How SBY Leads Turks to Indonesia

Jakarta, Indonesia (News Today) - To mark Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s historic visit to Turkey after a 25-year gap since the last Indonesian presidential-level visit to the country, the Indonesian Batik Foundation (YBI) is organizing a fair to promote Indonesia’s rich culture in Ystanbul. The fair is expected to feature a trade exhibition, Indonesian batik fashion show, performances of Indonesian traditional music and dance.

The primary feature of the fair, which will last through July 3 in Grand Ballroom at Marmara Hotel in Taksim, will be Indonesian batik, a traditional Indonesian cloth and fabric. Indonesian batik was placed on the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on Oct. 2, 2009.

The Indonesian government set this date as National Batik Day. The primary motive behind organizing the cultural fair in Ystanbul is to improve cooperation between Turkey and Indonesia in the spheres of culture and tourism. The representative of YBI in Turkey and the chief organizer of the fair, Ika BS Wahyudi, talked to Today’s Zaman about Indonesian cultural projects in Turkey and the meaning of batik.

Noting that batik is not a simple fabric, Ika said it is an integral part of life for Indonesians, from birth to death, with deep philosophical and spiritual meaning. According to Ika, every batik has its own distinct and different meaning.

Stressing that batik cloth marks many important dates and aspects in Indonesian life, Ika said batik is widely used to celebrate the first pregnancy of a woman given in her seventh month of pregnancy to make sure that the parents and baby have a safe life. She also pointed to the use of batik during birth. Ika said brides and grooms also wear batik to attract God’s blessing upon a marriage during a wedding ceremony. She added that people also use batik to cover corpses to denote eternity.
"Now we want to introduce our culture to the Turkish people. We want to present to Turkey what batik and its meanings are," Ika said.

"We also want Turkish cultural organizations," she continued, "to come to Indonesia and promote their own culture."? Ika said this is a traditional dress for Indonesian people and they will try to explain this to Turkey using the opportunity of Indonesian President Yudhoyono’s key visit.

She also noted Turkey’s humanitarian aid and assistance to Indonesia after a deadly tsunami that hit Aceh in 2004, claiming the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Indonesian President Yudhoyono was to meet with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo’an and President Abdullah Gul on Tuesday.

Four ministers and 80 senior officials are accompanying the president during his visit to Turkey. Turkey and Indonesia will reportedly sign 12 agreements in the political, cultural and economic spheres. More than 800 businessmen will also attend a Turkish-Indonesian Business Forum in Ystanbul to seal business deals and improve nascent trade relations between the countries.

Speaking during the official opening ceremony of the fair, called, ’Indonesia Festival,’ on Wednesday morning, Indonesia’s Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik said Indonesia has many cultures, each with distinct cultural elements. Noting that the efforts to safeguard traditional arts, especially batik, needs to be continuously exerted, he stressed that the fair and Yudhoyono’s visit are ’strategic attempts in developing the relationship and partnership of the two countries, and at the same time introducing Indonesia’s cultural items, particularly batik, to the people of Turkey.’

The organizer of the event Rumah Indonesia, Liana Trisnawati said they had extended invitations to thousands of people in Turkey and they will also hold a cultural performance in Taksim Square. Indonesian Ambassador to Turkey Awang Bahrin said during the opening ceremony for the fair that Yudhoyono’s visit to Turkey is a ’historic visit after over two decades since the previous visit,’ adding that the timing of this batik exhibition is good as it coincides with the visit of the Indonesian president.

The Indonesian ambassador said in the first exhibition of batik in Turkey, Turkish society will find that many kinds of batiks are made in Indonesia, which may inspire them to use batik, not only for informal events but also for formal occasions in the summer. The envoy also expressed hope that similar events can be held in other major cities in Turkey.

Speaking to Today’s Zaman, Director General of Department of Culture and Tourism of Republic of Indonesia Tjetjep Suparman noted that they plan to organize a similar event every year in Turkey and hope to develop a good tradition. He said the exhibition may also be a spark to boost Turkish tourism to Indonesia.

Indonesia witnessed a deadly terrorist attack in Bali in 2002, where 202 people were killed, 164 of whom were tourists from other countries. Subsequently many countries issued travel warnings for their citizens, which damaged Indonesia’s tourism industry.

Indonesia also experienced a major tsunami in 2004, which also hit many tourist resorts. Tjetjep said that the tourism industry is rapidly developing and that the country has more than 17,000 islands. Tjetjep said there is a kind of ’Turkish town’ in downtown Jakarta, where many ethnic Turks sell Turkish carpets, and that Indonesians love and adore them.

"I hope Turkish people will also love Indonesian batik," Tjetjep stated.

Ersin Karao’lan, secretary-general of the Association for Social and Economic Cooperation with Pacific Countries (PASIAD), one of the sponsors of the fair, told Today’s Zaman that they want Turkey to know about Indonesia’s culture.

"The country is far from Turkey geographically, but we have strong historical and cultural ties," Karao’lan said. The secretary-general added that Indonesia and Turkey are the 15th and 16th largest economies in the world, yet the trade volume between the two countries is far below potential.

"In this scope, civil society organizations are responsible for an important mission, and PASIAD is working hard to fulfill this mission," he concluded.

Source : kompas

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