He made the statement to newsmen after receiving Serbia`s defense minister Dragan Sutanovic here on Thursday. The meeting was also attended by interfaith figures including from the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI).
Issues of resources, economic and social gaps were more dominant as the causes of ethnic, religious, racial and inter-group conflicts in the country so far, he said.
So, the conflicts were mostly caused by economic and public welfare problems, he said.
The minister said the term "stomach" came from the Serbian minister during a dialog with religious figures and he shared his view economic issues were more dominant as contributor to the conflicts so far.
"They had no religious backgrounds," he said.
Regarding the Serbian minister`s visit Suryadharman Ali said it was connected with that country`s wish to increase cooperation with Indonesia in the fields of education and economy.
Indonesia is not a religion-based country and not a secular country either. Educational institutions in the country were established not only by the state but also religious institutions and other private parties.
Therefore Serbia may choose which institutions it wishes its students to study if it wishes to send them to study in the country, the minister said.
"We are open for cooperation," he said.
Several religious figures who participated in the meeting said they felt appreciated for being involved in the dialog. "Although we are from the minority group we are given attention," a Confucianist figure said.
(Uu.H-YH/HAJM/O001)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
