Opening Speech President RI on The 68th General Assembly and CISM, Jakarta, 13 May 2013
OPENING SPEECH
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA
ON
THE 68TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND CONGRESS
OF THE INTERNATIONAL MILITARY SPORTS COUNCIL
SULTAN HOTEL JAKARTA
TANGGAL 13 MAY 2013
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Bismillahirrahmanirrahim,
Assalamu'alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,
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May Peace be upon us all,
Colonel Hamad Kalbaka Malboum, President of CISM,
Excellencies Ambassadors and Defense Attaches of CISM countries in Jakarta,
Distinguished Head of Delegates, Head Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
First of all, on behalf of the people and Government of Indonesia, I would like to welcome all of you to Jakarta, a vibrant city that marks modernity and economic progress of Indonesia. I do hope that you will have the opportunity to look around the city and beyond, during your short stay in Indonesia. Jakarta and other cities in our country have plenty to offer, from nature to culture and culinary, traditional as well as modern.
I am honored to address this Sixty-eighth General Assembly and Congress of the International Military Sports Council-or shortly known as CISM.
I highly appreciate CISM for trusting Indonesia to host its General Assembly and Congress for this year.  I believe that during these meetings, CISM will be able to agree on its strategic plan as well as its annual and four year programs. I also believe that these meetings will promote higher interest and larger membership of the CISM, in particular from countries in Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific regions. In my opinion, this will give CISM a bigger audience within the region to listen to its message of global peace and friendship through sports.
I recognize that CISM has a tradition to honor military figures with various decorations.  In this regard, I wish to express my sincere appreciation to CISM for honoring me today with The Order Merit of Grand Cordon. I will dedicate this honor for the development, expansion, and promotion of cooperation among armed forces throughout the world, especially in the field of sports.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We all share similar pride that since its establishment on the 18 of February 1948, CISM has served as a forum for contacts, meetings and friendship among armed forces from 133 member countries. It includes Tentara Nasional Indonesia (the TNI), which since 14 April 2010, has been participating through the Indonesian Military Sports Committee known as KOMI.
As a non, I should say as a non-profit organization which was established only three years after the Second World War, CISM has become one of the pillars in the efforts by the international community to create world peace. I believe CISM was founded with the same objective as the United Nations. This world body which was also born after the Second World War is devoted to the maintenance of international peace and security, as well as to the attainment of social and economic progress.
More than six decades, CISM has been upholding the principle of ‘friendship through sport and game for peace'. Under this motto and principle, in my view, CISM has made significant contribution to the building of friendship, mutual trust, and cooperation among armed forces from different countries. CISM has also proven I should say CISM has also proven that through military sports, solidarity among armed forces and humankind on different parts of the globe can be nurtured. And as a consequence, peace among nations can be maintained.
I believe that through military sports, we can develop military activities other than war. Let me share with you a few thoughts.
First, we can use military sports to promote military's talents and interests in sports. Military sporting events give military athletes a platform to perform and excel. Sports for them are not just a hobby, but an aspiration for higher achievements.
Second, through sports, military will be able to cultivate sportivity and heroism spirit, and develop egalitarianism. Through sports you can better appreciate and respect the diversity of nationality, races, religions and cultures. Hence, we will be able to build across nation teamwork and fair play. These are what military stands up for. As a military myself, a retired one of course, I am fully convinced that all military are trained to embrace and practice those values and principles.
Third, military can use sports to spread the message of peace. This is in line with the motto of CISM. This is what becomes one of the core elements of the CIMIC, Civil - Military Cooperation programs in many UN peace missions. And this is what Indonesian Garuda Contingent has been developing, including through UNIFIL in Lebanon.
Through CIMIC programs, we can organize sporting events that involve local people and military personnel of the missions. I believe that this in turn will help increase the acceptance of the peacekeeping missions by the local people.
Fourth, military sports will also help promote military health. This is critical to the optimum performance of their services. Therefore, I hope that this 68th General Assembly and Congress of CISM will consider this subject in its agenda.
And fifth, I believe that military sports can help promote gender equality among armed forces.  I am pleased that in the past CISM olympics, many female military athletes had participated and made outstanding achievements.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Global peace and stability should not be taken for granted. We have to earn it through joint efforts. Together, military and civilians can join hands to confront challenges that undermine peace and stability.
The recent bombings in the Boston Marathon and in many other places all over the world, remind us that the continuing threat of radicalism and terrorism. These violent acts serve us as a reminder that community intelligent is critically important to support formal mechanisms in eradicating terrorism.
Indeed, there are still many challenges to the international peace and security that require involvement, inputs, and thoughts from military as well as civilian experts and policy makers.
For examples, conflict between Israel and Palestine remains intractable. Conflict in Syria is becoming more complex and prolonging, with in-creasing uncertainty of its resolution. Peace in Mali needs further consolidation. Even though Tension in the Korean Peninsula is slightly decreasing. But its resolution is still far from completed. In our own region, we continue to manage the potential conflicts surrounding the South China Sea issue. We all have high stake for peace and stability there, including freedom of navigation. We, therefore, must make progress in developing a Code of Conduct.
We are also confronted by challenges that threaten human security such as trans-national crimes, epidemic diseases, and natural disasters. In this regard, Indonesia highly values the role of, I should say the role and contribution of the military in dealing with these challenges, in particular in the wake of natural disasters. This is another way to promote solidarity and empathy among military in non-military matters.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I hope that CISM can use the momentum of this 68thCongress to further enhance the role of sports in bringing closer friendship and solidarity between militaries of the world.
I also welcome the initiative of CISM to establish a CISM Sport and Peace Commission.  I hope through this Commission, CISM can exert greater efforts to promote peace through sports.
I also hope to see more sport events that improve a soldier's professionalism and quality in carrying out his or her duties. Moreover, I hope that sports which are culturally unique can be included into the future CISM olympics. This, I believe, will promote a greater understanding of one another's culture and traditions.
As a final point, leading up to the 6th World Military Games in South Korea in 2015, I would like to urge all CISM member countries to be more active.
Let us collectively ensure the success of that an upcoming event. Let us achieve the best. Let us break international records. Let us make this event an icon for peace in the 21st century.
Finally, by saying bismillahirrahmanirrahim, I declare the 68th CISM General Assembly and Congress officially open.
Thank you.
Wassalamu'alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
Asisten Deputi Naskah dan Penerjemahan,
Deputi Bidang Dukungan Kebijakan,
Kementerian Sekretariat Negara RI