director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy (IPD) and Lecturer in Political Science at Udayana University, I Ketut Putra Erawan, then sparked the discussion session by showing a portrait of the agenda of the political elite.
He began by asking whether the reconciliation the country hopes for is about remembering the past towards the future, or forgetting the past itself.
According to this lecturer who graduated from the United States, the reconciliation process cannot only rely on a narrative of friendship without first acknowledging the truth.
