Indonesian President urges Christians to help save the nation

(29 Dec. 2006) : President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono urged all Christians in Indonesia to help the country solve the various problems confronting it. "I hope that Christians including their leaders and prominent figures will be in the frontline in saving our nation, so that it enjoys a more dignified and humanized development," Yudhoyono told more than 6,000 Catholics and Protestants at this year's National Christmas celebration. Vice President Jusuf Kalla, cabinet ministers, foreign diplomats, and religious leaders of Buddhism, Catholicism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, and Protestantism attended the event, held Dec. 27 at the Jakarta International Convention Centre.

President Yudhoyono, in his address, urged Christians to reflect during the Christmas season on national harmony and tolerance, which he said have faced many challenges the past decade. "We must believe that we will reach the aims of reformation due to God's blessing and our unity, solidarity and commitment," he said, asking them to put national benefit above personal or group interest. According to the president, Christmas means peace and hope for the hopeless, lights the way of the lost, unites the separated and gives strength to the powerless. "Christmas reminds us how beautiful is a life based on simplicity and brotherhood without hate, egoism and pride," he said.