Wahid Institute Peace Parade Breaks Indonesian Records

By Azi Fitriyanti Jakarta (Antara) - The Wahid Institute peace parade here on Sunday, broke the Indonesian Records Museum (MURI) as the most participated event by communities. MURI's Curator Jaya Suprana said in his remarks that the parade, which was participated by one thousand people from 144 various communities in Indonesia, might also break the world's record as there is no such event held by any countries ever. "The record for this event was proposed to break the Indonesian record, but actually it also breaks the world's record as no country has ever held a similar event," said Jaya. The peace parade was organized by the Wahid Institute, an organization established to honor late former president Abdurrahman Wahid "Gus Dur", to commemorate the World's Peace Day that was celebrated coinciding with his birthday on September 26. "This could happen because of Gus Dur's role in Indonesia, hence we convey the MURI's certificate," he added. Chairwoman of the Wahid Institute Yenny Wahid, one of Gus Dur's daughters, said the parade was held to make the late former president's dream of peace in Indonesia came true. "Gus Dur had a dream that there would be no discrimination in Indonesia, regardless their ethnic, religion and race, everyone must be treated equally," she noted. Through the parade, Yenny explained that the Wahid Institute called for all Indonesian people to put the national interest first before his/her own group. "That is why it is very important for political elites to not have conflict among each other, so that the people play their role to maintain peace in their neighborhoods," Yenny stressed. During the parade, the participants, who marched around five kilometers to Hotel Indonesia Boulevard, and also carried out some performances, such as marching band, Zumba dance, various songs, and flash-mob. (*)