Democracy is not only limited to local, legislative, or presidential elections but also involves the broader experiences of civil society from various groups in daily social life.
The government and society can learn much about managing, resolving, and intervening in conflicts.
Therefore, peace education needs to be taught early to prevent the recurrence of past conflicts and tragedies, such as the GAM conflict in Aceh, tribal conflicts in Ambon and Sampit, the conflict in Poso, and the OPM movement in Papua.
Eric Kaunan, a researcher at the Center for Security and Peace Studies (PSKP UGM), stated that peace education must be taught as early as possible to maintain stability and peace in a democratic society.
Although peace education is crucial to be instilled from childhood, there is still no curriculum bridging this need at the elementary and secondary school levels. At the higher education level, it is only offered in certain elective courses.
“We hope that the peace process can be instilled from an early age,” said Kaunan during the Pojok Bulaksumur Discussion, which was held to promote the National Seminar on “Conflict Resolution and Peace Experiences in the Context of Indonesia’s Democratic Future,” on Tuesday (Nov. 26).
The main target of early peace education is the younger generation, who will become future peace agents.
According to Kaunan, conflicts can arise anywhere, so the current focus is on developing digital media, which can be a source of both conflict and peace.
He hopes that the challenges related to this issue can generate new ideas and policies that strengthen peace nationally and internationally.
Furthermore, Kaunan believes civics education should be applied in practice and not confined to classrooms to foster peace. This should be reinforced by the role of community leaders who can connect these ideas more broadly to society.
“Everyone can become a leader, depending on the values they build,” he said.
Sociologist Dr. Arie Sujito emphasized that Indonesia has ample space to manage the diversity within society as an asset.
This diversity will become the cornerstone of democracy, which will undoubtedly encounter conflicts across various layers and interests. From this dynamic, patterns can be learned.
“And that should be processed to ensure democracy remains healthy,” he explained.
According to Dr. Sujito, in conflict resolution efforts, there should be no violence in mediating conflicts, especially during demonstrations.
“Demonstrations should not be seen as confrontations but as efforts to resolve problems,” he said.
Additionally, sociologist and researcher at PSKP UGM, Dr. Lambang Trijono, mentioned that prolonged societal conflicts are often caused by significant, difficult-to-address issues within groups and misperceptions between parties. This leads to violence, which in turn breeds resentment and lasting pain.
Efforts to resolve these prolonged conflicts involve reconciliation in neutral peace zones, which aim to unravel the misperceptions between the parties involved.
Author: Leony
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Photographer: Donnie
Post-editor: Afif