Banning Ahmadiyah not a solution: Yenny

HEADLINES Wed, 03/02/2011 4:10 AM

Banning Ahmadiyah not a solution: Yenny

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Wahid Institute executive director Yenny Wahid said Tuesday that East Java Governor Soekarwo’s decision to ban the Ahmadiyah sect in her province was not an effective solution as plenty of other factors would need settling after that.

“After being dissolved and banned, what next? Oust Ahmadiyah followers from East Java? Then where will they go?” Yenny said after a discussion at the Wahid Institute in Jakarta.

She said there must be a more realistic solution in responding to the Ahmadiyah issue.

“Will they have to ask for asylum overseas?” Yenny added as quoted by Antara.

On Monday, the East Java governor issued a decree in Surabaya that prohibited all Ahmadis in Indonesia’s second most populous province from any kind of activities related to Ahmadiyah.

Yenny considered the ban that violates the Constitution, which guarantees all citizens can embrace their own beliefs without intervention from the government, as unacceptable.

Whatever Yenny’s objections are, however, calls for banning Ahmadiyah have continuously been echoed by various elements of Muslim society members.

In Jakarta, Islam Defenders Front (FPI) activists staged a rally Tuesday to demand the banning of Ahmadiyah teachings in Indonesia.

Earlier, a number of Islamic organizations and the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) in Banten had asked the government to ban Ahmadiyah in the province.

In Makassar, South Sulawesi, the Islam Congregation Forum, which groups 18 Islam organizations, urged the local administration to issue a decree on the Ahmadiyah banning.

The demand was aired in a mass rally in front of the provincial legislative council’s building. They claimed that the dissolution of Ahmadiyah was not negotiable as the sect was considered to have tainted the religion of Islam and had sparked unending conflicts.

— Indra Harsaputra and Andi Hajramurni contributed to this article from Surabaya and Makassar

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved
URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/03/02/banning...yenny.html

RI seeks to redefine freedom amid rising religious violence

NATIONAL Wed, 03/02/2011 12:22 PM

RI seeks to redefine freedom amid rising religious violence

Bagus B.T. Saragih, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

God have mercy: A group of Ahmadiyah followers in Yogyakarta conduct a prayer on Tuesday after recent bans issued by several regional leaders across the country. The Yogyakarta chapter of Ahmadiyah has halted its public activities. -JP/Slamet Susanto

As local administrations move to ban Ahmadiyah, the government is in a dilemma revolving around “liberty versus order” as it responds to calls to disband the notorious Islam Defenders Front, known as the FPI.

Following the mob incident that killed three Ahmadis in Banten and the burning of three churches in Central Java last month, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered his ministers to seek legal measures to disband groups frequently involved in acts of violence.

Some believed he was likely referring to groups such as the FPI. But the order has proved to be no easy task.

The Home Ministry, which is endowed with the authority to outlaw an organization, said the freedom to form a union or organization was guaranteed by the 1945 Constitution. This, ministry spokesman Reydonnyzar Moenek told The Jakarta Post, meant the government was in a dilemma.

As of 2010, more than 9,000 mass organizations were registered with the ministry. It has never banned a single one since the issuance of the mass organization law in 1985, which granted it authority.

Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi, a politician from President Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party, denied he had ignored the President’s order, saying he was only cautious not to use the authority recklessly in fear of violating the Constitution. “We are now studying the facts of the incidents,” he claimed.

The minister argued that the procedures to disband mass organizations under the existing regulation were complex. “The 1985 Mass Organization Law is too old and is no longer relevant to the country’s current situation,” he said, adding that his ministry was finalizing the revision draft of the law, which will be submitted to the House of Representatives for deliberation this year.

A 1986 government regulation outlining the ministry’s authority to disband mass organizations stipulates the government at central and regional levels can freeze a mass organization that disrupts national security and public order, receives foreign aid without the central government’s permission and helps foreign parties that jeopardize national interests.

The regulation also stipulates that the ministry ask for considerations from the Supreme Court on whether a certain group be frozen. A frozen organization shall be disbanded if found to continue the illicit acts for three months after receiving warning letters from the government.

Despite its violent acts over the past few years, the ministry said it had not yet found evidence that the FPI had broken the 1985 law.

While legal matters are hindering the government from taking stern action against the militant group, local administrations are facing no difficulties in finding reasons to ban Ahmadiyah, a minority group deemed heretical by the country’s mainstream Muslims.

Last week, Samarinda Mayor Syaharie Jaang in East Kalimantan froze the local chapter of Ahmadiyah after dozens of FPI members rallied in front of his office a few days earlier. The hardline group gave Syaharie a week’s deadline to disband the local chapter of the Islamic sect, saying if it failed to do so it would do it themselves.

The mayor reportedly granted the FPI’s demand because he considered Ahmadiyah “a time-bomb that could trigger violence”.

In another instance, East Java Governor Soekarwo issued a decree banning Ahmadis from conducting any kind of activity on Monday, only days after 32 Islamic organizations announced a plan to carry out a mass rally in the provincial capital of Surabaya to demand the administration outlaw Ahmadiyah in the province.

Activists have questioned whether democracy is the actual reason behind the government’s reluctance to disband the FPI.

Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) chairwoman Erna Ratnaningsih said Timur had a long history of hobnobbing with hardliners since he was West Java Police chief in 2008. Along with Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo, Timur attended the FPI’s 12th anniversary celebration at the organization’s headquarters in Jakarta, she said. Last month, she added, Gamawan also met with FPI leader Rizieq Shihab to seek advice over Ahmadiyah.

But disbanding mass organizations, some have argued, might not be the answer to end religious violence. Imam Prasodjo, a sociologist from the University of Indonesia, for instance, said violent acts were also caused by cultural aspects that were difficult to manage. “Disbandment of those groups will not automatically reduce violence. Group members will continue [committing violence] as long as cultural problems exist,” he said referring to the stigma against Ahmadiyah.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved
URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/03/02/ri...violence.html

Crowds of FPI demonstrators arrive in Central Jakarta

JAKARTA Fri, 02/18/2011 3:11 PM

Crowds of FPI demonstrators arrive in Central Jakarta

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Hundreds of people representing various Islamic organizations crowded around the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta at midday on Friday, demanding the government disband the Ahmadiyah sect.

The demonstrators represented, among others, members of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), Islamic Peoples Forum (FUI) and Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia.

A report on kompas.com says the protesters carried flags and banners that read “Cut off those who contempt Islam”, “Muslims are ready to guide victims of Ahmadiyah infidels” and “Muslims [must] disband Ahmadiyah”.

The demonstration is a reaction to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s recent statement in which he said that unlawful and violent organizations must be disbanded.

URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/02/18/crowds...jakarta.html

Govt searching for common threads in recent violence

NATIONAL Thu, 02/17/2011 6:17 PM

Govt searching for common threads in recent violence

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government has found no links between several recent violent incidents involving religion, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto says.

“We are still investigating whether there were any connections between the cases,” Djoko said Thursday in Semarang, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

There were differences between the incidents that suggest they were unrelated, he said.

Over the last few weeks at least three separate violent incidents marred Indonesia’s image as a tolerant and pluralist country.

The incidents included a violent attack on an Ahmadiyah congregation in Pandeglang, Banten, which left three people dead; a series of mob attacks on three churches by a group that was disenchanted by a court verdict in a blasphemy hearing in Central Java; and an attack on an Islamic boarding school in East Java said to have teachings that had strayed from mainstream Islam.

Djoko said the boarding school had already faced similar attacks.

“In Pasuruan, similar incidents have already occurred several times, with one group attacking another,” he said.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved
URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/02/17/govt...violence.html

Disband Ahmadis and we won’t attack them, FPI says

CITY Thu, 02/17/2011 11:50 AM

Muslim cleric named suspect in Cikeusik lynching

Hans David Tampubolon, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The hard-line Islam Defenders Front (FPI) pledged it would not launch an attack on Ahmadiyah followers or their property in the city.

FPI leaders visited Jakarta Police headquarters Wednesday for what they claimed was a coordination meeting with police to prevent members of the group from carrying out acts of violence against Ahmadis in the city.

The head of the Jakarta branch of the FPI, Habib Salim Alatas, said, however, that the group’s willingness to bury the hatchet in Jakarta came with the condition that the government outlaw Ahmadiyah.

“If not, we, along with [other] Muslims in this country, will wage a revolution against the government,” he warned.

Responding to the pledge from the FPI, Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Sutarman called on the hardliners — and other civilian groups — to not take the law into their own hands by attacking minority groups they deemed “heretical” or “immoral”.

“That’s a job for the police,” he said Wednesday.

Sutarman stressed that only the police had the authority to conduct raids.

He said the FPI, as with other mass organizations, had to file reports to the police if they found anything suspicious.

“If the FPI have problems with anything, they can file a report with the police,” he said.

Sutarman said raids by civilian groups violated the law.

The FPI has a notorious record of conducting “raids” on night spots in the capital and other cities.

Following an attack on Ahmadis in Cikeusik, Banten, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called for mass organizations that incited violence to be disbanded.

However, he stopped short of naming any groups, although many believe he was referring to the FPI.

The FPI denied allegations it was behind the attack in Cikeusik and another attack on churches in Temanggung, Central Java.

The FPI lashed out against the President, threatening to bring a “Tunisian-style revolution” if he dared disband the organization.

Following the Cikeusik incident, Jakarta Police stepped up security measures in 13 Ahmadi areas in Greater Jakarta. Sutarman has also authorized officers to use of excessive force — including shooting on sight — against civilians involved in attacks on minorities.

Sutarman earlier said intelligence reports suggested that an attack on Ahmadis in Jakarta was possible.

Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo said his administration was working with police and the Indonesian Military to anticipate possible future attacks against Ahmadis.

That’s the best we can do, Fauzi said, adding that the safety of Ahmadis in the capital rested in the hands of God.

Acts of violence against Ahmadis date back to the early 1950s, but it was not until 2005 that hostilities intensified dramatically. In 2010 alone, there were at least 10 recorded attacks against the minority sect.

In Bogor, a panel of judges at the trial of suspects charged with attacking Ahmadis in Ciampea decided to hold a closed-door session to prevent crowds from mobbing the court building.

Police were also deployed to guard witnesses in the trial, Ahmadiyah followers who survived the October 2010 attack.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved
URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/02/17/disband...says.html

FPI promises no attack against Ahmadiyyah in Jakarta

NATIONAL Wed, 02/16/2011 3:48 PM

FPI promises no attack against Ahmadiyyah in Jakarta

The Jakarta Post

The Jakarta chapter of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) promises there will be no attacks against members of Islamic minority sect Jamaah Ahmadiyah in Greater Jakarta areas.

“We guarantee that there will be no attacks [against it] because we’ve handed over all problems to the police,” FPI Jakarta chapter chief Habib Salim Alatas said Wednesday, as quoted by Antara.

Salim made the statement while witnessing the extermination of illegal CDs and liquor confiscated by the police at the Jakarta Police.

He said he had coordinated with FPI members across Greater Jakarta and they had agreed not to raid or attack Ahmadi gatherings.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved
URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/02/16/fpi...jakarta.html

‘No place of worship’ should be barred

NATIONAL Sat, 08/07/2010 11:42 AM

‘No place of worship’ should be barred

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Human rights activists are urging the government to revoke existing local administration rulings that have resulted in the sealing of churches and mosques, mainly in Java.

“Neither the police nor the government have taken any concrete actions in response to forced closures, meaning that they have failed to uphold the democratic values that activists and students strove for during the inception of 1998 reform movement,” Syafiq Alielha of the ‘98 Activists Communication Forum said Thursday at the Wahid Institute in Jakarta.

The country is seeing more and more cases in which local administrations, such as in Bekasi and Bogor, unilaterally close down places of worship due to political pressure from Muslim hard-liners, Syafiq said.

A recent report from the Indonesian Communion of Churches shows that more than 10 churches have suspended services due to mob threats and forcible closures this year. Affected church congregation members believe that mobs exploit the absence of building permits to seal off their churches.

Syafiq added that besides the closures of places of worship, the trend of employing violence to suppress the religious freedom of minority groups was escalating in the country.

On July 29, hundreds of protesters from several hard-line Islamic groups, such as the Islam Defenders Front, the Indonesia Mujahidin Council and the Islamic Community Forum, pushed their way into a mosque belonging to Islamic minority sect Ahmadiyah in Kuningan regency, West Java. The encroachment on Ahmadiyah’s territory led to rioting that damaged houses and reportedly injured three people.

Recent research from the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace reveals that there were 28 attacks on Christian churches between January and July this year. The number is higher than 2009’s year-end total of 18 cases and 2008’s 17 attacks.

Syafiq lamented the fact that the country had fallen back on primordial biases, which were exploited during the Soeharto era to pit religions against one another.

“What we dreamed of in 1998-an egalitarian, civilized, and multicultural society-is now sinking into the mire of vigilantism and ‘toothless’ law,” he said.

Another ‘98 activist, Bona Sigalingging, told The Jakarta Post that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had to take stern action against vigilante groups, which so far enjoyed immunity from law.

“I don’t understand why the Jakarta administration bows to such fundamentalist groups. For instance, the administration’s plan to cooperate with the Islam Defenders Front ‘FPI’ to secure the city during the Islamic fasting month, Ramadan, is just unacceptable,” he said.

Bona added the plan was a strong indication that the city’s law enforcement agencies were incapable of providing security for its citizens.

Edwin Partogi, another 98 activist, who works for the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), said the police had their own interests in dealing with hard-line Muslim groups.

“Vigilantism will mushroom if law enforcement is weak,” Edwin said.

“In the case of our country, it seems that the police use mass organizations, especially those who politicize religious or ethnic symbols, as a buffer against minority groups, such as Ahmadiyah members or so-called communists,” he said.

He added that the police sometimes told the public that they had mediated when a conflict between church members and Muslim extremists occurred.

“They just use the term ‘peaceful and neutral’ mediation as a pretext to escape blame if violence ignites. But they seem unaware that they are law enforcement officers who have the capacity to bring human rights violators to justice,” Edwin added. (tsy)

URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/08/07/n...e-barred.html

Govt ‘robs people of sovereignty’

NATIONAL Thu, 08/05/2010 9:29 AM

Govt ‘robs people of sovereignty’

Recent attacks on minority groups instigated by groups such as the Betawi Brotherhood Forum (FBR) and the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) reveal the government’s failure to accommodate popular expectations of sovereignty and democracy, says a researcher.

The highly-touted notion of popular sovereignty ushered in by the 1998 reformation movement is artificial, Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) senior political researcher Syamsuddin Haris said.

“Our people are not yet sovereign economically and politically,” he said, adding that popular needs were not well represented by existing government institutions, which are plagued by corruption and relfect the self-interest of entrenched elites.

The formation of mass organizations, such as the often violent FBR and FPI, are signs of the government’s inability to meet the needs of the people and reflect the popular distrust of government institutions, such as the police and judicial bodies, he said.

FBR members clashed with residents of Jl. Garuda in Rempoa, Tangerang, last weekend after people removed FBR flags in the area. More than 500 police officers could not quell the confrontation that disrupted traffic and created disturbances throughout the area.

“Distrust of law enforcement agencies and representative bodies contribute to the anarchic behavior of societal groups during local elections,” he added.

He said that politicians still viewed the public as a “floating mass” which could be manipulated during elections and ignored after the ballots were counted.

Radical organizations capitalize on mobilizing the masses on behalf of religion or ethnic groups “to destroy the country’s plurality which has become Indonesia’s identity”, he added.

Late last month, FPI members attacked the complex of the Islamic sect Jamaah Ahmadiyah in Manis Lor village, Kuningan regency, West Java. Public order officers and the police were rebuked by human rights observers for apparent complacency about the attack.

“Crowds are easily provoked, manipulated and mobilized by money or simply by a packet of rice, unlike citizens, who are aware of their rights and responsibilities,” he said. Democracy can’t be achieved without civil society, he added.

Civil society must be part of the process of creating awareness of what defines a citizen, he said. “The future of Indonesia’s democracy is not just in the hands of politicians, the military or bureaucrats,” he added.

Adriana Elisabeth, an expert in international relations, said that popular aspirations should inform government decision makers, especially on issues of daily life, such as the cost of staple foods, education and health.

“Besides having a political education aspect, this is also a way to develop a sense of ownership of the ongoing political process,” she said. (gzl)

URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/08/05/govt-%E2%80%98robs-people-sovereignty%E2%80%99.html

Ahmadiyah Clashes Continue in Indonesia

July 30, 2010
Nurfika Osman, Ronna Nirmala & Camelia Pasandaran

A group of people believed to be Ahmadiyah followers fight back as Indonesian mainstream Muslims try to attack their mosque in Manislor village, Kuningan district, on Thursday. (AFP Photo/Yonda)

Ahmadiyah Clashes Continue in Indonesia

As the standoff between West Java villagers and followers of the Ahmadiyah sect entered its fourth day, the Ministry of Religious Affairs said it was trying to mediate the week-long dispute, which flared into violence again on Thursday.

Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali said the tension was essentially a “political problem.” He did not elaborate further but urged the warring parties to settle their dispute peacefully.

“Differences of opinion over religion should not be solved with violence but through discussion,” he said.

The Ahmadiyah is perceived as a deviant sect by mainstream Islam. The government has stopped the group from worshiping in public but has fallen short of banning it altogether.

After a failed attempt to seal the sect’s mosques in a village in Kuningan on Monday, police and the Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) followed through with the closures on Wednesday, meeting fierce resistance.

“Government officials have an obligation to protect citizens without looking at their beliefs,” Ifdhal Kasim, the chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) told the Jakarta Globe on Thursday. “Sealing their house of worship is against the Constitution.”

Ahmadiyah followers and security forces clashed again on Thursday as groups opposed to the sect joined local police and Mobile Brigade (Brimob) units trying to close several mosques.

Groups claiming to support a pure form of Islam against the Ahmadiyah gathered around the entrance to Manis Lor village in Kuningan in the morning, following the sealing of eight Ahmadiyah mosques in the village, a local police officer said.

“At first, the anti-Ahmadiyah groups pelted the mosque with stones. The followers of Ahmadiyah were angry because their mosque was attacked, and there was fighting,” the officer said of Thursday’s violence, which reportedly stopped just after midday prayers. Ifdhal said Ahmadiyah followers were the real victims in the violence.

“They face many forms of discrimination. Their access to education and livelihood is limited and at the same time they are facing a government that facilitates the discrimination,” he said.

Bonar Tigor Naipospos, deputy chairman of the Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy, said the state should guarantee religious freedom to all, including the Ahmadiyah.

The group is often a target of orthodox Muslims worldwide because of its claim that the sect’s founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, is the last prophet, a view many consider blasphemy.

The government passed a decree in 2008 prohibiting the sect from practicing its faith in public or trying to convert others to its beliefs. [**]

According to Setara, which monitors religious tolerance, the past month has seen a sharp increase in acts of violence against the Ahmadiyah, especially in West Java.

“The use of public pressure and regional government power has been a systematic pattern in violations of religious freedom recently,” Bonar said.

The Kuningan district government has used pressure groups to back its effort to close the Ahmadiyah mosques in Manis Lor, but Bonar doubts they are local villagers. “According to our sources, these people did not come from Kuningan, but from other areas such as Ciamis and Tasikmalaya,” he said.

Bonar urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to show his commitment to pluralism by speaking out against the violence.

The statement is erroneous. Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian did not make any such claim of being last prophet. Please visit Alislam.org/messiah for further info.

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe

URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/ahmadiyah-clashes-continue-in-indonesia/388538

Tense Standoff in W. Java as Police Close Ahmadiyah Mosques

July 29, 2010

Tense Standoff in W. Java as Police Close Ahmadiyah Mosques

Jakarta. After having failed on Monday to seal off mosques belonging to the Ahmadiyah sect in a village in Kuningan, West Java, police and public order officers followed through with the closures on Wednesday but met with strong resistance from sect members.

An attempt to shut down the mosques on Monday failed after hundreds of men from the local Ahmadiyah sect blocked police from carrying out the operation.

“This morning, we returned to seal the mosques and we were assisted by other security forces such as the Mobile Brigade [Brimob], and the Public Order Agency [Satpol PP],” Comr. S Priyono, from the Kuningan Police, said on Wednesday, adding that about 250 personnel had been deployed.

According to Priyono, who heads the police’s operations division, the district chief, Aang Hamid Suganda, had ordered that the eight Ahmadiyah mosques located in Manis Lor village be shut down.

Ahmadiyah is seen as a deviant sect by mainstream Muslims. The government has banned the group from holding its rituals in public but has stopped short of banning it altogether.

Its followers believe its founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, was a prophet of Islam, a claim that contradicts orthodox Muslim beliefs.

The police succeeded in sealing the mosques early on Wednesday morning, but Ahmadiyah followers soon closed ranks and some began throwing sticks and rocks at the security forces.

A scuffle ensued and tear gas was used to disperse the crowd.

“Our security officers are still guarding the sealed mosques,” Priyono said, adding that tensions remained high between the security officers and Ahmadiyah members.

The Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy recorded 33 cases of attacks against Ahmadiyah members last year.

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe

URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/tens...madiyah-mosques/388321

Tense Standoff in West Java After Police Attempt to Close Ahmadiyah Mosque

July 28, 2010
Jakarta Globe

In this file photo, protesters from Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) shout slogans during a rally to ban Ahmadiyah in front of Presidential Palace in Jakarta. (JG Photo/Jurnasyanto Sukarno)

Tense Standoff in West Java After Police Attempt to Close Ahmadiyah Mosque

Kuningan, West Java. Violent scenes erupted in Kuningan, West Java, early on Wednesday morning when police and local government security officers attempted to seal a mosque belonging to a branch of Islam considered deviant by mainstream Indonesian Muslims.

As police and Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) officers moved in on the Ahmadiyah mosque in Manislor village, enraged followers began pelting them with rocks and sticks.

Ahmadiyah is a controversial sect that believes its founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, was the last prophet of Islam [**], a claim that contradicts mainstream Muslim beliefs.

Outnumbered, policemen and Satpol PP finally withdrew but the group chased them to the village boundary.

According to Metro TV, the order to seal the mosque came from Aang Hamid Suganda, head of Kuningan district.

As of 10 a.m. this morning, the sect followers were still guarding and blocking the street leading to the mosque.

It was the local government’s second attempt to seal the mosque in the past three days. On Monday, the officers were forced to abort the plan because hundreds of people blocked the street.

On Monday, the Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy released a report saying that the government’s one-way system of monitoring religious harmony was ineffective.

“It seems that people and the government do not realize that the right to worship, as stipulated in the Constitution, comes with the right to have a house of worship,” Setara’s Bonar Tigor Naipospos said.

The statement is erroneous. Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian did not make any such claim of being last prophet. Please visit Alislam.org/messiah for further info.

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe

URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/tense-st...hmadiyah-mosque/388168

The Sealing of Eight Ahmadiyya Mosques in Manis Lor Village is Postponed

Translated from Indonesian by Lisa Latief

The Sealing of Eight Ahmadiyya Mosques in Manis Lor Village is Postponed

Monday, 26 July 2010 | 14:27 WIB

Jamaat Ahmadiyya of Kuningan, West Java, smeared their faces with toothpaste while obstructing the closing of their house of worship. TEMPO/ Widodo Djatmiko

TEMPO Interaktif, Kuningan — The sealing of the mosque belonging to Jamaat Ahmadiyya in Manis Lor Village, Jalaksana Subdistrict, Kuningan Regency, West Java, is finally postponed after holding dialogue. However, some members of Jamaat Ahmadiyya are still worried if their house of worship will be closed.

Today the government of Kuningan Regency planned to close and seal eight mosques belonging to Jamaat Ahmadiyya in Manis Lor Village. The closure is based on the warrant from Kuningan regent number 45/.2/2065/Satpol PP containing the order to close and seal eight mosques belonging to Jamaat Ahmadiyya in Manis Lor Village. This is based on the recommendation of Indonesian Ulema Council number 38/MUI-Kab/VI/2010 dated on June 24th 2010.

Based on that warrant, the Head of Civil Service Police Unit, Indra Purwantoro, along with other members came to Manis Lor Village to close up the mosque.

However, before they could reach the mosque, hundreds of Jamaat Ahmadiyya men blocked the way to the village. They also smeared their face with toothpaste in order to save themselves from effects of tear gas and held each other’s hands to block the way to the village.

They collected the blocks of beams and tires and placed behind the lines of human; while the women were reading Koran and praying in An Nur Mosque, the biggest mosque belonging to Jamaat Ahmadiyah in Manis Lor village.

One member of Jamaat Ahmadiyya managed to grab the warrant of Kuningan regent, Aang Hamid Suganda. He took it and wanted to tear it but the head of Civil Service Police Unit, Indra Purwantoro quickly chased and saved the warrant.

The Head of Ahmadiyya Center Security Commission, Deden Sujana said that they can not accept the sealing of the mosque which is the House of God before the dialogue started. “Mosque is the house of worship, why should it be sealed?“ he said.

Therefore, his side demanded for dialogue first, to know the reason of sealing of their mosque. Deden also claimed that whenever they had insistence from other groups, they always are blamed. “Why is it us to always be insisted?“ he asked.

Deden denied that it was Jamaat Ahmadiyya that opened the seal attached by Kuningan regency government in December 2007. “It was Litbang Depag, not us.” He said.

However, Indra Purwantoro denied that there was no dialogue before. “The dialogue has been held many times,” he said. But the result of the dialogue was that the order to seal the Ahmadiyya mosque was released by Kuningan regent.

Beside, Indra also said that in Ahmadiyya Articles of Association and bylaw, there is an article stating recruitment to convert to Ahmadiyya. “It has violated Indonesian Joint Ministerial Decree, because it is prohibited to recruitment from another religion,” he said.

Indra denied that the sealing happens because of the insistence from other Islamic groups. “I think it is not an insistence. It is an aspiration,” he said. Kuningan government, Indra thinks, should accommodate every aspiration. About the opening of seal by Litbang Department of Religious Affair, Indra admitted that he has not received any warrant yet from the department.

After holding tough dialogue for more than an hour, it was finally agreed that the dialogue will be conducted first and the sealing of the mosque is cancelled.

IVANSYAH

Original Indonesian Version

TEMPO Interaktif, Kuningan — Penyegelan masjid milik Jemaah Ahmadiyah di Desa Manis Lor, Kecamatan Jalaksana, Kabupaten Kuningan, Jawa Barat, akhirnya ditunda setelah dilakukan dialog. Namun sejumlah anggota jemaah Ahmadiyah masih was-was jika rumah ibadahnya akan ditutup.

Hari ini Pemerintah Kabupaten Kuningan berencana menutup dan menyegel delapan masjid milik jemaah Ahmadiyah di Desa Manis Lor. Penutupan tersebut didasarkan pada surat perintah Bupati Kuningan Nomor 45/.2/2065/Satpol PP yang berisi perintah menutup dan menyegel delapan masjid milik jemaah Ahmadiyah di Desa Manis Lor. Penutupan tersebut didasarkan pada rekomendasi Majelis Ulama Indonesia Nomor 38/MUI-Kab/VI/2010 tertanggal 24 Juni 2010.

Atas dasar surat perintah itulah Kepala Satuan Polisi Pamong Praja Kuningan, Indra Purwantoro, mendatangi Desa Manis Lor bersama dengan anggota lainnya untuk menutup masjid.

Namun sebelum sampai di masjid, ratusan kaum lelaki jemaah Ahmadiyah menutup jalan masuk ke desa. Mereka juga mencoreng muka dengan menggunakan odol, untuk menghindari jika dilempar gas air mata, serta bergandengan tangan untuk menutup jalan masuk ke desa tersebut.

Mereka pun mengumpulkan bongkahan balok dan ban yang diletakkan di belakang barisan manusia. Sedangkan para wanita terlihat mengaji dan berdoa di Masjid An Nur, masjid terbesar milik jemaah Ahmadiyah di Desa Manis Lor.

Sempat terjadi saling kejar saat seorang jemaah Ahmadiyah mengambil dan hendak merobek paksa surat perintah Bupati Kuningan, Aang Hamid Suganda. Namun Kepala Satuan Polisi Pamong Praja Indra Purwantoro segera mengejar dan mengamankan surat perintah tersebut.

Ketua Komisi Keamanan Ahmadiyah Pusat Deden Sujana mengungkapkan mereka tidak terima jika masjid yang merupakan rumah Tuhan disegel sebelum dilakukan dialog terlebih dahulu dengan mereka. “Masjid itu tempat ibadah, kenapa harus disegel,” katanya.

Karena itu, pihaknya pun menuntut dilakukan dialog terlebih dahulu untuk mengetahui alasan dilakukan penyegelan terhadap mesjid milik mereka. Deden pun mengklaim jika setiap ada desakan dari kelompok lain, merekalah yang selalu disalahkan. “Kenapa kami yang selalu didesak?“ tanyanya.

Deden pun membantah jika Jemaah Ahmadiyah Manis Lor yang membuka segel yang sudah ditempel Pemerintah Kabupaten Kuningan pada Desember 2007. “Yang membukanya Litbang Depag, bukan kami,” katanya.

Sedangkan Indra Purwantoro membantah jika belum dilakukan dialog. “Dialog itu sudah berkali-kali dilakukan,” katanya. Namun hasilnya tetap surat perintah untuk penyegelan masjid Ahmadiyah tetap dikeluarkan oleh Bupati Kuningan.

Selain itu Indra pun mengungkapkan jika dalam anggaran dasar dan rumah tangga Ahmadiyah terdapat klausul yang menyatakan perekrutan untuk masuk ke Ahmadiyah. “Ini sudah melanggar SKB 3 menteri. Karena tidak boleh ada perekrutan terhadap agama lain,” katanya.

Indra pun membantah jika penyegelan dikarenakan adanya desakan dari kelompok Islam lainnya. “Saya kira itu bukan desakan. Tapi aspirasi,” katanya. Setiap aspirasi menurut Indra harus ditampung oleh Pemkab Kuningan. Mengenai segel yang dibuka oleh Litbang Departemen Agama, Indra mengaku selama ini belum pernah menerima surat dari Litbang Departemen Agama tersebut.

Setelah dialog yang alot, hingga memakan lebih dari 1 jam, akhirnya disepakati jika dialog akan dilakukan terlebih dahulu dan penyegelan mesjid dibatalkan.

Ivansyah

Copyright © 2010 TEMPOinteraktif

URL: www.tempointeraktif.com/hg/bandung/2010/07/26/brk,20100726-266332,id.html

Blocking the Road to Village, Jamaat Ahmadiyya of Kuningan refuses to get their Mosque sealed

Translated from Indonesian by Lisa Latief

Blocking the Road to Village, Jamaat Ahmadiyya of Kuningan refuses to get their Mosque sealed

Monday, 26 July 2010 | 10:00 WIB

Some of Jamaat Ahmadiyya members held Id Prayer 1429 H in Al-Kautsar Mosque, Pontianak, West Kalimantan, on Wednesday (1/10). Until now, Jamaat Ahmadiyya Indonesia in West Kalimantan has 500 members and they hold Id prayer and daily activity as usual. FOTO ANTARA

TEMPO Interaktif, Kuningan — Hundreds of members belonging to Jamaat Ahmadiyya in Manis Lor village, Jalaksana Sub district, Kuningan regency are preparing to prevent the sealing of their Mosque by Kuningan Government, on Monday (26/7) today.

Based on what is observed, hundreds members of Jamaat Ahmadiyya, most of them men, seem to be blocking the roads leading to their village. The blockage is specially managed on the main road to their mosque.

Nur Rahim, General Secretary of Ahmadiyya Manis Lor, Kuningan explained that they just defend the house of God. “We defend the House of Allah,” he said.

They, Nur Rahim continued, will defend the house of Allah to the death. Kuningan government will seal it today. “We hope there will be no conflict, but we will definitely defend our house of worship till the end,” he said.

Meanwhile, according to what is seen, hundreds of policemen are still protecting the entry road to Manis Lor village. However, until now, the officials of Kuningan government who will manage the sealing have not been seen yet.

Ivansyah

Original Indonesian Version

TEMPO Interaktif, Kuningan — Ratusan jamaah Ahmadiyah di Desa Manis Lor, Kecamatan Jalaksana, Kabupaten Kuningan bersiap-siap menghadang penyegelan yang akan mesjid yang akan dilakukan Pemerintah Kabupaten (Pemkab) Kuningan, Senin (26/7) hari ini.

Berdasarkan pantauan, ratusan jamaah Ahmadiyah yang rata-rata terdiri dari kaum lelaki terlihat memblokir jalan masuk ke desa mereka. Pemblokiran dilakukan terutama sebelum jalan masuk ke mesjid mereka.

Nur Rahim, Sekretaris Umum (Sekum) Ahmadiyah Manis Lor, Kuningan,menjelaskan mereka hanya mempertahankan rumah Allah. “Kami hanya mempertahankan rumah Allah,” katanya.

Mereka, lanjut Nur Rahim, akan mempetahankan habis-habisan rumah Allah yang rencananya akan disegel oleh Pemkab Kuningan hari ini. “Kami tidak berharap terjadi kerusuhan, tapi yang pasti kami akan mempertahankan habis-habisan rumah ibadah kami,” katanya.

Sementara itu berdasarkan pantauan ratusan polisi pun masih berjaga-jaga di jalan masuk Desa Manis Lor. Namun hingga kini aparat dari Pemkab Kuningan yang akan melakukan penyegelan belum terlihat.

Ivansyah

Copyright © 2010 TEMPOinteraktif

URL: www.tempointeraktif.com/hg/bandung/2010/07/26/brk,20100726-266224,id.html

Islamic organization's Anti-Ahmadiyya Demo

Islamic organization’s Anti-Ahmadiyya Demo

Google Translated Version
14/07/2010 22:12

Liputan6.com, Garut: Hundreds of people from various Islamic organizations rallied at the Simpang Lima Tarogong, Garut, West Java, on Wednesday (14/7). They demanded the agency to clean the area from the Ahmadiyah congregation.

Action of the protesters turned into riot, when they sealed a number of agency offices in the area, such as Parliament’s office, Board of Trustees, and the Department of Education. The police tried to block the action.

Not satisfied sealing government office, protesters staged a theatrical to illustrate the role of local officials for being followers of Islam. (IDS / SHA)

Original Indonesian Version

Liputan6.com, Garut: Ratusan warga dari berbagai ormas Islam berunjuk rasa di Simpang Lima Tarogong, Garut, Jawa Barat, Rabu (14/7). Mereka menuntut pembersihan instansi di daerah itu dari jemaah Ahmadiyah.

Aksi para pengunjuk rasa sempat diwarnai kericuhan, ketika mereka menyegel sejumlah kantor instansi di daerah itu, seperti kantor DPRD, Badan Pengawas, dan Dinas Pendidikan. Polisi pun berusaha menghalangi aksi tersebut.

Tidak puas menyegel kantor pemerintahan, pengunjuk rasa menggelar aksi teatrikal untuk menggambarkan peran pejabat setempat selama menjadi pengikut Ahmadiyah. (IDS/SHA)

Coypyright © 2000-2010 Liputan 6 ® All Rights Reserved.

URL: http://berita.liputan6.com/daerah/201007/286280/Ormas.Islam.Demo.Anti.Ahmadiyah

Cops Asked To Take a Hard Line With FPI

July 14, 2010
Farouk Arnaz

Cops Asked To Take a Hard Line With FPI

The National Police should no longer tolerate religious hard-liners such as the Islamic Defenders Front, which are using violence and intimidation under the guise of piety, a number of rights groups — including Muslim organizations — said on Wednesday.

“We are worried about several recent incidents and the fact that the police have not done anything to stop the violence and uphold the law, no matter which group is involved,” said Usman Hamid, a coordinator from the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), who was among those meeting National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri at his office to air their concerns.

Rumadi, a program coordinator from the Wahid Institute, another rights group taking part in the talks, said Bambang gave his personal guarantee that the police would crack down on violence committed by the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI). “It was a positive meeting,” he said.

Aside from Kontras and the Wahid Institute, activists also present at the meeting included those from the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam), Arus Pelangi, Imparsial, Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH), Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI), Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI), Setara Institute and Jamaah Ahmadiyah Indonesia.

Usman said the FPI not only attacked people of other faiths but also human rights activists and those with unorthodox sexual orientations. “This can no longer be tolerated,” he said.

The activist groups, he said, had agreed the FPI had caused social instability and undermined the authority of the state, and that the police should move to uphold the law.

But the police have denied accusations that they have not done enough to prevent hard-line groups, including the FPI, from conducting illegal raids to intimidate others, such as a sweep on a meeting hosted by lawmakers in Banyuwangi, East Java, last month.

The June 24 meeting, called by Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) legislators Ribka Tjiptaning Proletariati and Rieke Dyah Ayu Pitaloka, was broken up by as many as 15 members of the Islamic People’s Forum because they believed it to be a communist meeting. The FPI is said to have incited the raid.

The incident was reported to the police and has led to numerous calls from civil society and political organizations to disband hard-line groups.

Usman said Bambang had vowed to take action against the Banyuwangi Police chief for his lack of action over the incident, although he would discuss the issue with the legislators first.

Maman Imanulhaq, an Islamic scholar from Nahdlatul Ulama, the country’s biggest Muslim organization, went as far as saying Bambang should dismiss local police chiefs who allowed hard-liners to use violence and intimidation tactics.

I Wayan Sudirta, a member of the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) from Bali, said the activists hoped the meeting did not produce more rhetoric.

“We need concrete action, not just promises,” he said.

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe

URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/cops-asked-to-take-a-hard-line-with-fpi/385881

Hostility in Bogor Puts End to Ahmadiyah Plans

July 13, 2010
Zaky Pawas & Ulma Haryanto

Hostility in Bogor Puts End to Ahmadiyah Plans

In the latest attack on the rights of minority religions, hundreds of public order officers in Bogor on Monday demolished the foundations for a planned mosque for worshippers from the Ahmadiyah sect.

“We had to dismantle the foundations, which were steel pillars, and the base framework, because the mosque had been rejected by local residents,” Adj. Comr. Roni Mardiatun, police chief for Ciampea subdistrict, told the Jakarta Globe.

According to Roni, residents had objected to the plan to build the mosque in Cisaladah village, claiming it violated a 2006 decree by both the ministries of religious affairs and home affairs on the establishment of houses of worship, which require the approval of local residents before they can be built.

The Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), the country’s highest authority on Islamic affairs, has labeled Ahmadiyah a deviant version of Islam and called for it to be banned.

The government has stopped short of banning the group, but has forbidden it from conducting its rites publicly. Ahmadiyah members recognize their sect’s founder as a prophet, which contradicts a tenet of mainstream Islam that sees Muhammad as the last prophet.

“The local residents think that the mosque will be made into a place to spread Ahmadiyah, and besides, the mosque doesn’t have a permit from the local administration,” Roni said.

The building’s foundation had already been built on the 500-square-meter property in preparation for a two-story mosque, he added.

About 400 police officers stood guard in front of a nearby existing Ahmadiyah mosque. Residents and police scuffled earlier on Monday because residents also wanted the smaller mosque pulled down.

Roni said 50 more police officers were dispatched after the foundations had been demolished in order to secure the area.

The head of the Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) in Bogor, Dace Supriadi, said his officers removed the foundations following a decision by the Ciampea Council of Leaders, which included the heads of the local administration, police and military.

“The Ahmadiyah mosque was still just some pillars and a foundation. We had to dismantle it before the building could be built,” he added.

Cisaladah village elder H Deden argued that Ahmadiyah’s activities in the area had been banned under a 2007 decree from the subdistrict administration.

“The decree states that no activities on behalf of Ahmadiyah should be allowed in the region. Apparently they ignored the decree,” he said.

Deden also said villagers wanted the existing Ahmadiyah mosque torn down.

“The residents’ demands cannot be negotiated and must be carried out,” he added.

According to Deden, 40 local community leaders had sent the Bogor administration an ultimatum to destroy the mosque within two weeks. “If not, we fear residents could run amok,” he added.

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe

URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/hostility-in-bogor-puts-end-to-ahmadiyah-plans/385508

Violence feared to replace community dialogue

HEADLINES Tue, 07/13/2010 8:42 AM

Violence feared to replace community dialogue

Dicky Christanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Ongoing incidents triggered by power-hungry mass organizations wanting to uphold their own “law” is behind the increasing levels of conflict in society, according to experts.

Franz Magnis-Suseno from the Jakarta-based Driyarkara School of Philosophy said the situation will worsen if the government does nothing to handle incidents of violence.

Such violence, he said, has begun replacing community dialogue as shown in, for instance, repeated raids on places of worship by religious hardliners.

“It is a matter of the government’s political will and priorities. We have no doubt that state institutions have sufficient resources to take stern action against these mass organizations,” Franz said Monday.

When asked if the state apparatus’ failure in being tough on organizations would jeopardize the country’s unity in the future, Franz said he believed the country had enough experience to deal with such issues.

“We have been faced with many problems before, some of them huge. But we have managed to survive. I’m confident we can [solve these fresh problems],” he said.

A University of Indonesia sociologist, Thamrin Amal Tamagola, said a special order from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was needed to help boost the morale of law enforcers so they do not bow to pressure from violent civil groups.

“Our law enforcers have a problem coping with political pressure and they are easily bowed. Thus, a specific order is needed to authorize law enforcers to take stern measures against these organizations,” he said.

Thamrin suggested that members of society, who felt their rights had been violated by groups pushing their own agendas, file class actions lawsuits at the district courts.

“In a democratic country, the government is not authorized to disband a group or a mass organization. The only institution having such authority is a judicial body, in this case the courts,” he said.

National Defense Council outgoing secretary general Lt. Gen. Bambang Darmono, however, praised the government, saying it had done its best to preserve democracy.

He did, however, note that there had been problems relating to social interaction between the people and a few mass organizations.

“Thus, thorough mapping is needed to address the problems accurately and properly. This effort would ideally be conducted by organizations independent of the government, such as NGOs and the media,” he said.

Bambang said the results of the mapping should be given to the government for further measures.

Recently, there have been waves of protests and violence from several mass organizations, such as the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), and ethnic organizations clashing with groups with conflicting interests.

Last month a joint forum of Islamic mass organizations in Bekasi ordered local Christians to close down a building they deemed as an illegal church. The protesters deemed activity at the church part of a global proselytization effort.

In another incident, a mosque that once acted as a house of worship for Ahmadiyah followers in Bogor was demolished by police on Monday. The authorities argued that if they did not tear it down, several Islamic groups had threatened to close the mosque by force.

Last year alone, there were 291 acts of violence nationwide, 118 in Java, against the freedom of religion and belief, according to the Setara Institute which focuses on Equality.

URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/07/13/violence-feared-r...alogue.html

Local residents nix sharia-based bylaws

Headlines Thu, 07/01/2010 7:51 AM

Local residents nix sharia-based bylaws

Hasyim Widhiarto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Residents, politicians, activists — and at least one actor — in Depok and Tangerang urged their cities to reject sharia-based bylaws.

Implementation of such regulations will make the regions prone to inter-religious conflicts, agreed several residents and activists.

The Depok municipal administration must seek approval from both the Muslim majority and local minorities if they want to implement sharia-based bylaws or policies in the city, said Mangaranap Sinaga, the coordinator of the Depok-based Inter-religious Youth Forum.

“All residents, especially minorities, need assurances that such bylaws will guarantee their rights to religious freedom and also give no leeway for [Muslims] hard-liners to outlaw the existence of the country’s beneficial laws,” Mangaranap told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Mangaranap said it was also important for the city’s moderate religious organizations to unite and support each other so that they could take a strong position when discussing sharia with hard-line organizations and local political elites.

“Dialogue alone is not enough, sometimes we also need to be more political,” he said.

The forum, which was launched earlier this month, gathered six religious-based organizations in Depok to discuss and respond to threats to pluralism in the city.

The organizations include Nahdlatul Ulama’s Ansor Youth Movement, Indonesian Christian Youth Force Movement, Catholic Youth, Buddhist Youth Generation, Persada Hindu Dharma and Konghucu Youth Generation.

Actor-cum-politician Derry Dradjat, who wants to run for deputy mayor in Depok’s next election, said there was no urgent need to implement sharia-based bylaws in the city.

“Instead of creating a new conflict, why don’t we just refer to the existing laws,” he said.

Depok, a city on Jakarta’s southern border, is currently governed by Nurmahmudi Ismail, who was supported by the Islamic-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) in 2005.

Nurmahmudi has faced strong criticism from many non-Muslim residents who claim that they have been unable to obtain permits to build churches under his administration.

The mayor has been criticized for allowing hard-line organizations, such as the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) to pressure minorities, such as members of the Ahmadiyah sect and the transgender community.

In 2006, the Depok city council planned to deliberate a draft ordinance banning prostitution but has made no progress after several years.

Implementation of sharia-based bylaws started even earlier in neighboring Tangerang,

A number of women have been arrested when returning home from work after authorities began enforcing a 2005 bylaw banning prostitution in the city. Human rights activists have called for the bylaw to be revised.

Immanuel Malirafin, 43, a Catholic living in Kotabumi, said that although he heard of the bylaw, he never learned about it in detail.

“Some of my Muslims neighbors told me that the bylaw imposed a curfew on women, but I never understood why it was implemented,” he said.

Sharia bylaws are only allowed only in Aceh province, as a conditions of its special autonomy following a 2005 international agreement that ended decades of war.

After the introduction of regional autonomy in 1999, bylaws regulating private conduct and morality have sprouted in dozens of regencies and municipalities in the coutnry.

URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/07/01/local-residents-nix-shariabased-bylaws.html

Legislator: FPI has the military backing

National Wed, 06/30/2010 9:23 AM

Legislator: FPI has the military backing

Hans David Tampubolon and Bagus BT Saragih, The Jakarta Post, Mataram

The police are reluctant to get tough with the hard-line Islam Defenders Front (FPI) group because of its ties to the Indonesian Military (TNI), a legislator says.

“There is information saying the FPI is a pet of the TNI, and the police hesitate to deal face-to-face with the military, because police consider the armed forces their elder brother,” said Eva Kusuma Sundari, an Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician.

She added the FPI was originally established to accommodate the interests of hard-line Muslim groups that had suffered from oppression by the government during the New Order era.

“The organization is now part of the conflict management strategy the TNI exercises to maintain its power. The FPI serves as a stepping stone for the military to re-enter politics,” she said.

It was a blatant accusation of the military’s role in supporting the FPI, which is known for anti-vice raids executed under the pretext of enforcing of Islamic law. Most recently, FPI members raided and dissolved a discussion on a health bill in the East Java town of Banyuwangi last Thursday between PDI-P members of the House of Representatives’ Commission IX on people’s welfare.

Commission head Ribka Tjiptaning, also from the PDI-P, filed a report with National Police against the FPI on Monday and demanded the group’s dissolution and a probe of the Banyuwangi police chief’s decision to allow hard-liners to break up the event.

Defense Ministry spokesman Brig. Gen. I Wayan Midhio said Tuesday that the accusation was groundless and denied a link between the TNI and the FPI.

“TNI does not have a pet. TNI is a group of professional soldiers who obey the law. Since the reform era, TNI has focused on professionalism,” he said.

On Monday, a caucus consisting House legislators from various parties said that the government, TNI and Home Affairs Ministry were responsible for the birth of the FPI and demanded President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to exercise his authority and dissolve the group.

Eva said government favoritism of the FPI was evident in a lack of follow-up actions against the group, despite its acts of violence.

“In 2008, [Yudhoyono] looked as if he had enough of the FPI and called for a coordination meeting between several institutions, such as the TNI, police, and Home Affairs Ministry. However, the meeting failed to generate a significant outcome,” Eva said. Yudhoyono’s decision came in response to an attack by members of FPI and other hard-line Muslim groups on freedom of religion supporters who rallied in defense of Ahmadiyah followers at the National Monument in Central Jakarta on June 1, 2008, she added.

“After the meeting, the Home Ministry said the FPI could not be dissolved because it had never been listed with the ministry. However, I found out the FPI was indeed on the list. This means the ministry also has blood on their hands,” she added.

Eva said the FPI was registered under Home Ministry Decree No. 69/ D111.3/VIII/2006.

Home Ministry spokesman Saut Situmorang said that the FPI had been listed as a mass organization and that there were procedures that must be followed to dissolve an organization.

“We need to secure the Supreme Court’s approval to disband a mass organization,” he told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Edward Aritonang said Tuesday the police do not have the authority to dissolve a mass organization such as the FPI.

URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/06/30/legislator-fpi-has-military-backing.html

Social Order Will Never Exist Until We Establish the Supremacy of the Law

---Jakarta Globe, Indonesia    

April 19, 2010 | Johannes Nugroh

Social Order Will Never Exist Until We Establish the Supremacy of the Law

Horrific scenes during last week’s riots in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, have led to a welter of accusations of human rights breaches and oppressive conduct by public order officers. The riots also made it patently clear to the world that the supremacy of the law is a long way from realization in Indonesia. Furthermore, the violence was a clear indication that many of our citizens hold the judicial system in contempt, preferring the concept of “might is right” over rational orderly protest.

The fact is that the riots started as an attempt by the Jakarta government to clear illegal settlements surrounding the historic tomb of a revered religious leader. It was, by any definition, a large operation, involving around 2,000 officers, and it resulted in an orgy of violence. It was both a public relations disaster and a blunder for the government, and it was an incident that will cast a long shadow.

That the operation was poorly planned and managed is a foregone conclusion, apparent by the fact that the majority of local residents were under the impression that the officers were there to tear down the hallowed mausoleum. It is galling that the government failed to explain the objective of the operation before sending in thousands of officers in full riot gear. What is more astounding is that the large show of force proved to be such a huge flop.

Knowing that the site had religious significance and that militant groups such as the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) were involved, the government should have used both diplomacy and intelligence before conducting the operation. It was also evident from the presence of Molotov cocktails and the gathering of thousands of rioters in such a short space of time that the residents were well-prepared to counter the operation.

The Tanjung Priok debacle will set back efforts to ensure the supremacy of the law in Indonesia. It will also send the signal that government agencies, accustomed to intimidating ordinary citizens, only cower when people turn the tables on them through violent resistance. Either way, it is bad news for law enforcement, and a blow to moves to establish a civil and democratic society.

Evidence of a new sense of caution is already at hand. The day after the riots, the Surabaya municipal government postponed a scheduled operation to clear illegal buildings. Last week in Sampang, Madura, public order officers confessed to being nervous when carrying out a court order to seize a disputed property, fearing copycat resistance by local residents.

N or is this the first failure to uphold property laws in the country. A court order to seize almost 10 hectares of land in Tandes, Surabaya, has so far come to nothing despite repeated attempts in 1999, 2000 and 2001 because local residents occupying the property threatened the government with a bloodbath.

On a larger scale, the failure of the government to protect followers of Ahmadiyah, a minority Islamic sect, from assault by religious fanatics is also testimony to the way Indonesian law enforcers cower helplessly before mob rule. That the police officers allowed organizers of a recently proposed gay and lesbian rights international conference to be physically assaulted by protesters is further proof of this selective treatment by the state of its citizens.

The fact remains that the attackers of minority groups are indeed criminals, but so far they have escaped justice, either due to the cowardice of our law enforcers or because, on a more sinister level, our police officers are biased when it comes to interpreting the law.

This is perhaps a recurrent theme in the history of law enforcement in the country. The law is still seen by many not as a tool to guarantee the rights of the people, but rather as a tool of the state to oppress, and a useless paper tiger in the face of mob rule.

This may explain why the Tanjung Priok residents chose armed resistance to impose their will on the government, in spite of the fact that they were illegally occupying the disputed land. This alone may explain why the battered gay rights activists in Surabaya recently chose not to file charges against their attackers. Why bother? Police officers were indeed present during the assault but no arrests were made.

One major hurdle to unbiased law enforcement in Indonesia is the pervasive tendency by state officials to opt for political expediency. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono himself rebuked the provincial government of Jakarta for the riots, saying that any government action, although legally correct, must not go ahead if the circumstances appear unfavorable.

Although there is much pragmatic wisdom in this approach, the president is also signaling that the law discriminates in its treatment of citizens. Justice is no longer blind, but a prudent opportunist that strikes most efficiently when the majority are clapping, but looks on indifferently when an unpopular underdog is trampled upon.

Another equally insurmountable hurdle is the integrity of government officials in the eyes of the people. With the recent sensational exposure of the workings of the judicial mafia, and corruption within the ranks of the National Police, Indonesians as a whole have very little faith in the law.

This distrust only leads to conspiracy theories against government officials, with the public suspecting that the government is only enriching itself and at the same time making fools of ordinary Indonesians. And when this happens, the people are easily provoked into going on the rampage against what they perceive as deliberate injustice against them by a corrupt government.

Perhaps the government did try to explain to the people of Tanjung Priok why it wanted to clear the area of illegal settlements. After all, a revitalized international port at Tanjung Priok could only be good for the country. But where did the message get lost along the way? The answer may well be a matter of trust. Whatever the government says, the people simply no longer trust it, and it will remain that way until they see evidence to the contrary.

Johannes Nugroho is a writer based in Surabaya.

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/social-o...acy-of-the-law/370343