W. Java the ‘least tolerant province’

NATIONALTue, 12/20/2011 11:25 PM

W. Java the ‘least tolerant province’

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A survey by human rights watchdog Setara Institute has found that West Java was the least tolerant province in 2011, registering the largest number of religious violence cases.

Throughout 2011, West Java saw 57 incidents involving government-endorsed discriminatory policies, instances in which government officials condoned acts of violence against minority groups, the closure of places of worship and religiously motivated killings.

In the survey, South Sulawesi ranked second place with 45 incidents, followed by East Java and North Sumatra in the third and fourth position with 31 and 24 incidents, respectively.

Banten, which saw the Cikeusik Ahmadiyah lynching in April, and West Nusa Tenggara were both in fifth position with 12 cases each. Bali and West Kalimantan were found to be the most tolerant provinces.

“This high number of violence and discrimination indicates that the government has done little to mitigate religious acrimony. The numbers remain high compared to last year’s,” Setara Institute chairman Hendardi said Monday.

Hendardi attributed the violence to President Susilo Bambang Yu-dhoyono’s lack of leadership.

“The President is even powerless in the face of opposition from Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto, who refuses to obey the Supreme Court’s ruling to reopen GKI Yasmin Church and let its members practice their faith freely,” he said.

The survey also found correlation between religious conflicts and the level of urban spread.

“We found that the more urban an area, the more likely religious conflicts will occur,” Setara Institute deputy chairman Bonar Tigor Naipospos said.

The Setara Institute recorded 244 incidents in which religion was cited as the cause.

The survey also found that government officials owned the biggest share of the blame in allowing religious conflict to happen. A total of 105 incidents were initiated by government officials.

Members of the National Police were responsible for 40 cases, the Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel for 22 cases, regents and mayors 18 violations, governors 10 violations and the Religious Affairs Ministry nine violations.

Setara also cited the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) and the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) as non-governmental organizations that registered the highest number of discrimination cases.

Setara researcher Ismail Hasani said religious conflicts peaked between February and March, when locals in Cikeusik attacked members of the Ahmadiyah sect.

“Following the incident, two churches were burned down in the same month, which heightened tension between the majority Muslim and minorities groups for the rest of the year,” he said.

Ismail added that the increasing religious conflict could indicate hypocrisy on the part of the government.

“We recorded that the President made at least 19 public statements encouraging religious harmony. However, change could hardly happen in the coming years because those around the President include people from several political parties who oppose religious freedom,” Ismail told The Jakarta Post.

According to the Setara Institute, the Ahmadiyah suffered the worst type of discrimination in 2011.

It recorded 22 policies, including 15 ordinances, issued by local governments that promoted animosity toward the sect. The policies include the Religious Affairs Ministry’s decision to prohibit Ahmadiyah members from performing the haj pilgrimage to Mecca. (msa)

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved
URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/...province.html

Bleak prospects for Ahmadis

ARCHIPELAGOMon, 12/19/2011 11:50 PM

Bleak prospects for Ahmadis

Panca Nugraha, The Jakarta Post, Mataram

Hopeful eyes: Children pose at an Ahmadiyah shelter in Mataram, Lombok. Members of the religious community have been largely shunned by society, and their future as part of Indonesia’s workforce and as citizens is looking bleak. The 33 families of the community have lived in the shelters since they were evicted from their homes six years ago. JP/Panca Nugraha

The Ahamdiyah community comprises about 140 people and 33 families who have been forced to take shelter in Wisma Transito in Mataram after they were evicted from their homes six years ago.

The outreach program provided by the NTB provincial administration, involving the NTB Agency for Political Affairs and National Unity and a number of clerics, has not been effective, the Ahmadis say, while the West Lombok regency administration has backtracked from its promise to compensate assets they were forced to leave behind in their village.

An early estimation revealed that their assets, comprising 21 houses and land, were valued at Rp 1.4 billion (US$155,000).

“The outreach program, they said, would last for six months from June until December was in fact carried out for only two months. It began early on in the month of Ramadhan and ended just after Idul Fitri,” Nasiruddin, one of the Ahmadis, said recently when interviewed at Wisma Transito.

He is a respected member of the Ahmadiyah community, often playing the role of advisor.

Nasiruddin accused the government of not being serious about resolving their problem.

The condition of the Ahmadiyah refugees in Wisma Transito, which is located around 2 kilometers from the NTB gubernatorial office, has not improved. The community still lives in makeshift quarters made of cloth and used banners.

Two infants were in the community in November, bringing the total number of babies born in the community since they were evicted to 18.

“I gave birth at Mataram General Hospital for free, thanks to the Delivery Assurance program, but we faced difficulties in applying for the Jamkesmas and Jamkesmasda health insurance because we don’t have identity cards,” said Maemunah, 25.

She was carrying her baby, Noval Syaif Irfan, who was born on Nov. 15, while eight pre-school-aged children were cheerfully playing around her.

Ahmadiyah is considered by mainstream Muslims as heretical. Ahmadiyah communities across the country have been persecuted by their fellow Muslims, and in some severe instances have had members seriously injured or killed.

In a number of provinces, local administrations have banned the sect citing security concerns.

Ahmadiyah members in West Lombok say they continue to be persecuted.

Amaq Marsudin, 52, who suffers from kidney failure and requires regular dialysis, was rejected by the NTB General Hospital because he did not have an identity card.

“He was admitted to the hospital for two weeks but did not receive dialysis because he is not covered by Jamkesmasda as he doesn’t have an identity card. Finally, we brought him back to Wisma Transito and he has resigned his fate to God,” Nasiruddin said.

According to Nasiruddin, during the e-ID card campaign program in Mataram in October, the Ahmadiyah refugees tried to apply for ID cards at the Mataram Population Agency.

However, they were turned down on the grounds that they were only temporary residents.

“The West Lombok regency administration also refused to issue us ID cards. Actually, we only requested residence identity permits. It doesn’t matter if we don’t live in West Lombok, but owning an ID card is important for access to healthcare and education programs, especially as an ID card proves citizenship status,” he said.

The Ahmadiyah refugees endure living at the shelter despite that most of the families are in dire financial straits. In general, the men seek a living as construction workers, ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers, barbers and hawkers.

Sarim Ahmad, 45, for instance, owns a chicken noodle cart now. He had worked for a fritter seller earlier.

“I saved up my salary to make a cart to sell noodles, and the proceeds are not bad,” he said.

The NTB provincial administration had initially promised that the outreach program provide startup capital for the refugees.

However, for Sarin, it was all just talk and no action.

“They promised to provide startup capital, but have failed to do so as of now. Furthermore, we prefer to be independent because the assistance is a loan in nature and we have to pay installments,” he said.

West Lombok spokesman Ispan Junaedi said the administration would never compensate the assets of Ahmadiyah members in Ketapang because funds set aside for that purpose in 2010 and 2011 had not been realized “because the refugees raised the amount”.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved
URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/12/19/bleak-prospects-ahmadis.html

Govt monitors Ahmadiyah religious practices

THE ARCHIPELAGO Fri, 11/26/2010 10:20 AM

Govt monitors Ahmadiyah religious practices

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

MATARAM: The government continues to provide counseling to the Ahmadiyah sect and ensuring that Ahmadis are not disseminating their teachings, says an official.

Didiek Darmanto, head of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) prosecutor’s office also heading the religion and sect monitoring body, warned people against resorting to violence in dealing with the issue.

“The prosecutor’s office helps monitor Ahmadiyah in NTB based on joint decrees by three ministries,” he said at a media conference on Wednesday.

“We hope people do not resort to street justice.”

Considered heretical, minority Ahmadiyah followers have been refused from the Muslim community including those in West Lombok, NTB.

After having been forced to take shelter, around 12 families last week returned home to their village, only to be evicted again by local residents.

They are part of 35 families taking shelter at Wisma Transito in Mataram after being evicted from their village in February 2006.

They had been forced to return to their homes because they had been staying at the Wisma Transito shelter without any certainty of their fate.

“The prosecutor’s office only monitors religious activities by Ahmadiyah. The social impact and the placing of Ahmadiyah followers are the domain of both West Lombok and NTB offices,” Didiek said. — JP

URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/11/26/govt...-practices.html

Displaced Ahmadiyah followers take part in national census

---The Jakarta Post, Indonesia

Archipelago | Fri, 05/14/2010 9:48 PM

Displaced Ahmadiyah followers take part in national census

Panca Nugraha, The Jakarta Post, Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara

Around 120 Ahmadiyah followers taking shelter at Wisma Transito building took part in the national census and were listed as residents of Mataram city in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), although many had no valid identification.

Head of the Mataram Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS), Peter Willem, said Friday the followers of the controversial sect had taken part in the census, which ends May 31.

“We registered them as residents of Mataram since they have lived in the city for the last six months,” Peter told The Jakarta Post.

He said the refugees were registered using the regular form just like other residents.

The form, he said, did not mention their status as refugees.

“It’s because the census does not query data on the status of refugees”.

Peter said the BPS did not single out the census pattern and treatment between Ahmadiyah refugees and other residents.

Some 136 families or 157 people of the Ahmadiyah sect, considered heretical by the Indonesian Ulema Council, have been living in the shelter for four years since being evicted from their homes in West Lombok by angry mobs.

Some had left or moved to other provinces but some 33 families of 126 people remain.

URL:   www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/04/21/discourse-blas...99.html

Let us out of this shelter, Ahmadis plead

--- The Jakarta Post, Indonesia

Headlines Thu, 08/06/2009 1:11 PM

Let us out of this shelter, Ahmadis plead

Panca Nugraha, The Jakarta Post, Mataram

Around 140 members of the Jamaah Ahmadiyah sect asked the Mataram municipal administration Wednesday for permission to leave their shelter at the Transito Guest House, where they have been living for the last three-and-a-half years.

Representatives of the minority Islamic sect, branded deviant by mainstream Muslim groups, met with staff from the Mataram mayor’s office to make their request.

“We asked for permission from the administration to allow us live wherever we may in the city, even along riverbanks or in slums,” Syahidin, coordinator of the refugees, said after the 30-minute meeting.

“We’re tired of living at the shelter.”

He added the Ahmadis had made the plea because local authorities had never responded to an earlier request to be allowed to return to their home hamlet of Ketapang, in Gegerung village, West Lombok.

“We’ve been waiting for an answer for four months,” Syahidin said.

“Neither the provincial nor municipal administrations deigned to respond to our request.” The Ahmadis were driven from their homes in February 2006 by a marauding mob of local Muslim residents. The attackers burned down their homes and mosque.

They were evacuated to the Transito dormitory on Feb. 4 that year, to prevent more attacks.

The government has since stopped providing financial aid and food rations for the Ahmadis, and cut off the electricity to the shelter, claiming it cannot afford the costs.

“Should the government consider us guilty of whatever it is we’re being accused of, we’re ready for the legal process,” Syahidin said.

“We’re ready to go to prison, even without due legal process.

“All we want is to not be abandoned at the refugee camp, waiting in limbo,” he went on. “We’re humans who wish to live normal lives.”

On March 14 this year, the Ahmadis wrote to West Nusa Tenggara Governor Zainul Majdi, seeking permission to return to Ketapang.

But after a meeting with West Lombok administration officials, the refugees were told to delay their return, saying local authorities would buy up their homes and land to get them settled elsewhere. However, the West Nusa Tenggara administration later dropped the plan, citing, as ever, a lack of funds.

The U-turn forced the Ahmadiyah members to stay on at the refugee camp, having been forbidden from returning home to Ketapang or to relocate elsewhere.

On numerous occasions, local authorities have dissuaded them from leaving the camp by saying they would face certain persecution that the authorities had no intention of preventing.

This year’s Islamic fasting month of Ramadhan, expected to start on Aug. 22, will be the fourth for the Ahmadis at the Transito dormitory.

Mataram administration official Husnan Ahmad said Wednesday his office had actually allowed the refugees to return to Ketapang, on the condition they would have to assimilate into the local Muslim community.

“From the very beginning, the mayor has given them permission to return home, but only if they agree to not live ‘exclusively’,” he said.

He added the Ahmadis had not agreed to the terms.

Ahmadiyah members and properties have come under frequent attacks from mainstream Muslims across the country, following two separate decrees from the unctuous Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and the Religious Affairs Ministry branding their teachings “heresy”.

A central Ahmadiyah belief is that the sect’s founder, Mirza Gulam Ahmad, was a prophet after Muhammad.

In July 2005, an estimated 10,000 members of the Indonesian Muslim Solidarity group attacked the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation complex in Bogor, West Java.

URL: www.thejakartapost.com/n...ead.html

Ahmadiyah followers seek exit from shelter

---The Jakarta Post, Indonesia

National Wed, 08/05/2009 3:24 PM

Ahmadiyah followers seek exit from shelter

Panca Nugraha, The Jakarta Post, Mataram

Around 140 members of the Ahmadiyah sect and their families asked the Mataram municipal administration on Wednesday for permission to leave the shelter at the Transito Guest House where they have been living for the last three-and-a-half years.

Representatives of the Islamic sect, which has been deemed defiant by mainstream Muslim groups, met assistants to the Mataram mayor to make their request.

“We ask for a permit from the regional government to live in wherever part of the city, even along the river banks or slum areas. We are tired of living in the shelter,” coordinator of the displaced Ahmadiyah followers, Syahidin, said after a 30-minute meeting.

He said the Ahmadiyah members sought a permit to live in Mataram as the local government had never responded to their request to return to their home village of Gegerung, West Lombok.

“We have been waiting for the answer for four months. Both the provincial and municipal governments have not answered our request,” Syahidin said.

The Ahmadiyah followers were displaced from their village following an attack by hard-line Muslims in February 2006. The attackers burned down their homes and place of worship.

URL: www.thejakartapost.com/new...it-shelter.html