"This is the only, the first and the last poem I wrote, I could not do so again because it has come from the soul," Kalla said.Ambon, Maluku (ANTARA News) - Vice President Jusuf Kalla read a poem, titled "Ambon is mine, Ambon is ours" on the occasion of Maluku Community Gathering held at the Islamic Center here on Wednesday.
"This is the only, the first and the last poem I wrote, I could not do so again because it has come from the soul," he said before the participants.
Kalla read the poem for the first time on September 7, 2004, when he was the Coordinating Minister for Peoples Welfare and was striving to resolve the situation arising out of the communal conflicts in the region.
He was the mediator for the Malino Agreement in 2002, an agreement aimed at achieving peace following conflicts that had been happening since 1999.
"I feel happy and grateful to have been able to come here again and meet old friends here. Certainly, all parties must be happy with the fact that the life of the state and the nation continues," he said in his speech at the opening of the meeting.
On this occasion, he reminded all the members of the Maluku community not to forget the conflict as a dark side of history and one that must serve as a reference point for building a better life in the future.
"Besides honoring the past, we must also continue to strive to make the future better," he said.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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