Celebrating Sukarno's Month to celebrate Youth Generation

Pancasila is the foundational state philosophy of Indonesia that unites the diversity, or kebhinekaan, of its people. This foundational philosophy has served as a shield of unity in the midst of recent escalating social conflicts.

This was stated by the Head of BKN PDI Perjuangan, Aria Bima, and Secretary of BKN PDI Perjuangan, Rano Karno, in the Bung Karno Series 3 Podcast which was hosted by Ovi Wardana on BKN PDI Pejuangan’s YouTube channel on Friday (30/6/2023).

According to Aria Bima, the theme of Bung Karno Month 2023, “Kepalkan Tangan Persatuan untuk Indonesia Raya” (“Raise a Fist of Unity for Indonesia”), championed by PDI Perjuangan, aims to ignite the spirit of unity as embodied by Sukarno in Pancasila.

“[This year’s theme] is not without reason. We possess a potential to reach harmony if we alleviate conflict. This is crucial to be resonated once more. Bung Karno knows well that without Pancasila, we would not be united,” said Aria Bima.

Aria Bima as Secretary of the Bung Karno Month Committee also explains the importance of the contextualization of Pancasila in the current era. Not only social justice and humanity, but unity must also be fostered in order to bind the various diversities of Indonesia.

“We can unite as a nation because of Pancasila. We deliver that narrative, then we create a way to express it at the GBK event yesterday. And high spirits were seen from GBK’s outer circle, to the pre-event, and up to the main event; that ignited the fervor of unity.” he explained.

The Head of BKN, who is also a member of the Indonesian parliament from the PDI Perjuangan faction, stated that the passion for unity is diminishing today. We have forgotten the spirit of unity that was formed by important figures of Indonesia in the past. Indonesia was able to gain independence from colonialism because of the agreed-upon passion for unity.

“This is something that needs to be remembered by today’s generation. We gather to unite. Now this is fading, but we as a nation have agreed to unite. Diversity is apparent–it is inevitable–but our fervor to unite is bound within Pancasila as a fundamental agreement.” said Aria Bima.

On the same occasion, Secretary of BKN PDI Rano Karno adds that the spirit of unity must be reminded to the present young generation, that the history of our nation was formed by a shared passion of unity for Indonesia.

Advocating unity, said Rano Karno, has become a collective responsibility for us and must be reminded to the younger generation. One of these responsibilities is to educate historical insights about the process of Indonesia’s independence.

“We in PDI Perjuangan certainly know Bung Karno with his efforts and sacrifices [for Indonesia]. But do our children or grandchildren know that? That is our task. That is why Bung Karno said “Jasmera” (“jangan pernah melupakan sejarah”, or never forget history),” he concluded.

Rano Karno as the Head of the Bung Karno Month 2023 Committee stated that the celebration of the Bung Karno Month must be continued annually. This is because the celebration acts as a moment of remembrance of Indonesia’s national history.

“We are not deifying Bung Karno, but we are also not disregarding him. It is impossible that Pancasila was made in a sequence of words when he was exiled in Ende. This means that he was not the creator of Pancasila but the advocate of Pancasila," he explained.