Police coercing members to quit faith, sect claims

World

Police coercing members to quit faith, sect claims

Tom Allard HERALD CORRESPONDENT
March 19, 2011

JAKARTA: Members of the Ahmadiyah religious sect have been pressured by Indonesian security personnel to abandon the faith amid continual harassment of them, sect leaders say.

The military and government ministers have defended their actions, saying there has been no intimidation, only efforts to protect Ahmadis from violence.

Ahmadis have come under increasing attacks in the past 18 months, culminating in the killing of three adherents by a mob of hundreds of Islamists in Banten province last month.

Advertisement: Story continues below The government denounced the violence and 12 people have been arrested.

But since the incident, several provincial governments have introduced edicts banning Ahmadiyah, while the Minister for Religious Affairs, Suryadharma Ali, has continued his campaign for the group to be outlawed entirely.

Ata ur-Rahman, an Ahmadiyah preacher from Cirebon, in west Java, said 12 Ahmadis in his area had been summoned in recent days by the military or district chief to sign a petition disavowing their faith.

“So far only five have signed it and left Ahmadiyah,” Mr Ata said.

Others had been visited at their homes, he said. More than 50 such approaches had been documented in West Java.

“The military guys told them, ‘This is for the sake of security … We don’t want things that occurred in other places happening here too … Therefore, we ask you to join mainstream Islam. Don’t follow a false sect,”‘ Mr Ata said.

Ahmadis follow the Koran and observe most Islamic traditions but they believe that a late 19th-century Indian religious figure, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, was the messiah foreshadowed in the Hadith.

The belief angers some orthodox Muslims, who view any deviance from the tenet that Mohammed was the final prophet as deeply offensive.

There are more than 200,000 Ahmadis in Indonesia, where the faith was introduced in the 1920s. However, since a presidential decree was issued in 2008, Ahmadiyah adherents are forbidden from proselytising and must observe their religion in private.

The deadly attack in February was captured on video and the shocking footage went viral online. A censored version was shown widely on Indonesian and international television.

It prompted much soul-searching about Indonesia’s commitment to its constitutional right to freedom of religion.

However, incidents of harassment have continued unabated. In West Java, there have been attacks on the homes of Ahmadis, prompting police to question followers of the sect. The perpetrators of the attacks were not arrested.

The local military commander in West Java reportedly demanded the replacement of an Ahmadi cleric at a mosque in Bandung with a preacher from the conservative Indonesian Ulemas Council.

In East Java, Ahmadis were told this month to remove the signs outside their mosque.

In South Sumatra, Ahmadis were ordered to cancel a celebration of the Prophet Mohammed’s birthday, said Basuki Ahmad, a preacher from Palembang.

“We are only allowed to hold small gatherings inside our mosques now,” Mr Basuki said.

Five provinces and six regencies have banned the sect since the killings in Banten.

“These decrees place officials on the side of militants who increasingly have been carrying out attacks on Ahmadiyah,” said Phil Robertson, of Human Rights Watch.

But the Minister for Justice and Human Rights, Patrialis Akbar, said there had been no violations by the military or police because they were trying to foster communication between Ahmadis and aggrieved Muslim groups.

The Defence Minister, Purnomo Yusgiantoro, said: “There’s no negative element, there’s no coercion whatsoever.”

© 2011 AAP | Copyright © 2011 Fairfax Media
URL: www.smh.com.au/world/police-coercing-...1c0dt.html

Home minister rejects US influence on Ahmadiyah issue

NATIONAL Sat, 03/19/2011 10:57 AM

Home minister rejects US influence on Ahmadiyah issue

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Indonesian government reserves the right to treat the Ahmadiyah religious sect however it likes, Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi says, following a recent call by US congressmen demanding the Indonesian government revoke all laws that discriminate against Ahmadiyah and religious minorities.

Gamawan was quoted by kompas.com as saying on Saturday that he was not sure whether the letter from the US congressmen even existed.

Speaking on the sidelines of a ceremony where he received an honor from Padang State University in West Sumatra, Gamawan admitted that he had not seen the letter sent by 27 congressmen to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono via the Indonesian embassy in Washington on Tuesday.

In the letter dated March 15, the congressmen expressed their “deep concern” over decrees issued by provincial authorities, including East and West Java governors banning Ahmadiyah from practicing its religion publicly.

“We also ask that you immediately revoke the decree that bans Ahmadiyah from conducting religious activities in the country and repeal the country’s long-standing blasphemy law, which is used to prosecute religious minorities who exercise their right to freedom of religion expression,” they said in a statement received by The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

The congressmen also referred to the brutal attack on Ahmadiyah members in Cikeusik, Pandeglang, Banten, last month that killed three Ahmadis in the presence of police officers.

They also said that the decree that banned Ahmadiyah had led to escalating violence against religious minorities.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved
URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/03/19/home-minister...

Int’l groups ask RI to stop prosecuting Ahmadis

NATIONAL Fri, 03/18/2011 11:35 AM

Int’l groups ask RI to stop prosecuting Ahmadis

Bagus BT Saragih and Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The international community has turned its eye on Indonesia’s continuing persecution of minority sect Ahmadiyah with 27 members of the US Congress signing a letter to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to revoke “prosecuting” bylaws.

In the letter dated March 15, the congressmen expressed “deep concern” on decrees issued by provincial authorities, including the East and West Java governors, banning Ahmadiyah followers from practicing their religion publicly.

“We also ask that you immediately revoke the decree that bans Ahmadiyah from conducting religious activities in the country and repeal the country’s long-standing blasphemy law, which is used to prosecute religious minorities who exercise their right to freedom of religion expression,” they said in the letter made available to The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

The congressmen also addressed the brutal attack on Ahmadiyah followers in Cikeusik, Pandeglang, Banten, last month, in which three Ahmadis were murdered in the presence of police officers. The congressmen also contended that the decree banning Ahmadiyah had led to escalating violence toward religious minorities.

“Not only do the decrees recently issued in East and West Java run contrary to the principles of international human rights, but we also fear that they will only serve to embolden extremists and exacerbate violence against the Ahmadiyah community,” they said.

Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said Thursday he had not received any letter from US congressmen.

Bylaws banning Ahmadiyah have been issued in five of the country’s 33 provinces, including West Java and East Java, the country’s most populated provinces. Administrations in seven regencies and four cities have also followed suit.

Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo earlier mulled issuing similar regulations but dropped the idea last week.

Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto said banning Ahmadiyah violated the Constitution. Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali and Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi, however, backed the regulations, saying they were in line with a controversial 2008 joint ministerial decree banning Ahmadis from propagating their religious beliefs.

International human rights groups have also protested Indonesia’s lack of willingness to investigate the Cikeusik incident and the recent report over the Indonesian Military’s (TNI) involvement in intimidating Ahmadis in West Java.

Amnesty International urged the Indonesian government to “investigate reports that the military in West Java were involved in the intimidation of Ahmadiyah followers and had forced them to renounce their faith”.

A coalition of several Indonesian human rights groups previously reported that soldiers had carried out Operasi Sajadah (Operation Prayer Mat), which was aimed at converting Ahmadis to the “right path” of Islam.

The coalition claimed they had recorded at least 56 acts of intimidation by soldiers against Ahmadis in the province after the Cikeusik attack.

West Java’s Ahmadiyah Indonesia Congregation (JAI) protested the acts and filed a complaint to the West Java Legislative Council.

The TNI denies its soldiers were ordered to influence people’s decisions, adding that its involvement was acceptable provided no coercion was involved.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved
URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/03/18/int%E2%80%99l-groups...

Indonesia faces a looming constitutional crisis

OPINION Fri, 03/18/2011 9:40 PM

Indonesia faces a looming constitutional crisis

Moh Yasir Alimi, Semarang

The nation is holding its breath. Within the space of a week we were confronted by two shocking events: the involvement of the Siliwangi Military Command in the alleged persecution of Ahmadiyah in West Java and a letter bomb sent to liberal Muslim activist Ulil Abshar Abdalla. Both evince the changing face of the nation’s society, politics and religious life.

The Siliwangi Military Command for a long time has taken pride as a guardian of the Indonesian people and the national motto of unity in diversity. The legendary command was on the front lines of the fight to save the new Indonesian nation from attempts to set up an Islamic state led by Kartosuwiryo in West Java and Kahar Muzakkar in South Sulawesi.

The command today seems disoriented and has lost sight of its fundamental values and history. Its presence in an operation to “purify” Ahmadiyah followers in West Java might have been unintentional, but in any event was misplaced, scary and might have led to persecution.

We might ask how this disorientation is connected to terrorists who attempt to assassinate people with different ideologies. Both incidents occured because Indonesia is now experiencing constitutional anomie.

Anomie, as Durkheim said, is a condition where there are no norms and the regulatory framework decays. Everyone “aspires to everything and is satisfied with nothing”.

Constitutional anomie, as I define it, is a disruption of the constitutional framework of a nation. In our case, it means that the fundamental principles embodied in the Constitution are no longer effectively realized in the day-to-day organization of politics and public life.

Constitutional anomie has manifested itself in Indonesia in six ways.

First, recent bylaws and statements from the elites contradict the spirit of the Constitution, particularly in terms of tolerance and diversity, and are becoming more open and more confidently expressed.

Second, officials manipulate the process so that it seems that the rules they create accord with the Constitution. Officials at many levels are confusing their religious and constitutional commitments.

Third, as a result of such manipulation, fundamental constitutional principles such as tolerance, religious freedom and diversity have been turned upside down. What is right and wrong has become unclear unconstitutionally.

Fourth, state officials are not on the same wavelength on realizing the Constitution.

For example, the President has made strong remarks on violence while elites talk, smile and offer open arms to extremist groups.

Further, governors have adopted bylaws that violate the spirit of constitutional diversity while top state officials in Jakarta, including the President stand mute.

The President seems to believe that Ahmadiyah, as a colleague said, is “a nuisance to his presidency and wishes they’d just go away.”

Fifth, elites have been sending confusing signals on the principles buttressing the Constitution, leading to state hesitation in cracking down on extremists.

Sixth, a warm reception from state officials has made religious vigilantes more confident.

Underlying these six symptoms a tendency of the elite to exploit violence as political commodity to raise their popularity. The Constitution has been subordinated to constituents and bartered for short-term and myopic political interests.

Above all, constitutional anomie has been exacerbated since the principles of the Constitution have no longer been supported by words and action at the Palace and the House.

We are puzzled why the President himself rarely invokes Pancasila and principles of the Constitution as the foundation of Indonesian values. I am not questioning the President’s commitment to Pancasila, only his inaction.

Constitutional anomie will be fatal for Indonesian democracy. So far we have seen how the abandonment of constitutional values and confusing signals sent by state officials has made the National Police hesitate to take action against violent groups because they do not have enough political support.

The Siliwangi Military Command is disoriented, which, as Durkheim said, happens is the first step on the road of anomie.

Constitutional anomie is like a river; it can sweep away anything standing in its way. Only those who hold to the Constitution and resist mingling it with their political interests will survive.

The most critical result of constitutional anomie is that the nation no longer shares the same spirit or sentiments. If this is not corrected, and the authority of the Constitution is not restored, the nation can fall into an irreversible and vicious circle of violence.

To stop this, soldiers should hold solidly to their basic values. They should not allow their integrity to be manipulated by the whims of Indonesian elites.

And state officials at many levels should stop running roughshod over the Constitution and commoditizing violence as political strategy.

History tells that the use of violence as political commodity will not only endanger the country, but also those who play with it.

If you play with fire, you get burned.

The writer is a lecturer at the School of Sociology and Anthropology at Semarang State University and active in Jamaah Mujahadah Asmaul Husna.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved
URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/03/18/indonesia-faces...

Military Challenged on Ahmadi Claim

NEWS

Military Challenged on Ahmadi Claim

Ulma Haryanto, Camelia Pasandaran, JG & AFP |
March 18, 2011

A former Ahmadiyah follower in Bogor reciting an affirmation of mainstream Islamic beliefs on Tuesday. On Wednesday, 18 more Ahmadis renounced their faith in Sukabumi. (Antara Photo)

Supporters of the beleaguered Ahmadiyah Islamic sect said on Thursday they would gather testimony to rebuff claims by the military that it had not forced members of the group to renounce their faith.

Firdaus Mubarik, a spokesman for the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI), told the Jakarta Globe that around 50 Ahmadis in the West Java districts of Tasikmalaya, Subang, Bogor and Cirebon were prepared to testify that they had been intimidated by soldiers, state officials and the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) to convert to mainstream Islam.

Nurkholis Hidayat, director of the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH), said his office would then use the testimonies to counter the military’s claims that it was not behind the conversions. “All this time they’ve been rebutting our claims, so let’s hear what the victims have to say,” he said.

Reports have emerged over the past week of soldiers visiting Ahmadiyah communities and forcing the members, whose high regard for sect founder Mirza Gulam Ahmad contradicts mainstream Muslims’ belief that Muhammad was the last prophet, to sign statements renouncing their faith.

This comes in the wake of a spate of attacks against the sect by Muslim groups and residents.

However, the government denied forced conversions had occurred, saying the military was acting to protect the sect from violence at the hands of Muslim hard-liners.

On Thursday, rights group Amnesty International urged the government to investigate the allegations of intimidation by the military.

“The Ahmadiyah community is facing increasing restrictions, intimidation and attacks because of their beliefs,” said Josef Roy Benedict, the group’s Indonesia and East Timor campaigner.

Soldiers have entered mosques, gathered followers of the sect and “forced them to repent and convert to Islam,” the group said.

Amnesty called on the authorities “to conduct prompt, independent and impartial investigations” into all reports of intimidation and to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Pressure for the government to end the persecution of the sect has also come from the US House of Representatives.

In an open letter addressed to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and dated Tuesday, a group of 27 US congressmen and women called for legislation discriminating against Ahmadiyah followers to be repealed.

The letter highlighted regional decrees issued in West Java and East Java banning Ahmadiyah members from practicing their faith openly and a 2008 joint ministerial decree limiting their activities.

“Since the 2008 decree banning many significant [Ahmadiyah] activities, violence against the religious minority has steadily escalated,” the letter read. “Not only do the decrees recently issued in East and West Java run contrary to the principles of international human rights, but we also fear that they will only serve to embolden extremists and exacerbate violence against the Ahmadiyah community.”

The letter cited the brutal Feb. 6 attack on Ahmadis in Cikeusik village, Banten, where three Ahmadiyah followers were beaten to death.

The US lawmakers also called for the scrapping of the 1965 Blasphemy Law, which was at the center of an anti-Christian attack in Temanggung, Central Java, shortly after the Cikeusik incident.

Among those who signed the letter were Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to the House, and Barney Frank, an openly gay congressman.

Human Rights Watch also condemned violence against the group and urged Yudhoyono to fire Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali — who heads the conservative Islam-based United Development Party (PPP) — for discrimination and to lift the curbs on Ahmadiyah.

Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi rejected the congressmen and women’s request to revoke the joint ministerial decree, saying “deep analysis” of the matter was still needed.

He said there was nothing wrong with the decree, which has consistently been used by hard-liners as justification for attacking Ahmadiyah members.

For his part, Suryadharma said he would have to study the letter first before he could make any decision on revoking the decree.

“I’ll read it first,” he said.

“But every nation has interests that might be different from those of other nations.”

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/military-challenged...

Indonesia Urged to Probe ‘Forced Conversions’

NEWS

Indonesia Urged to Probe ‘Forced Conversions’

March 17, 2011

Ahmadis hug each other at a mosque near Bogor, West Java, on Tuesday after they shouted out “Syahadat” as a sign of conversion to Islam. About 13 from 89 members of the sect in that village converted to mainstream Islam just days after a number of attacks on Ahmadis homes. (Antara Photo/Jafkhairi)

Rights group Amnesty International urged Indonesia on Thursday to investigate allegations of soldiers intimidating followers of a minority Islamic sect and forcing them to renounce their faith.

The military have visited the Ahmadiyah, who unlike mainstream Muslims do not believe Mohammed was the last prophet, asking some members to sign statements renouncing their faith, Amnesty said citing local rights groups.

“The Ahmadiyah community is facing increasing restrictions, intimidation and attacks because of their beliefs,” according to the group’s Indonesia and East Timor campaigner Josef Roy Benedict.

Indonesian human rights group Imparsial said it had recorded 56 cases in West Java province in which soldiers allegedly forced Ahmadiyah followers to convert to mainstream Islam.

Soldiers have entered mosques, gathered followers of the sect and “forced them to repent and convert to Islam”, the group said.

The government denied forced conversions had occurred, saying military actions were taken to protect the sect from violence at the hands of Muslim fanatics.

Amateur video emerged in February capturing an extremist mob armed with machetes, sticks and rocks attacking Ahmadiyah followers, leaving three dead and sparking international outcry.

“Since then at least four provinces in Indonesia – South Sulawesi, West and East Java and Banten – have issued new regional regulations restricting Ahmadiyah activities,” Benedict said in a statement.

The restrictions include banning the sect from distributing pamphlets, putting signs in front of their offices and places of worship or wearing anything indicating that they are Ahmadiyah members, Amnesty said.

The rights group called on the authorities “to conduct prompt, independent and impartial investigations” into all reports of intimidation and to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Ahmadiyah have been subject to abuse and persecution since 2008 when curbs were placed on them at the insistence of mainstream Muslims.

Human Rights Watch has condemned violence against them and urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to sack his religious affairs minister for discrimination and to lift the ban on Ahmadiyah practicing in public.

Indonesia’s constitution guarantees freedom of religion but rights groups say violence against minorities including Christians and Ahmadis has been escalating since 2008.

There have been cases of Christians being beaten and churches attacked.

AFP

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/indonesia-urged...

Military Intervention on Ahmadiyah Legal: Patrialis

NEWS

Military Intervention on Ahmadiyah Legal: Patrialis

Markus Junianto Sihaloho | March 16, 2011

Members of the hard-line Islamic Defenders Front have demanded the government declare Ahmadiyah a forbidden sect. (JG Photo)

Amid allegations that the Indonesian military has conducted operations designed to intimidate Ahmadiyah followers into renouncing their faith, Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar said on Wednesday that such actions could not be considered a legal violation of human rights.

“As long as their [the military’s] purpose is to keep Ahmadiyah from becoming a target of violence, then what they did is not a problem,” Patrialis said. “It’s not a violation of human rights principles, they are just helping Ahmadiyah members.”

On Tuesday, the military denied that it had ordered the Siliwangi command in West Java to encourage mainstream Muslims to occupy Ahmadiyah mosques and preach “the true path” of Islam.

That statement followed news that army Maj. Gen. Moeldoko, the head of the Siliwangi command, had called on Muslims to conduct “an attack of prayer rugs” in mosques as a way of countering the beleaguered minority Islamic sect without direct violence.

Human rights watchdogs have called the effort an attempt to forcibly convert Ahmadis.

Patrialis urged the public to see the military’s action in a positive light, stressing that such intervention is legal, since the police requested the military to help them protect Ahmadiyah members.

“The police and the military can help at each other,” he said.

The House of Representatives had earlier demanded the military answer allegations that the West Java military unit was intimidating Ahmadiyah followers. Lawmakers on Tuesday said such operations possibly violated Indonesian law.

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/indonesia/military.../429431

18 Ahmadiyah Members in West Java Renounced Their Faith

HOME

18 Ahmadiyah Members in West Java Renounced Their Faith

March 16, 2011

A former Ahmadiyah follower in Bogor reciting an affirmation of mainstream Islamic beliefs on Tuesday. On Wednesday, 18 more Ahmadis renounced their faith in Sukabumi. (Antara Photo)

Sukabumi. Eighteen more members of the Ahmadiyah sect, this time from four subdistricts in Sukabumi, West Java, renounced their faith on Wednesday.

Witnessed by the chairman of the Sukabumi branch of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), they recited the Islamic syahadat, an affirmation of mainstream Islamic beliefs that there is only one god and that Muhammad was his last prophet, at Sukabumi’s Islamic Center.

They also signed a statement saying that they renounced their faith of their own free will.

One of them, Wawan Irwansyah, 47, said he had followed Ahmadiyah’s teachings for 19 years before giving up on them.

“I became an Ahmadi because a relative asked me to, but for all 19 years, I had never felt comfortable with it. Today, I decided to renounce it without any pressure from anyone,” Wawan said.

Another convert, Sukaria, 78, said he became an Ahmadi by ‘accident’ two years ago. He said the nearest mosque near his home was the Ahmadiyah mosque so he always carried out his Friday prayers there.

“I doubted Ahmadiyah teaching because they said there was another prophet after Muhammad,” Sukaria said.

On Tuesday, 13 members of the beleaguered Ahmadiyah sect in Bogor underwent a public ceremony to renounce their faith.

The ceremony, at a mosque in the village of Ciaruteun Udik, in Cibumbulang subdistrict, was organized by local officials and supported by the police and the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI).

Antara

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/ahmadiyah...faith/429423

Soldiers’ roles in Ahmadiyah program ‘voluntary’

HEADLINES Wed, 03/16/2011 12:20 PM

Soldiers’ roles in Ahmadiyah program ‘voluntary’

Ina Parlina and Arya Dipa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Bandung

Soldiers involved in an operation initiated by the West Java administration to convince local Ahmadis to change their beliefs was “voluntary”, the Indonesian Military (TNI) said on Tuesday, emphasizing that they did not violate any regulations.

Army spokesman Brig. Gen. Wiryantoro told The Jakarta Post that the central command did not order the soldiers to assist the West Java administration in carrying out the Operasi Sajadah (Prayer Mat Operation), which aims at returning the Ahmadis — who have been deemed heretical — to the “right path” of Islam.

Wiryantoro added that the soldiers’ involvement was acceptable as long as they did not coerce people and were only trying to help educate the Ahmadis.

“The Ahmadis who converted did it voluntarily,” he said.

But the move drew strong criticism, mainly from legislators and human rights activists. Tubagus Hasanuddin, of the House of Representatives’ Commission I, said the action was wrong because “it intimidated people”.

“Even though the TNI claimed that they only helped the local administration, it’s wrong because their presence would definitely create fear among the Ahmadis” he told the Post, adding that the military should never be involved in such an operation or anything related to religious affairs.

Tubagus said the commission, which was scheduled to meet Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro on Wednesday to discuss the bill on intelligence, would question him about the incidents. He added that the commission invited the TNI chief to the meeting.

A coalition of several human rights groups accused the military of 56 acts of intimidation against Ahmadis in West Java after the attack of Ahmadiyah in Cikeusik, West Java, recently.

West Java’s Ahmadiyah Indonesia Congregation (JAI) protested intimidation by TNI officers during the deployments, complaining to the West Java Legislative Council on Tuesday.

Ahmadiyah spokesman Rafiq Ahmad Sumadi Gandakusuma told the regional councilors in the province about the intimidation they had experienced. “We don’t want the TNI or the police to interfere with our right to worship. They have to do their job, which is to protect the citizens,” Rafiq said, adding that Ahmadiyah also objected to West Java’s gubernatorial decree banning the spreading of Ahmadiyah teachings.

Syarif Bastaman, from the West Java regional council, concurred with Rafiq, saying he regretted that the decree had justified intimidation. “The decree surely needs to be reviewed.”

The human rights coalition, consisting of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation, human rights NGO Imparsial and the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence, recently published data of at least 56 cases of military officers in West Java working in the program.

They condemned the military for involving itself in religious matters. “President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono must order TNI Chief Adm. Agus Suhartono to stop their actions immediately and investigate the deployment due to alleged human rights and constitutional violations,” said Imparsial program director Al Araf who also represents the coalition.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved
URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/03/16/soldiers...html

28 Ahmadis Set to Renounce Faith: MUI

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28 Ahmadis Set to Renounce Faith: MUI

March 15, 2011

The Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) in Bogor claims that 28 Ahmadiyah followers will renounce their faith and convert to Islam.

“God willing, on Tuesday the 28 Ahmadis will recite Syahadat [to convert to Islam] at Al Hasan Mosque in Cibungbulang,” he said in a statement issued on Monday night.

Joni Jaelani, the head of Ciareuteun Udik village, said eight Ahmadis from the village, which is in Cibungbulang district, on Saturday declared their willingness to renounce their faith.

“It started when Jimmi [an Ahmadiyah follower] and his family came to me, telling me they wanted to renounce their faith,” he said, adding that the other Ahmadis had then followed suit.

“The original plan was for them to fully convert on Sunday, but we were informed that there were 20 more people from Jakarta wanting to join them. So we have delayed it until Tuesday,” Joni said.

Previously, two Ahmadiyah communities on Sunday reported that West Java police and military officers had coerced Ahmadiyah followers to renounce their faith through bribery and intimidation.

Firdaus Mubarik, a spokesman for the Indonesia Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI), said he had received reports from Ahmadis across West Java that police and military officers had been visiting their homes, asking them to sign sworn statements renouncing their faith.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday a group 40 demonstrators broke into an Ahmadiyah mosque in Cipeuyeum, West Java, and burned the group’s religious books.

“Police were there. The mob did not destroy the mosque or clash with the Ahmadis,” said Asep Isamudin, head of the JAI in Cianjur district.

“They burned the books and the Korans because they believe Ahmadiyah is in violation of the joint ministerial decree and the recently issued gubernatorial decree banning the activities of the sect in West Java,” he said.

Read the full story on the allegations of military intimidation here.

Antara, JG

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/28-ahmadis...

TNI should not be involved in Ahmadi conversions, says House official

NATIONAL Tue, 03/15/2011 2:00 PM

TNI should not be involved in Ahmadi conversions, says House official

The Jakarta Post

House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Pramono Anung says he regrets the deployment of military officers in West Java in a program aiming to convert Ahmadis to mainstream Islam.

“[The Indonesian Military] should not be involved in religious affairs. This move is regrettable,” he said Tuesday, as quoted by tribunnews.com.

So far under the program, named “Operation Sajadah” (prayer mat), around 15 Ahmadis have declared their conversion to mainstream Islam.

The campaign encourages followers of mainstream Islam to conduct their Friday prayers at Ahmadiyah mosques.

Pramono said the military should instead offer to protect the community.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved
URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/03/15/tni...official.html

Police, Military ‘Intimidate’ Bogor Ahmadis to Convert

NEWS

Police, Military ‘Intimidate’ Bogor Ahmadis to Convert

Ulma Haryanto & Elisabeth Oktofani | March 14, 2011

Police and military officers in West Java have coerced Ahmadiyah members into renounce their faith through bribery and intimidation, two groups said on Sunday.

Firdaus Mubarik, a spokesman for the Indonesia Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI), said he had received reports from Ahmadis across West Java that police and military officers had been visiting their homes, asking them to sign sworn statements renouncing their faith.

The allegation comes on the same day that a group of 40 demonstrators broke into an Ahmadiyah mosque in Cipeuyeum, West Java, and burned the group’s religious books.

“Police were there. The mob did not destroy the mosque or clash with the Ahmadis,” said Asep Isamudin, head of the JAI in Cianjur district.

“They burned the books and the Korans because they believe Ahmadiyah is in violation of the joint ministerial decree and the recently issued gubernatorial decree banning the activities of the sect in West Java,” he said.

Firdaus said at least seven Ahmadis previously residing in the village of Leuwisadeng, located some six kilometers from Ciaruteun Udik, the scene of an attack on Friday that damaged houses owned by Ahmadis, had relocated to Bogor.

“They were intimidated into signing a statement,” he said. “They feared for their lives.

“The village administration head also informed them that if they insisted on remaining Ahmadis, it would be difficult for them to get their ID cards processed, and to get their children an education.

“The Ahmadi villagers were also offered up to Rp 150,000 [$14)] to renounce their beliefs.”

Safwan Adnan, head of the West Java branch of the JAI, said that similar tactics were occurring in Majalengka and Tasikmalaya, both in the province.

He said that on Friday, 40 police and military officers from Bandung, accompanied by members of the West Java branch of the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), arrived at Ahmadiyah’s Mubarak Mosque in Bandung.

“They said they wanted to lead the Friday prayers,” he said. The Ahmadis, he added, rebuked the group.

“They were showing off, trying to prove that they had managed to convert followers of Ahmadiyah,” he said.

Muhammad Isnur, from the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation, said that Ahmadis in Ciareteun and Leuwisadeng were rounded up on Saturday.

“They were briefed by the Bogor Police, officers from the regional military command and the village’s ulema, among others, on the contents of the new gubernatorial decree,” he said.

Even though the decree itself is unconstitutional, he said, the Ahmadis were advised to obey.

“The Ahmadis can move out if they don’t feel safe,” he said. “The preaching at mosques has gotten worse — there are calls to kill, attack and hang the Ahmadis.”

Bogor Police Chief Dadang Rahardja said “the good news” is that seven of the Ahmadi villagers who were attacked on Friday “will declare themselves Muslim, and they decided this by their own will.”

He denied that police officers had intimidated Ahmadis. “It was only socialization. We will not force them because faith is about human rights.”

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/indonesia/police...convert/428748

Fight Ahmadis With Prayers, Not Punches: Military Chief

HOME

Fight Ahmadis With Prayers, Not Punches: Military Chief

Yuli Krisna & Dofa Fasila | March 08, 2011

Bandung. A military commander in West Java has warned against using brute force against the Ahmadiyah, saying there were more “elegant” methods to suppress the group.

Maj. Gen. Moeldoko, chief of the Siliwangi Regional Command, said on Monday that the use of violence against the minority Muslim sect would attract unwanted attention from international human rights groups.

“We should be handling [the Ahmadiyah] with gloved hands, and not with violence,” he said. “Through the preaching of Islamic teachings, let their faith be weakened. [We must] guide them to follow the right path.”

“I believe this is a far more elegant and respectful way, even in the eyes of the world. We already have the tools to implement this plan,” he added.

Moeldoko was speaking after he met with West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan, the provincial police chief and other officials on Monday to discuss implementing a ban on the sect’s activities.

Ahmad had issued a gubernatorial regulation on Friday barring Ahmadis from practicing their faith in the province.

The ban, adopted by at least 10 other regional governments, was based on a 2008 joint ministerial decree declaring the Ahmadiyah a deviant sect for its divergent view on Islamic prophets. The decree prohibits Ahmadis from spreading their beliefs.

In a tactic he dubbed “an attack of prayer rugs,” Moeldoko suggested converting the sect to Islam by opening their mosques to mainstream Muslims.

“I ask all of you [Muslims] to sit inside their mosques, which are exclusive for the Ahmadis,” he said. “Let us fill their mosques with Islamic activities and the correct teachings of Islam.”

Similarly, the West Java governor said the sect’s mosques should be accessible to all mainstream believers.

“All mosques believed to belong to the Ahmadiyah can be used by anybody and everybody,” he said. “A mosque, after all, should not belong to a certain community. It is open to each and every Muslim.”

The governor also said the sect’s members should be invited to join other Muslims during Friday afternoon prayers.

“Let us put all of our prayer mats side by side. Islam after all, does not teach exclusivity. It does not teach us to close ourselves up,” he said.

The Ahmadiyah, founded in India in 1889, has been targeted by hard-liners in a series of bloody riots and clashes across the archipelago in recent months.

In the latest sign of simmering religious tensions, a group of people in Bandung were forced to dig up the body of an Ahmadi from a tomb on Thursday and abandon it in a graveyard.

The Ahmadiyah said the incident was “troubling” and constituted an attack on the sect.

“If this matter had been communicated to us, or if the body had been buried on land belonging to the Ahmadiyah, we wouldn’t have this problem,” Ahmad said on Monday.

Over the past few weeks, Islamic organizations have demanded that the government disband the sect, triggering heated public debate on religious rights in Indonesia.

Contrary to his peers in other regions, however, Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo vowed not to ban Ahmadis from practicing their faith.

He said Djoko Suyanto, the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, had warned officials against enforcing such prohibitions.

“His instructions were clear. There should not be a gubernatorial decree or any kind of regulation issued in this country that would violate the Constitution,” Fauzi said on Monday.

He said the 2008 ministerial decree listed “everything needed to ensure security, order and harmony” in the capital.

Earlier, Fauzi had suggested following East and West Java’s lead in issuing regulations to ban Ahmadiyah activities. However, Fauzi backtracked on Monday after his proposal earned widespread public criticism.

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/fight...chief/427316

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

Not the business of the state

---daily Dawn, Pakistan

Columnists

Not the business of the state
By Ardeshir Cowasjee
Sunday, 16 Aug, 2009 | 12:53 AM PST

It has taken a mere 62 years — a blip in the life of many a nation, many an empire — for those who pass for politicians, both civil and military, to nearly dismantle Pakistan. Those of little genius have managed to do so to the best of their ability.

In the large it has been brick by brick, though at times large chunks have been done away with in one fell swoop, and on one occasion, back in 1971, an entire wall was demolished to serve the purposes of power-hungry megalomaniacs.

Given all to which it has been subjected, given the warping and distortions of the national mindset, Pakistan is to be congratulated for not only having survived the machinations of its ruling cliques, but to actually still be standing, albeit in a highly wobbly mode, on its mortgaged feet. For all the wrong reasons, it is now a high-profile country in the comity of nations, renowned all over the world for being what it should not be.

Each Aug 14 the nation is expected to honour the memory of the man who made it, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, and to celebrate the being of Pakistan. This year, that was denied in our capital city. From what we have read and seen on our television channels, Islamabad was festooned, not with the national flag, but with the flag of the party in power. Our kings of straw celebrate themselves, not their country and its maker, and they rule over a Pakistan that now has nothing to do with the ideals that gave it birth. However, let us remember the words spoken by Jinnah on Aug 7, 1947 when he landed in Karachi: ‘I never expected to see Pakistan in my lifetime. We must be very grateful to God for what we have achieved.’ One must suppose that we who have survived the 62 years of downgrading must be grateful for what is left to us. But what can one make of a nation many of whose citizens are still debating whether there should ever have been a Pakistan?

Those who quibble over partition should remember that by 1947 Jinnah’s firm and committed conviction was that there was no other possible solution in the face of the end of the empire. For better or for worse, the minority Muslims had to have their own land. A united India could never have worked out.

Days prior to the country’s founding, he urged his people to forget the past, to bury the hatchet, to work together no matter to which community or religious faith they belonged. He told them clearly that a state can progress and thrive only when each man is an equal citizen of the state, with equal obligations, rights and privileges.

He told them that the first duty of any government was the imposition of law and order, he warned against the pernicious subcontinental affliction of bribery and corruption, of nepotism and jobbery, and clearly and emphatically stated that the citizens of his country ‘may belong to any religion, caste or creed — that has nothing to do with the business of the state’.

Once he was dead, those who followed swiftly broke faith with him and it took them but six months to betray both Jinnah and the people of his country. They managed to do everything he had warned them not to do, and those that have followed the followers have succeeded beyond Jinnah’s wildest dreams in converting his country to quite the opposite of what he intended and in polluting the minds of its people. It was not to be for better, but unequivocally for worse.

To say that the leadership the country has suffered over its 62 years has been disastrous is but to overstate the obvious. Sadly, it must be admitted, Jinnah had an inkling that he was bequeathing his country to those who would prove unworthy inheritors of his labours (never did he utter the word ‘sacrifice’).

This newspaper of record which informs us on its masthead each day that it was founded by Mohammad Ali Jinnah, has allowed me to reiterate time and time again words spoken by that great man to his friend, my father Rustom Fakirjee Cowasjee, when one day he remarked, in dismal tone: ‘Mark my words, each successive government of Pakistan will be worse than its predecessor.’ And so it has been — such is our fate.

Though, today, it is difficult to believe that any successor can be much worse than what we now have sitting. But, then, with what we have on the ground which is likely to follow, Jinnah’s prescience might continue to prove to be accurate.

The lethal mixture of state and religion, imposed upon us by the Objectives Resolution of 1949 has ensured that bigotry and intolerance would flourish, that discriminatory laws would be imposed and would be immoveable, that sectarian killings would be a daily occurrence and that the threat of Talibanisation would be a reality with which we must live, though our mighty army has now taken up the fight. The question is, with the deterioration that has set in, can the fight be won?

To end, a quote from an editorial in this newspaper written 20 years ago on the occasion of Jinnah’s birth anniversary: ‘… we have paid ritualistic tribute and homage to the ideals and principles of Mohammad Ali Jinnah without grasping the essence and practical implications of his message and carrying out his behest. All his life he remained a true exponent of liberty and political pluralism and an ardent advocate of the rule of law and a democratic polity….’

arfc @ cyber.net.pk

©2009 DAWN Media Group. All rights reserved

URL : www.dawn.com/.../16-not-the-business-of-the-state-689-hs-01

Letter to President Yudhoyono on Human Rights Concerns in Indonesia

---Human Rights Watch, USA

Letter to President Yudhoyono on Human Rights Concerns in Indonesia

August 6, 2009

Dr. H. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
President, Republic of Indonesia
Gedung Bina Graha
Jl. Veteran 16
Jakarta Pusat

Re: Human Rights Concerns in Indonesia

Dear President Yudhoyono,

Congratulations on your recent election success. Human Rights Watch would like to say selamat menunaikan tugas, good luck in carrying out your duties as president. We encourage you to build on the successes of your first term in office, and bring new energy to areas including human rights where important objectives have not yet been achieved.

For many years, Human Rights Watch has raised human rights issues with the Indonesian government. With another five-year term, you and your new coalition government have an opportunity, and the responsibility, to address continuing human rights concerns in Indonesia. As Indonesia is a party to the major human rights treaties, we urge you to ensure that Indonesia lives up to its international legal obligations.

To this end, we write to you with specific recommendations on the issues that have important implications for the human rights of Indonesians, specifically corruption, military business, impunity, religious freedom, freedom of expression, the situation in Papua, and child domestic workers. We urge you and your government to give high priority to each of these issues.

Corruption

Anti-corruption measures are critical to ensuring that human rights protections are enjoyed by all Indonesians. Corruption diverts money that could have been collected as tax revenue away from government coffers-funds that could otherwise have been spent on social spending, such as improving access to health services. To this end, we urge you to deliver on your campaign promises to fight corruption and improve the welfare of Indonesia’s citizens. We commend the progress made by the Anti-Corruption Commission (KPK), established under your first administration. Yet current trends undermine the effectiveness and very existence of the commission. In particular, to ensure its continued existence, the National Parliament must pass a bill to reestablish the KPK court by September 30, but the bill is not on the list of priority legislation for the parliament's attention. Further clauses in the bill are under debate that, if included in the final legislation, would erode the commission's effectiveness and independence, including by limiting the KPK to an investigative function and reducing the number of ad-hoc judges to sit on trial panels.

Anti-corruption efforts should be broadened to be effective. Sustained, rigorous efforts to root out corruption in the police, judiciary and military will help stem the loss of tax revenues from lucrative natural resources, especially the forestry and plantation sectors. Strong leadership from yourself and the Ministry of Forestry is needed to implement anti-corruption reforms, such as chain of custody mechanisms to ensure the legal origin of wood products and the full payment of forestry taxes.

We urge you to:

• Act immediately to ensure the National Parliament enacts legislation to renew the KPK court, without eroding its authority or independence. If necessary issue an appropriate executive order until legislation can be passed;
• Ensure corruption investigations sufficiently extend to the judiciary, police and military, including the use of anti-corruption and money laundering legislation to fight corruption in the forestry sector;
• Stem the loss of government tax revenues from forestry corruption by finalizing chain of custody and revenue tracking mechanisms.
  

Military Business

Dismantling business activity by the armed forces (Tentara Nasional Indonesia or TNI) is widely recognized as a necessary pillar of military reform. But progress has been slow, despite a 2004 legal mandate requiring the government to shut down or take over all of the TNI’s business interests before October 2009. We understand that your government has recently decided on a course of action and is finalizing a presidential decree that sets out how it will proceed. We hope that, as the culmination of nearly five years of discussion and debate, this effort will embody a well-considered and comprehensive approach.

TNI involvement in the economy takes several forms: military-owned businesses; collaboration with the private sector (including protection payments); criminal enterprises; and various forms of corruption. Each is pernicious, amounting to an abuse of power as well as a misuse of state assets. Human Rights Watch has shown that money-making ventures by TNI foundations and cooperatives at all levels fuel human rights abuses and create conflicts of interest. Military involvement in illegal businesses, including in the logging and oil palm sector, undermines the rule of law and Indonesia’s anti-corruption agenda.

The fact that Indonesia’s military derives funds from ties to the private sector, including corporate security payments, presents another ongoing concern. Controversy over such payments has resurfaced in the wake of the series of deadly shootings in July 2009 near the Freeport McMoRan copper and gold mine in Papua. Although a 2004 presidential decree stipulates that responsibility for guarding major corporate sites should transfer from the military to the police, this handover has been incomplete. Company filings in the United States show that Freeport’s total spending on “support costs” for the 1,850 Indonesian soldiers and police who operated in and near its mine reached US$92 million through 2008, including US$8 million for 2008 alone. Some of these funds are dispersed as cash “allowances.”

We urge you to take firm action to end the involvement of Indonesia’s security forces in wide-ranging economic activities as follows:

• Move expeditiously to issue the long-awaited presidential decree on TNI business reform and accompanying regulations. These measures should be comprehensive and without exceptions, incorporating robust accountability provisions for TNI business dealings (including the unauthorized sell-off of companies and the misuse of state assets) and associated abuses, and be complemented by strict enforcement of the ban on all military business activity;
• Reject a proposal to transfer TNI businesses to the nominal control of the civilian-led Ministry of Defense, where uniformed military personnel exercise great influence, and instead name an impartial body to take temporary control of such businesses until they are liquidated or sold off. Adopt and enforce similar measures prohibiting business activity in any form by the police;
• Call for a full, impartial, and transparent investigation of company payments for government security, ensuring that regular reporting on the progress of such investigations takes place and is shared with the Secretariat of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, as well as corporations operating in Indonesia that have joined the initiative.
• Act to end the practice whereby the presence of government security forces at major corporate sites is underwritten by the companies. Develop an alternative system of financing for public security such that the cost of security is paid from government coffers and the funds directed to this purpose are independently audited, and publicly disclosed in detail.
  

Impunity

There is still widespread impunity for members of the security forces responsible for serious violations of human rights. Indonesian military officers and militia leaders have yet to be brought to justice for the atrocities committed by their forces in East Timor, Papua, Aceh, the Malukus, Kalimantan, and elsewhere.

A bellwether test is the case of Munir bin Thalib, a respected human rights advocate murdered on a Garuda Indonesia flight five years ago. In 2004, you yourself said that finding Munir’s murderer is “the test of our history.” On December 31, 2008, a Jakarta court acquitted Maj. Gen. Muchdi Purwopranjono, a former deputy in the State Intelligence Agency, of Munir’s murder in a trial marred by witness coercion and intimidation. On June 15, 2009, the Indonesian Supreme Court rejected an appeal by state prosecutors of Muchdi’s acquittal.

Human Rights Watch understands the difficulties in investigating a murder allegedly involving a state intelligence operation. But there are serious concerns about events in the lead-up to the trial and the quality of the evidence. Witnesses were possibly intimidated into changing their statements, a key witness fled the country and the prosecution was weak.

During your previous term as president, you succeeded in ending the conflict in Aceh through the signing of a peace agreement between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement. But there is still no serious effort to establish a truth and reconciliation commission and a tribunal to look at crimes committed after the August 2005 peace agreement, as required by the 2006 Law on Aceh Governance. The tribunal was supposed to be in operation by August 31, 2007. For there to be lasting peace, those involved in extrajudicial killings and other abuses need to be held accountable.

We urge you to:

• Establish a new independent investigation into the murder of Munir bin Thalib with strong measures to protect witnesses;
• Set up an inquiry into allegations that witnesses in the trial of Maj. Gen. Muchdi Purwopranjono were intimidated into changing their statements;
• Encourage Aceh governor Irwandi Yusuf to establish the human rights tribunal as well as the Aceh Commission on Truth and Reconciliation. The Aceh commission can be established by provincial decree, without waiting for the establishment of the national commission.
  

Religious Freedom

Countries around the world, including the United States, are looking to Indonesia to lead in religious tolerance. In an October 2008 Newsweek interview you said that, “Indonesia has always tried to demonstrate and project moderate Islam. Indonesia is not immune to the radicalism, but this is exactly why we must maintain our identity as a moderate, tolerant nation.”

A June 2008 decree ordering the Ahmadiyah to cease public religious activities, and continuing violent attacks on Ahmadis and Christians show religious intolerance in Indonesia is on the rise. Following the Ahmadiyah decree, Islamist militants have closed Ahmadiyah mosques in Cianjur, West Java and attacked Ahmadiyah mosques in Greater Jakarta. In Lombok, around 160 Ahmadiyah members have been displaced from their homes since February 2006 because Islamist militants attacked and burned down their houses in Ketapang. The West Nusa Tenggara government has forbidden Ahmadis from returning to their homes, citing security concerns.

Another decree requiring anyone building “a house of worship” to receive prior approval from other religious leaders has been used by Muslim clerics and Islamist militants to block the building of churches. Christian groups say that mobs forcibly closed or burned down more than 480 churches between 1969 and 2007 mainly in Java and Sumatra. On June 14, Islamist militants and government officials tried to demolish two church buildings in a village in Bekasi outside Jakarta because they had not secured approval from Muslim leaders. Members of church groups have been forced to hold meetings in private homes. The religious activities of one group should never be beholden to the approval of others.

Meanwhile, Sharia-based local law in provincial Aceh as well as in regencies in West Sumatra, West Java, Banten, South Sulawesi and West Nusa Tenggara violate the right to religious freedom and the rights of women, such as by forcing all women to wear the veil.

We urge you to:

• Abolish the decree banning Ahmadiyah religious practices;
• Protect religious minorities such as Ahmadis and Christians from violent attacks. While focusing efforts on Islamist militants, make clear to all religious communities that infringements on the rights to religious freedom will not be tolerated.
• Establish a presidential team to review all local laws that might improperly infringe upon the right to freedom of religion under the Indonesian constitution and Indonesia’s obligations under international human rights law.
  

Freedom of Expression

Indonesia has a diverse and lively media, but the right to freedom of expression has been undermined by the use of criminal and civil defamation laws to silence criticism of the government. Offenses in Indonesia’s criminal code such as treason or rebellion (makar) and “inciting hatred” (haatzai artikelen) are used to suppress peaceful acts of free expression, including demonstrations and acts of flag-rising in Papua and the Moluccas where there are separatist movements. Under the 2001 Papuan Special Autonomy Law, symbols of Papuan identity such as a flag or song are permitted, but article 6 of Government Regulation 77/2007 prohibits the display of the Morning Star flag in Papua, the South Maluku Republic flag in Ambon, and the Crescent Moon flag in Aceh. Currently there are more than 170 people, including at least 43 in Papua, who are imprisoned throughout Indonesia for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression.

We urge you to:

• Revoke regulations and provisions in the Indonesian Criminal Code that violate the internationally recognized right to freedom of expression;
• Order the release of those currently in prison for peaceful acts of free expression.
  

Situation in Papua

In a 2005 speech, you said you would solve Papuan problems “peacefully, fairly and with dignity,” and in 2006 you said you would use “persuasion and dialogue” rather than violence in dealing with Papuan activists. Human Rights Watch takes no position on the right to self-determination, but we have long expressed concerns about ongoing abuses by the security forces in Papua and a complete lack of accountability. Restrictions on access by foreign human rights monitors and journalists to Papua exacerbate a climate where security forces can act with impunity by keeping abuses out of the public eye and making investigations more difficult.

Both army troops and police units, particularly mobile paramilitary units (Brigade Mobil or Brimob), engage in largely indiscriminate village “sweeping” operations through the Central Highlands in pursuit of suspected militants, using excessive, often brutal and at times lethal force against civilians. In routine policing, officers sometimes use excessive force. In Merauke, Kopassus soldiers have routinely arrested Papuans without legal authority, beating and mistreating those they take back to their barracks including by forcing them to chew chilies. In Jayapura, prison guards continue to torture inmates inside the Abepura prison. Such abuses contribute to continuing public unrest in Papua.

At the Freeport goldmine in Timika, violence has escalated recently with the killing of three people including one Australian in July 2009. Police arrested at least 20 Papuans in relation to the killings and have declared eight as suspects but they have had no access to lawyers. Media photographs showed the police had roughed up some detainees when making arrests.

We urge you to:

• End restrictions on access to Papua for independent observers, including diplomats, foreign journalists, and human rights organizations, so that they can visit Papua without need for specific permission or approval;
• Order an independent and impartial investigation into allegations of human rights violations in Papua, including killings, torture, arbitrary arrest and detention. Such an investigation should hold security forces accountable and bring the perpetrators of such abuses to justice;
• State publicly that Kopassus and Kostrad troops should not be involved in law enforcement activities, which are the responsibility of the police, and call on the head of Kopassus, Maj. Gen. Pramono Edhie Wibowo, to publicly list the duties of Kopassus in Papua.
  

Child Domestic Workers

Hundreds of thousands of girls in Indonesia, some as young as 11, are employed as domestic workers in other people’s households, performing tasks such as cooking, cleaning, laundry, child care, and sometimes working at their employers’ businesses. Many girls work 14 to 18 hour days, seven days a week, with no day off. Many employer’s forbid these child domestic workers from leaving the house where they work, isolating them from the outside world and thus placing them at higher risk of abuse. Many employers withhold paying any salary until the child returns home-and many employers fail to pay the children at all or pay less than what they promised. In the worst cases, girls are physically, psychologically, and sexually abused by their employers of their employers’ family members, in addition to being exploited for their labor.

Indonesia’s labor law-the Manpower Act of 2003-excludes all domestic workers from the basic labor rights afforded to formal workers, such as a minimum wage, overtime pay, an eight-hour workday and 40-hour workweek, weekly day of rest, and vacation. This has a discriminatory impact on women and girls, who constitute the vast majority of domestic workers. This exclusion in the law also serves to perpetuate the devaluing of domestic work and domestic workers.

We urge you to:

• Pass a Domestic Workers Law in time for the 2010 International Labor Organization Conference on Decent Work for Domestic Workers, that guarantees that domestic workers receive the same rights as other workers, such as a written contract, a minimum wage, overtime, a weekly day of rest, an eight-hour workday, rest periods during the day, national holidays, vacation, paid sick leave, workers compensation, and social security;
• Instruct your Ministry of Manpower and provincial and district governments to strictly enforce 15 as the minimum age of employment for all sectors, including domestic work. Give priority to underage domestic workers for removal and recovery assistance to help them return to school, and rebuild their lives;
• Ensure that police have the commitment and resources necessary to comply with their obligations under the Domestic Violence Act, in particular to provide temporary protection to a victim within 24 hours of knowing or receiving a report of violence in the household.
  

Thank you for your consideration. We would appreciate the opportunity to discuss these and other human rights issues with you and members of your administration.

Sincerely,

Brad Adams
Executive Director, Asia division
Human Rights Watch

CC: Vice President-elect, Boediono;
Vice President, Jusuf Kalla;
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dr. Haj Ahmed Mahmin M.C.;
Speaker of the Regional Representatives Council, Agung Laksono
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr.Nur Hassan Wirajuda;
Minister of Defense, Prof. Dr. Juwono Sudarsono;
Minister of Justice and Human Rights, Andi Mattalata, SH, MH;
Minister of Manpower and Transmigration, Erman Suparno;
Chief of Army, Lt-Gen Agustadi Sasongko Purnomo;
Ambassador to the UN, H.E. Marty Natalegawa
Ambassador to the US, H.E. Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat.

URL: www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/08...erns-indonesia