INDONESIA: Conviction of Ahmadyah victim undermines constitutional protections

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INDONESIA: Conviction of Ahmadyah victim undermines constitutional protections

August 18, 2011

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is disturbed by the punitive decision of the Indonesian Court on August 15, 2011 to jail an innocent Ahmadi Muslim who protected himself during a mob attack, which reveals the impartiality of the judiciary and the legal community.

Deden Sudjana was sentenced to six months imprisonment by the court, for simply protecting the house the mob were attacking. Meanwhile, the 12 men who were responsible for brutally killing three Ahmadi Muslims in an attack in February 2011, were only sentenced to between three and six months imprisonment.

Some 1,500 people attacked the home of an Ahmadiyah community leader in Cikeusik, west Java in February. Sudjana was hit with a machete and almost had his hand severed during the mob attack. Head of security for the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI) at the time, Sudjana was detained since May for allegedly inciting the attack. In its judgment, the court ruled that he had disobeyed a police order to leave the scene, and had been filmed punching another man. He was thus convicted of articles 212 and 315.1 of the Criminal Code; resisting state officers and maltreatment, respectively.

The decision is senseless and embarrassing, a travesty of justice. The lenient sentences handed out to those convicted of killing three Ahmadis in July raised questions regarding judicial impartiality and upholding of constitutional protections (see AHRC-PRL-034-2011), which have now been spotlighted again. The two verdicts indicate that Indonesia’s criminal justice system is not able to deliver justice independent from religious considerations. Indonesia’s judicial commission must act on this miscarriage of justice and push for reforms that will truly ensure a fair and impartial justice process.

Indonesia today is increasingly seeing extremists push their agenda forward, mostly with the use of violence, resulting in the loss of life and damage to property. The Indonesian government has taken no effective steps to stop or prevent such activities, which will slowly erode the country’s secular values.

Similarly, the Indonesian courts and legal system have shown a complete disregard for the basic rule of law, and have not taken up their mandate of protecting the constitutional rights of Indonesian citizens.

The AHRC urges for a review of both verdicts, and calls upon the Indonesian government and courts to ensure that all religious and other minorities are adequately protected.

Document ID: AHRC-PRL-034-2011
Document Type: Press Release
URL: www.humanrights.asia/news/press-releases/AHRC-PRL-034-2011

INDONESIA: Courts verdict encourages further attacks against religious minorities

News / Press Releases / INDONESIA: Courts verdict encourages…

INDONESIA: Courts verdict encourages further attacks against religious minorities

July 29, 2011

(Hong Kong, July 29, 2011) Three to six months in prison was the shocking sentence given to the perpetrators of the mob killing of three Ahmadiyahs earlier this year. The remaining perpetrators will be released on the reading of the verdict on 23 August this year. Most of them will be released during the coming weeks. This lenient punishment and the conduct of the judges in the trial sends a clear signal to religious fundamentalists that they not need to worry about the law and constitutional protection of minorities.

“The verdict and trial conduct does not meet national or international standards” Wong Kai Shing, Executive Director of the Asian Human Rights Commission said. “The lenient punishment will encourage more extremist action against religious minorities” Wong added,” the courts failed to enforce Indonesian law for the protection of citizens.”

On 28 April 2011 the Serang District Court in West Java convicted twelve suspects for maltreatment, joint assault and incitement in the horrendous Cikeusik killing from February this year. A mob set against the discriminated religious minority of Ahmadiyah followers attacked the group in Umbulan village, Cikeusik resulting in five members being injured and three killed. At least one patrol car from Cikeusik sector police and 2 trucks from riot-control force (Dalmas) of Pandeglang dictrict police men were present and watched the violence, doing nothing to prevent it or apprehend the perpetrators. The shocking scenes were published in a video online sparking international outcry.

The Indonesian Ahmadiyah congregation (JAI) commented that the verdict does not fulfil the sense of fairness. According to A. Mubarik Ahmad, the public relation of JAI, this crime must be seen as crimes against humanity, not just a crime against the Ahmadiyah. The Indonesian criminal code never regulated the crimes against Ahmadiyah. Moreover, he stated that the state still cannot find the murderer of the victims, because the trial did not charged the suspect with murder charge, thus there is no examination and trial for the murderer.

In 1980 and 2005, Indonesian Ulama Assembly (Majelis Ulama Indonesia) issued a fatwa against the Ahmadiyah community in Indonesia denouncing Ahmadyah followers as an errant sect. In 2008 a joint ministerial decree banned the group for promulgating its religion and other basic religious rights. The decree is widely believed to be responsible for encouraging attacks against Ahmadis. Numerous attacks against Ahmadiyah communities and their members were documented by the Setara Institute and Wahid Institute over the last years.

The AHRC is concerned that the lenient punishment for a mob killing against the minority group will encourage more fundamentalist violence. Institutions have failed in this case to send a strong message against extremism. The AHRC believes that law and constitutional values were not the basis for the judgement in this case.

Document ID: AHRC-PRL-034-2011
URL: www.humanrights.asia/news/press-releases/AHRC-PRL-034-2011

INDONESIA: Ahmadiyah community faces ongoing discrimination

Opinions / Interviews / INDONESIA: Ahmadiyah community faces ongoing discrimination

INDONESIA: Ahmadiyah community faces ongoing discrimination

July 21, 2011

An interview with Zaenuda Ikhwanul Aziz from the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Community (JAI) published by the Asian Human Rights Commission regarding the situation faced by Ahmadis in Indonesia.

Zaenuda Ikhwanul Aziz, is the secretary of the legal committee of the Indonesian Ahmadiyah congregation (Jamaah Ahmadiyah Indonesia — JAI). He is actively involved in the struggle of the Ahmadiyah in the country.

How do you feel about what is happening to the Ahmadiyah community in Indonesia?

We feel that we are being discriminated against, especially the Ahmadiyah communities at the localities outside the capital of Jakarta. For example, the government does not give identification cards and marriage certificates to Ahmadiyahs.

At the economic sector many Ahmadiyahs have had to change the location of their businesses. Even in some provinces, the people from the community are intimidated not to buy products from Ahmadiyah shops and businesses and this has resulted in a serious reduction of our income.

In the social sector we also are excluded and intimidated. We are not allowed to be involved in social gatherings.

At the religious sector the Minister of Religion prohibits us from conducting the Hajj, (the pilgrimage to Mekka) and even when we pray, members of the local communities attack our mosques. Sometimes, our villages are also attacked.

Also, in the health sector, many people reject Ahmadiyahs as patients. We therefore feel discriminated against in most, if not all, sectors.

When did you start to feel the discrimination?

The discrimination started when the Indonesian Ulama Assembly (Majelis Ulama Indonesia - MUI) declared Ahmadiyah as an errant sect in 1980. This fatwa brought to light the differences between Ahmadiyahs and the community. The people followed the fatwa believing that Ahmadiyah is errant without seeking any further explanation or consideration.

The main actors involved are the Indonesian government, central and local law enforcement authorities and several Ulama members who influence the people to attack Ahmadiyah communities. This is especially so with those persons who live within Ahmadiyah communities.

In your opinion, what is the reason for the increase of the aggression against Ahmadiyahs in the last few years?

There are several reasons, not the least of which is that the government is indecisive about law enforcement. If the joint ministerial decree against JAI still prevailed then the government could not allow the local regulations in the provinces to declare Ahmadiyah as an errant sect. Unfortunately, the government did nothing to prevent this from happening.

The aggressors see Ahmadiyah as a threat because the numbers of Ahmadiyah communities is increasing and they are scared that they will lose their followers.

Also, the content of the joint ministerial decree has been misinterpreted. There are local regulations which use the joint resolution decree to declare Ahmadiyah as errant whereas there is no such statement in the decree itself. The JAI think this happened because the government is trying to distance itself from the joint of resolution decree.

Is the state doing anything to protect the Ahmadiyahs?

We feel the state protection is still minimal. There is still turmoil because there is no law enforcement. It is seldom that perpetrators of violence against Ahmadiyahs are arrested and they are never prosecuted in the courts.

What do you feel about the work of the police?

In general, the work of the police is still far from professional. However, we must acknowledge that in some areas, there are some good police officers working in relation to Ahmadiyahs.

What about the work of the courts?

Judges are deficient at searching for the truth. Their efforts are deficient when examining at a trial, investigating the witness and proof, such as happened at Cisalada trial. Even the verdict against the Ahmadiyah victim was heavier than that of the perpetrators.

What is the Ahmadiyah community doing in their own defence?

Our representatives visit government officials, legal enforcement authorities, and the community in general. Relating to the legal dealings, we entrust this to our legal counsel.

The result of our visits are promising in that there are several communities and authorities who opened up and accepted us such as in Bandung, Central Java, and Wonosobo. But there have also been rejections such as in Cianjur, Bogor.

What is your ultimate goal in this struggle?

All we ask for is the right to live like other citizens and that these rights are fulfilled by the government

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The views shared in this article do not necessarily reflect those of the AHRC, and the AHRC takes no responsibility for them.

URL: www.humanrights.asia/opinions/interviews/AHRC-ETC-033-2011

INDONESIA: Increasing attacks on religious groups demands central government action

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INDONESIA: Increasing attacks on religious groups demands central government action

April 7, 2011

Dear friends,

We wish to share with you the following statement from Amnesty International, KontraS, Imparsial, Elsam, Setara Institute, ICRP, HRWG, ANBTI, ILRC and Wahid Institute.

Asian Human Rights Commission
Hong Kong

---

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AHRC-FST-025-2011
April 7, 2011

A Statement from Amnesty International, KontraS, Imparsial, Elsam, Setara Institute, ICRP, HRWG, ANBTI, ILRC and Wahid Institute forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission

INDONESIA: Increasing attacks on religious groups demands central government action

The Indonesian government must do more to stop the rising number of incidents of violence, intimidation, harassment and discrimination against religious minorities, said a group of Indonesian and international human rights organizations today.

Amnesty International, along with KontraS, Imparsial, Elsam, Setara Institute, ICRP, HRWG, ANBTI, ILRC and Wahid Institute voiced their concern about the growing environment of discrimination and harassment against religious minorities, in particular the Ahmadiyya community.

KontraS has documented at least 62 incidents between January and March 2011 only against the Ahmadiyya community. According to data collected by HRWG, the pace of such attacks has increased sharply in 2011 compared with the previous two years. There are also concerns about continuing attacks against Christians.

A particularly alarming development was the involvement of the Indonesian military and police in intimidation and forced conversion of members of the beleaguered Ahmadiyya community. KontraS has documented at least 20 cases in March and early April 2011 where military and police have been involved in cases of intimidation, harassment and forced conversion.

Amnesty International shared the concerns raised by Indonesian human rights groups with the senior leadership of the Indonesian National Police on 5 April.

Amnesty International also met some of Indonesia’s largest mass religious organizations, including Muhamadiyyah, Nahdlatul Ulama, and the Communion of Churches in Indonesia (PGI), an umbrella group for Protestant Churches.

Alarmed by the deteriorating situation, and in light of the positive meetings with police officials and religious leaders, the human rights groups issued the following recommendations:

— The central government must fulfill its obligation to ensure that all citizens, regardless of their religious beliefs, benefit from the human rights enshrined in the 1945 Indonesian Constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Indonesia ratified in 2005 as provided by Law No. 12/2005;

— The central government, through the Ministry of Home Affairs, should immediately assert its exclusive authority to regulate religious affairs under the 2004 Law on Regional Autonomy and ensure that any regulations issued at the provincial as well as at the district level are in compliance with human rights protections as provided in the 1945 Indonesian Constitution and Indonesia’s obligations under international law, in particular the ICCPR;

— The Joint Ministerial Decree of 2008, which placed significant restrictions on the activities of the Ahmadiyya religious community, has served to foster a climate conducive to violence and vigilanteism, and should be immediately repealed;

— The Indonesian police should restate publicly its commitment to protecting the rights of all citizens regardless of their religious beliefs and put in place a proactive strategy for preventing and addressing incidents of religiously based violence. The groups welcomed the efforts to address the incidents in Cikeusik and Temanggung and look to the government and police to ensure that the trials proceed without intimidation of the victims, witnesses and their lawyers. The police should also ensure they register and investigate all cases of religious-based violence, regardless of the religious background of the victim.

— Central and local government officials should emphasize the basic protections for religious belief, expression, and association included in the 1945 Indonesian Constitution and international law and refrain from making comments stigmatizing religious minorities, which has created a climate fostering discrimination and violence.

Jakarta, 6 April 2011

Document ID: AHRC-FST-025-2011
URL: www.humanrights.asia/news/forwarded-news/AHRC-FST-025-2011

INDONESIA: Rule by violence

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INDONESIA: Rule by violence

March 21, 2011

Bombing of NGO office following religious standoff while US Congress urges President to revoke decrees

Archive photo, Ahmadiyya homes in Indonesia set on fire, source: Ahmadiyya Times

Following a series of violent incidents against religious minorities, including the Ahmadiyah community, two regional administrations in Indonesia had issued local decrees banning the Ahmadiyah followers. On February 6, in Cikeusik Banten for example three Ahmadiyah followers were killed and several injured after an angry mob attacked them. The few police officers present at the incident did little to stop the violence. An internal investigation by the police only named a few lower ranking officers as suspects of negligence but did not address the structural police involvement in such incidents of fundamentalist violence. Violence and protests against Ahmadiyah followers also took place in other provinces. The bombing of a Jakarta based NGO office advocating religious freedom completes the picture of Indonesian authorities that are not taking the side of the law and who appear unable to withstand the pressure from extremists.

On March 15, 2011, 27 members of the US Congress signed a letter to President Yudhoyono calling for the 2008 decree against Ahmadiya religions promulgation to be revoked as well as the regional decrees which banned the Ahmadiyah followers from exercising their religion. The letter is available here. Article 18 of the ICCPR protects the right of everyone to choose and exercise their religion and requires every government to protect this fundamental freedom as a human right. However, the government responded to the call to revoke the decrees by declaring that it reserves the right to treat the Ahmadiyah religious sect in any manner it likes, the Jakarta Post reported. While the Indonesian government acceded to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in 2006 it now openly ignores its earlier commitments to human rights.

On Tuesday March 15, 2011 a letter mail was sent to the co-founder of the Liberal Islamic Network (JIL), Ulil Abshar Abdalla in East Jakarta. The radio stations housed in the same building witnessed the blast. The unusual events in building show the inability of police to deal with the situation:

By 10 am on Tuesday March 15, a dark skinned 170cm tall man wearing a parachute jacket and a hat delivered a package wrapped in brown paper to the reception desk of the building used by the JIL (Jaringan Islam Liberal) and the pro democratic radio station KBR68H radio station and other groups.

At 11.30 am 4 or 5 people arrived in a car. Two of them came into the building and identified themselves as members of a travel agency and talked to KBR68H radio about running promotions for the pilgrimage trips to Mecca in the radio channel. After their unusual visit was over the men went on to visit JIL in the same building with the same request, falsely alleging to have been recommended by KBR68H to talk to JIL. This appeared as an attempt to gain trust.

At 2.30pm 3 persons who identified themselves as coming from the National Police Headquarter arrived and alleged to want to talk about the recent situation of religious violence and events about the Ahmadiyah followers. By that time the staff of JIL had become suspicious about the package they received since it contained a book titled “They Deserved to Be Killed: Because of Their Sins to Islam and Muslims” and appeared to be glued together.

Since the suspicion of a bomb in the book arouse, it was of unusual coincidence that three members of police were already around when the JIL were thus able to hand over the book to them. The local police was also called and a group of around ten officers arrived betweem 3 pm – 3.30 pm. It was soon confirmed that wires in the object made it likely to be a bomb. The crowd of police then decided to try traditional methods to neutralise it, by pouring water in it after bringing the bomb into the backyard of the building. Following this the mobile phone battery that had supplied the bomb system with electricity was taken off by the police and this action triggered the bomb. The resulting explosion injured one of the policemen, none of whom were bomb disposal specialists.

A second letter bomb with the same book title was sent to Comr. Gen. Gories Mere, a former key officer of the National Police’s elite counterterrorism unit, Densus 88.

In 2005 the KBR68H radio station had become a target of an attack from the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) after the radio had promoted religious tolerance.

A day earlier on March 14, four laptops and one computer were stolen from the office of the National Alliance for Unity in Diversity (Aliansi Nasional Bhinneka Tunggal Ika ANBTI). The group supported and promoted the Indonesian constitutional value of a pluralistic society in Indonesia.

It is not only the police and local administrations that have supported activities against Ahmadiyah followers. According to the Human Rights Working Group the Indonesian military has also been involved in activities against the religious minority. Members of the military have occupied mosques and urged Ahmadiyah members to discard their beliefs. With this activity the military has gone far beyond its mandate and has thus violated laws.

The Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) is believed to be behind recent attacks against the Ahmadiyah community. Habib Rizieq Shihab, head of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) explained that FPI would only settle for peace if the President would ban the Ahmadiyah in Indonesia. He threatened that violence against Ahmadyah followers would continue unless the Islamic sect would be legally banned.

The repeated and open threats of violence against religious minorities are a crime in the Indonesian Penal Code. The police often do not react appropriately to such incitements of violence and authorities instead allow such incidents, like the recent killings and bans, to take place. In some instances the argument to maintain public security and order is turned around so that the responsibility for the violence is not that of the instigators of the violence but rather at the victims who are accused of causing instability.

The AHRC urges the President, the Indonesian government and the National Police to protect the constitutional values, human rights and applicable international law by fully investigating all threats against any religious groups in Indonesia and to give full support including protection measures to threatened communities. Allegations against members of the police and military to support religious extremists or their views must be investigated. Any officer supporting such views should face disciplinary and criminal measures including suspension and criminal charges.

Document ID: AHRC-STM-043-2011
URL: www.humanrights.asia/news/ahrc-news/AHRC-STM-043-2011

Police Say Ahmadis Wanted Banten Raid to Happen, Name 14 Suspects

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Police Say Ahmadis Wanted Banten Raid to Happen, Name 14 Suspects

Farouk Arnaz | March 06, 2011

Recent violence targeting the Ahmadiyah community in the Cikeusik subdistrict of Banten only erupted because the Ahmadis wanted it to happen, the National Police’s chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Ito Sumardi said on Thursday.

The Feb. 6 attack saw some 1,500 people attack Ahmadiyah members who had refused to leave the house of a local leader of the sect in Umbulan village. Three Ahmadis were killed.

“I would like to quote one Ahmadi [we questioned] as saying he did physical exercises every day. The Ahmadis were also equipped with spears, slingshots, machetes and two sacks of stones,” Ito said. He then said the Ahmadis wanted the clash to happen.

“According to the theories of victimology, this clash did not merely occur because of insufficient numbers of police personnel dispatched to the site. It happened because the victims wanted the clash to take place.”

Ito added that a total of 14 suspects have so far been named in the case, including 12 from among the attacking mob.

“We are still hunting for one of the suspects, Abrori. He was from Gadod in Pandeglang district. He assaulted the victims until they died,” he said.

Ito also said a police officer and one Ahmadi had been named suspects. He refused to identify the police officer, but he said the Ahmadi suspect was named Deden Sudjana, a man who led 16 others in safeguarding the home that was attacked.

This is not the first time Deden is declared a suspect, but police backtracked on Feb. 18 on the earlier decision to name Deden a suspect for his presumed role in the violence.

Deden was allegedly seen in a video of the attack circulating on the Internet, asking a police officer to let the assault take place as 1,500 people descend on the house in Umbulan.

“Deden has been accused of provocation, beating, throwing [objects] and possession a sharp weapon. He is also guilty of disobeying police orders at the scene. His incitement triggered the clash, when he said that if police cannot control the masses, [they should] let the assault take place,” Ito told reporters.

He confirmed that a police officer had been charged in the case for violating the police’s code of ethical conduct, as well as Article 359 on negligence resulting in the death of a human being.

A police source separately identified the suspect as Chief. Brig. T.B. Ade Sumardi, the leader of the Sabhara division at the Cikeusik Police, charged with protection, patrol and anti-riot duties. The source said Ade was at the scene but failed to prevent the incident from happening.

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/police-say.../426623

Government Warns Muhammadiyah Against Politicizing Ahmadiyah Issue

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Government Warns Muhammadiyah Against Politicizing Ahmadiyah Issue

March 06, 2011

Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam has struck back at Indonesia’s second largest Muslim organization, which has been critical of the government’s inability to resolve the “Ahmadiyah problem.”

Dipo warned on Sunday against politicizing the Ahmadiyah unrest because it had the potential to “create communal conflicts.”

Commenting specifically on calls by Din Syamsuddin, the head of Muhammadiyah, for the government to ban the sect, Dipo said religious leaders needed to help maintain peace and tolerance in society.

Asked about Din’s call for the government to take action against a number of regional laws curtailing the rights of the Islamic sect, Dipo said the government had already issued a 2008 law banning the group from spreading their faith.

Hard-liners use the law to justify their attacks on the persecuted group.

Dipo said all elements in society should follow the law in dealing with Ahmadiyah.

He said regional governments should be aware of the law and were “responsible for the harmonious lives of their people.”

Late last month, Din said that Muhammadiyah’s stance on Ahmadiyah had not changed since it had issued a fatwa against the group in 1933. Muhammadiyah labels Ahmadiyah “misleading.”

Din said Muhammadiyah, however, would not actively seek the dissolution of the sect though the government needed to be firm in dealing with the issue.

“The government should be able to take firm action, instead of being hesitant. With its firm stance, it can prevent certain groups of people from … handling the Ahmadiyah problem,” he said.

“It is the state’s power to take stern action by referring to our Constitution because the existence of a group in society is the state’s business,” he said.

Din said Muhammadiyah would do its best to prevent its members from being mislead by Ahmadiyah followers.

Antara

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/government-warns.../426955

Muhammadiyah demands firm against on Ahmadiyah

NATIONAL Fri, 03/04/2011 8:10 PM

Muhammadiyah demands firm against on Ahmadiyah

Antara, Jakarta

Muhammadiyah Chairman Din Syamsuddin has urged the government to take firm measures against Islamic sect Ahmadiyah, which believers are constantly under a threat of violence from the predominantly Sunni Muslims in the country.

“We ask the government not to let the problem drag on, because by ignoring and letting the issue continue, impatient people could take the law into their own hands,” Din said Friday after a dialog with Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi in Jakarta, state news agency Antara reported.

Also attending the dialog on Ahmadiyah with the home affairs minister were leaderships of Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), both were among the largest Muslim mass organizations in Indonesia.

“Take firm action as soon as possible,” Din said because delaying to address the issue would provoke instability.

The state must not stand still when there is a group or organization asking other religious believers to join them, while the teaching insults Muslims, he said.

“It will create social unrest. The state must be present here, the government has the authority to enforce the law in order to prevent any unrest. But it should not take too long,” he said.

He suggested that the government should intensify giving guidance to Ahmadiyah followers. Islamic mass organizations are ready to help the government guide them, according to the Muhammidyah chairman.

“I personally would like to call on Ahmadiyah followers to come back to Islam, that Prophet Muhammad SAW is the last one. Islam clearly rejects a new prophet after Prophet Muhammad SAW,” he said.

Besides Din Syamsuddin, Muhammadiyah leaders attending the meeting with the minister were Muhammadiyah Secretary General Agung Danarto and Majelis Tarjih Chairman Syamsul Anward.

From NU, those who were present were NU Secretary General Syuhud, Deputy Chairman As`ad Said Ali, dan Katib Am Malik Madany.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved
URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/03/04/...ahmadiyah.html

Jakarta mulls banning Ahmadiyah

JAKARTA Fri, 03/04/2011 6:57 PM

Jakarta mulls banning Ahmadiyah

Andreas D. Aditya, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo has announced plans to follow in the footsteps of a number of regions that have issued bans to prevent members of the Ahmadiyah sect from practicing their religion in public.

“If ncecessary, we can even go further to not only issue a gubernatorial decree, but instead issue a bylaw on this. The administration will have a discussion with the City Council,” Fauzi said Friday.

Previously, East and West Java and South Sulawesi have issued such bans on the sect.

Fauzi said he planned to send officials to East and West Java to study their bans.

Calls for the banning of the Ahmadiyah sect and its teachings have been increasingly heard from various Muslim elements across Indonesia over the past few weeks.

Three members of the sect were brutally murdered and several others were seriously injured in a planned mob attack in Cikeusik, Pandeglang, Banten, last month.

Members of the sect have faced similar violence and discrimination in past attacks on their homes and property, including in Gegerung village, West Nusa Tenggara, where in February 2006 at least 12 Ahmadi families were forcibly evicted from their homes by local authorities and ordered to live in a refugee-style camp. (dre)

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved
URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/03/04/grave...java.html

After East Java, West Java Bans All of Ahmadiyah’s Activities

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After East Java, West Java Bans All of Ahmadiyah’s Activities

Yuli Krisna & Eras Poke | March 04, 2011

Bandung. West Java joined a string of other regional governments on Thursday in banning activities of the Ahmadiyah sect.

West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan said he issued a gubernatorial regulation, No. 12 of 2011, banning the activities of the Ahmadiyah in the province. He said it was effective immediately.

“This gubernatorial regulation is a follow-up to the joint ministerial decree and a 12-point joint agreement which was also signed by representatives of the Ahmadiyah,” Ahmad said.

He was referring to a 2008 joint ministerial decree that prohibits the Ahmadiyah from practicing their faith in public and spreading their beliefs. The decree, which stopped short of banning the sect altogether, has been criticized by human rights activists as it is frequently used to justify violence against the Ahmadiyah community.

The joint agreement Ahmad referred to was recently signed and outlined some of the prohibitions on Ahmadiyah activity.

He said the gubernatorial regulation was based on the desire of the government to prevent any social conflict from breaking out because of the activities of the Ahmadiyah, which many mainstream Muslims consider a deviant sect.

“We are not in a position to dissolve the Ahmadiyah organization, but we are in a position to follow up on the joint ministerial decree and the 12-point agreement,” h e said.

The regulation prohibits Ahmadis from trying to spread Ahmadiyah teachings orally, in writing or through electronic media. That also means all signboards containing the name of the organization must be taken down from public places, including mosques and schools. Ahmadiyah attributes may no longer be visible anywhere in West Java.

“Ahmadiyah mosques are mosques for all. All Muslims should be allowed to enter those mosques,” Ahmad said. He added that religious authorities will also organize Islamic events in mosques identified as Ahmadiyah mosques to put an end to alleged exclusivism there.

The West Java regulation forbids people from launching any unlawful action against the Ahmadiyah community, but it also calls on the public to help monitor and report any violation by Ahmadiyah members.

Saerodji, who heads the West Java office for religious affairs, said there were some 17,000 Ahmadis in the province.

Sugiyanto, head of the West Java High Prosecutor’s Office, said the regulation was aimed at protecting Ahmadis from the attacks they had experienced in the past.

“We want to protect the Ahmadiyah community from anarchic actions. If there are violations of the 12-point agreement, let the authorities deal with it,” Sugiyanto said.

“This is no longer a mere call but has been laid down into a written regulations. The public should not take matters into their own hands.”

West Java Police Chief Insp. Gen. Suparni Parto said the regulation was a good solution and added that police would now no longer hesitate to take action against whomever violated it.

The spokesman for the Ahmadiyah community in the western part of West Java, Rafiq Ahmad Sumadi Gandakusuma, told the Jakarta Globe they had not been invited to discuss the new regulation.

Earlier this week, authorities in Surabaya, the country’s second-largest city and capital of East Java, issued a similar regulation banning the display of any Ahmadiyah attributes and any efforts by the group to spread its faith in the province.

In the province of Banten, Lebak district recently said it would issue a bylaw banning the Ahmadiyah, and Pandeglang district already issued such a decree on Feb. 21.

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/after...activities/426642

Ministers Back Moves to Tighten Grip on Ahmadiyah

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Minister’s Call to Outlaw Ahmadiyah Angers Non-Governmental Organizations

amelia Pasandaran, Ulma Haryanto & Ronna Nirmala
| March 02, 2011

At the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, supporters of the Islamic People’s Forum (FPI) united behind the slogan ‘Ban Ahmadiyah or [Face a] Revolution’. (JG Photo/Yudhi Sukma Wijaya)

As thousands of hard-liners gathered at Jakarta’s Hotel Indonesia traffic circle demanding the immediate disbandment of the Ahmadiyah, the Indonesian government voiced its support of moves adopted by a string of local administrations aimed at further restricting the sect’s activities.

“It is the authority of the regional head [to issue decrees on Ahmadis],” Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar said on Tuesday at the Presidential Palace. “Ahmadis insist on violating the law by spreading their beliefs. Religious freedom should not be translated into desecration of religion.”

Ahmadiyah, a minority Islamic sect, has long been at the center of a dispute between human rights activists that support its existence and Islamic hard-liners that want it disbanded.

Thousands of demonstrators from the Islamic People’s Forum (FUI) – including those supporting the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) – rallied toward the National Monument Square, with many in the crowds vowing they would continue to demonstrate until they see Ahmadiyah banned entirely.

The government in 2008 issued a joint ministerial decree banning the sect from practicing its religion openly and spreading its beliefs.

Muhammad Noval, a member of the Islamic Anti-Apostasy Peace Alliance, or Ada Api, said they now had an appropriate word to describe President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

“SBY is an Ahmadi. If you see what he has done in regard to protecting the Ahmadiyah, what other word would be better to describe him than Ahmadi?” he said. “If he [Yudhoyono] does not like to be referred to as an Ahmadi, then he should issue a decree banning them!”

Separately, Julia Satari, a leader from the youth organization Pemuda Pancasila, said she wanted to offer her condolences to Yudhoyono, because in her assessment he was too lazy to resolve the issue of the Ahmadiyah.

“Ahmadis absolutely disturb the comfortable existence of Islamic worshipping. They [Ahmadiyah] are illegal according to the Constitution.”

Among the demonstrators was 7-year-old Rizdian Rangga, carrying an FPI flag. Rizdian told the Jakarta Globe he had skipped school for the massive rally. When asked why, Rizdian said: “To follow my father, and to disband the Ahmadiyah.”

FPI leader Habib Rizieq, who led the rally, condemned local media as being a tool of international Zionist groups.

Along with at least 10 other representatives from the demonstrators, Rizieq was eventually received at the Presidential Palace to discuss the demands of the protesters.

Muhammad Al-Khaththath, secretary general of the FUI, said that in the meeting with a delegation from the palace, which he said included ministers, he had told the government the “real story” about the Ahmadis.

“I saw them slightly shocked when they heard the truth about the Ahmadiyah. The Ahmadis are fakers of religion and troublemakers, I told them. It opened their eyes and hearts,” Al-Khaththath said, adding that he was certain that a presidential decree would soon be issued in regard to the Ahmadis.

Rizieq, however, said: “Our president is, after all, a politician. We should know that a politician’s promise is rarely proven.”

The governor of East Java, Soekarwo, recently issued a decree banning the sect from spreading its beliefs through any media and forbidding the display of its name in public, including signposts on mosques.

Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi said he believed Soekarwo’s decree had been issued in total support of the 2008 joint ministerial decree.

“The regulation issued by the East Java administration should do an even better job in enforcing the SKB [the 2008 joint ministerial decree]. The governor [Soekarwo] obviously believes that a gubernatorial regulation needs to be issued for better supervision [of enforcement of the decree].”

Gamawan said that organizations demanding the disbandment of the Ahmadiyah were backed by proof that the Ahmadis had indeed violated the primary points of the decree — spreading their beliefs.

He said they had done so by putting up signs and placards citing the name Ahmadiyah in public, on top of mosques, prayer halls, educational institutions and other structures.

The minister also accused Ahmadis of wearing attributes of their organization, the Jamaah Ahmadiyah Indonesia, on their body.

The East Java governor on Tuesday said he would not have any problems with JAI board members or followers launching a legal case against his anti-Ahmadiyah decree.

“It is better that they take legal action, rather then start demonstrating, or even trigger anarchic actions,” Soekarwo said.

“We are a country that follows the law.”

Additional reporting by Antara.

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/ministers...ahmadiyah/426055

AGO supports local bans on Ahmadiyah

HEADLINES Wed, 03/02/2011 6:40 AM

AGO supports local bans on Ahmadiyah

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has supported the issuance of several bylaws that ban Ahmadiyah activities.

“Of course we support [the regional administrations’ acts] because they are the ones who own their territories, and that’s their stance, so why not support them?” Attorney General Basrief Arief said on Wednesday as quoted by Antara.

Several regional administrations have issued bylaws that ban the Ahmadis from religious activities following a bloody attack on followers of the minority religious group in Pandeglang, Banten, last month.

Basrief said the administrations’ decision to issue the bylaws must have been based on their comprehension of the regions’ social condition and to keep public order.

If Ahmadiyah is considered to be inciting violence and disrupting public order, “it is the regional administration’s authority [to ban Ahmadiyah],” he added.

Ahmadiyah teachings are considered heretical and blasphemous against Islam by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI). Followers of the faith have been a target of mob attacks in recent years.

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

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

Government Supports Ahmadiyah Ban in East Java

NEWS

Government Supports Ahmadiyah Ban in East Java

Camelia Pasandaran | March 01, 2011

East Java Governor Soekarwo, right, issued a decree on Monday to ban Ahmadiyah in the province. The central government showed its support for the decree on Tuesday. (AFP Photo)

The central government on Tuesday supported moves by the East Java governor to ban Ahmadiyah in the province.

“It is regional head’s authority and [Ahmadiyah] has long been banned everywhere,” said Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar said at the presidential palace before the cabinet meeting.

Patrialis emphasized the joint ministerial decree that strongly warns Ahmadiyah followers against spreading their beliefs.

“So if they did spread it, the local government may take action,” he said.

Ahmadiyah, an Islamic sect, has long been the at the center of a dispute between human rights activists that support its existence and Islamic hard-liners that want it disbanded.

East Java Governor Soekarwo recently released a decree to totally ban the sect in East Java. Under the decree, Ahmadiyah followers are banned from spreading their beliefs through any forms of media and are forbidden to display the sects name in public and mosques.

The move has gained supported by the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), which stated that the ban was necessary to stem demonstrations against the sect.

The minister said that by spreading their beliefs, Ahmadis had triggered conflict in many places throughout the country.

“Religious freedom should not be translated into desecration of religion,” Patrialis said. “Freedom to believe in a certain religion should not be banned. However, people should not believe in a religion and carry out its beliefs in different way to that religion. Ahmadiyah has tainted religion.”

Home Affairs Minister Gawaman Fauzi said that banning Ahmadiyah was allowed as long as it did not contradict a higher regulation.

“We will evaluate it,” Gamawan said.

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/government...java/425918

Ahmadiyah Leader Tries To Clear the Air About Persecuted Sect's Beliefs

NEWS

Ahmadiyah Leader Tries To Clear the Air About Persecuted Sect’s Beliefs

Ulma Haryanto & Fitri | November 10, 2010

Jakarta. The beleaguered Ahmadiyah sect has tried to clarify its beliefs, with the national secretary of Ahmadiyah Indonesia, Zafrullah Pontoh, saying it had never claimed Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as their prophet.

Rather, he was the “Promised Messiah, a savior for Muslims, Christians and Jews.”

“We believe in the Holy Prophet Muhammad as the messenger of the last religion, which is Islam. We follow Islam as the final religion,” Zafrullah told the Jakarta Globe on Tuesday.

He denied they were too afraid to say they believed Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was the Prophet and were hiding their true beliefs to avoid further persecution.

Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali has repeatedly called for the sect to be banned, claiming members cannot consider themselves followers of Islam because they did not believe Muhammad was the final monotheist prophet. Nor did they consider the Koran as their holy book.

Anti-Ahmadiyah violence has increased since 2008, when Indonesia banned the sect from any public displays or teaching. Earlier that year the sect had to give the government a statement explaining the core contents of the religion. Zafrullah said this was to “avoid unrest and disruption to peace and order.”

“This limits us from explaining our beliefs to the public,” he said. “As a result, people receive second-hand information and stick with it.”

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad established the Ahmadiyah movement in Qadian in India in 1889.

Zafrullah said the 12-point statement submitted to the government had explained that they believed Muhammad was the final messenger, and that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was “a teacher and a messiah who will strengthen the understanding of Islam, as taught by Prophet Muhammad.”

“They often claim that we consider Tazkirah as the holy book, which is not true,” he said. “Tazkirah is a compilation of Mirza’s writings and notes on his behavior, just like the Hadith [the words and deeds of Prophet Muhammad].” God was Allah to them, just like any other Muslim.

According to Jauzi, who chairs the Ahmadiyah regional leadership council in West Nusa Tenggara, the main difference between the two was that Ahmadiyah believed Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was the Promised Messiah.

“In other religions, the Messiah has not arrived yet. For us he did. It was Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. That is the core difference,” Jauzi told the Globe.

Zafrullah said there were two Ahmadiyah groups in Indonesia – the Jemaah Ahmadiyah Indonesia, or JAI, and the Gerakan Ahmadiyah Indonesia, or GAI.

“Both are Ahmadiyah, [JAI] is Ahmadiyah from Qadian, a small town in India, while [GAI] derives its teachings from Lahore [Pakistan],” he said.

“Although both follow Islam according to the teachings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Lahore Ahmadis place Mirza Ghulam Ahmad merely as a “reformer”, and not the messiah, as opposed to the main belief of Ahmadiyah.

“JAI has more members than GAI. But the leaders of the two organizations know each other, and we acknowledged each other without getting too deep into each other’s business.”

Zafrullah said the split came after a feud among pupils of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad after his death. Those who did not see him as a messiah moved to Lahore.

Ulil Abshar Abdalla, a Democratic Party chairman and founder of the Liberal Islam Network, has been critical of Suryadharma for his failure to stand up to those who preach hatred and instigate violence against the sect.

On Tuesday he said the minister had adopted an approach that fostered radicalism.

“It’s like putting oil on a flame,” Ulil said.

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe

URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/ahmadiyah-lead...cts-beliefs/405899

Indonesian President Urged to Take Minister to Task Over Ahmadiyah

NEWS

Indonesian President Urged to Take Minister to Task Over Ahmadiyah

Armando Siahaan | November 05, 2010

Jakarta. The religious affairs minister has once again come under fire after an international human rights group called on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to repudiate the minister’s stance against the Ahmadiyah.

In an open letter to the president, New York-based Human Rights Watch accused Suryadharma Ali of actively promoting discrimination against the minority Islamic sect.

“President Yudhoyono should order Minister Suryadharma to stop playing with fire with his demands to ban the Ahmadiyah,” said Phil Robertson, HRW’s deputy director for Asia.

“Formalizing religious discrimination increases the vulnerability of Ahmadiyah and opens the door for further attacks and wider communal violence. This is hardly the recipe for promoting Indonesia as a modern, rights-respecting state.”

Suryadharma has been heavily criticized for his repeated calls for the sect to be banned and his unwillingness to revoke a 2006 joint ministerial decree that makes it difficult for minority religions to build houses of worship.?

In September, the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Pramono Anung, from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), lambasted Suryadharma for his inability to separate his roles as a minister and as the chairman of the United Development Party (PPP), the second-largest Islamic party in the country.

Pramono said some of Suryadharma’s decisions on religious issues had been heavily influenced by his political background.

“A religious affairs minister should protect all religious groups. Not just his group or his religion,” he said.?

Bonar Tigor Naipospos, deputy chairman of the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace, said it was “obvious” Suryadharma was abusing his position to push his own political agenda.??

Ulil Abshar Abdalla, a Democratic Party politician and founder of the Liberal Islam Network, has also chastised Suryadharma for his failure to stand up to those who preached hatred, going as far as saying the minister had adopted an approach that fostered radicalism.

In its letter, HRW questioned why Yudhoyono had not taken action against his minister, which had lead many to believe that he supported such intolerance.

“President Yudhoyono gave a nationwide speech about religious tolerance in the United States, but what will he tell visiting US President Barack Obama about the burned Ahmadiyah mosques in Indonesia?” Robertson said.?

“Yudhoyono should take clear steps to protect religious freedom, starting with loudly rejecting any ban on the Ahmadis, and ensuring that those responsible for attacks on Ahmadiyah homes and mosques are prosecuted.”

Nasaruddin Umar, a director for Islamic affairs at the Religious Affairs Ministry, said that it could not comment on the issue before studying HRW’s letter comprehensively.

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe

URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/indonesia...ahmadiyah/405011

Indonesia President Urged to Renounce Comments From Religious Affairs Minister

NEWS

Indonesia President Urged to Renounce Comments From Religious Affairs Minister

November 04, 2010

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has failed to repudiate religiously inflammatory comments from Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali, pictured, leading many to believe that he supports such an action, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday. Suryadharma has repeatedly called for Ahmadiyah to be banned. (Antara Photo)

Jakarta. Indonesia President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono should uphold freedom of religion in Indonesia and repudiate statements by his religious affairs minister calling for the banning of the Ahmadiyah religion, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday in a letter to the Indonesian president.

Since August 2010, Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali has repeatedly called for the Ahmadiyah faith to be banned in Indonesia. Yudhoyono has failed to repudiate those statements, leading many to believe that he supports such an action, the international nongovernmental organization said in a statement.

In recent years Islamist militants have repeatedly attacked and burned Ahmadiyah homes and mosques. Anti-Ahmadiyah violence has increased since Yudhoyono announced a prohibition on teachings or public displays of the Ahmadiyah religion in June 2008, the statement read.

“President Yudhoyono gave a nationwide speech about religious tolerance in the United States, but what will he tell visiting US President Barack Obama about the burned Ahmadiyah mosques in Indonesia?” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Yudhoyono should take clear steps to protect religious freedom, starting with loudly rejecting any ban on the Ahmadis, and ensuring that those responsible for attacks on Ahmadiyah homes and mosques are prosecuted.”

The Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy, a human rights group in Jakarta, recorded 33 cases of attacks in 2009 against the Ahmadiyah community. In late July, municipal police and hundreds of people organized by militant Islamist groups forcibly tried to close an Ahmadiyah mosque in Manis Lor village. On Oct. 1, mobs attacked the Ahmadiyah community in Cisalada, south of Jakarta, burning their mosque and several houses; a Quran inside the mosque was accidently burned.

The statement said that Indonesian law facilitated discrimination against the Ahmadiyah, who identify themselves as Muslims but differ with other Muslims as to whether Muhammad was the “final” monotheist prophet.

The June 2008 decree requires the Ahmadiyah to “stop spreading interpretations and activities that deviate from the principal teachings of Islam,” including “spreading the belief that there is another prophet with his own teachings after Prophet Muhammad.” Violations of the decree can result in prison sentences of up to five years.

Human Rights Watch has called for the government to rescind this decree, saying it violates the right to freedom of religion.

A ban against the Ahmadiyah would violate guarantees of freedom of religion in articles 28 and 29 of the Indonesian Constitution, as well as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by Indonesia in February 2006, which protects the right to freedom of religion and to engage in religious practice.

“President Yudhoyono should order Minister Suryadharma to stop playing with fire with his demands to ban the Ahmadiyah,” Robertson said. “Formalizing religious discrimination increases the vulnerability of Ahmadiyah and opens the door for further attacks and wider communal violence. This is hardly the recipe for promoting Indonesia as a modern, rights-respecting state.”

Suryadharma has previously stated that the Indonesian government would not tolerate violence in religious disputes, the police would enforce the 2008 decree and warned that the Ahmadiyah “had better stop their activities.”

On Aug. 31 he said: “To ban [the Ahmadiyah] is far better than to let them be … To outlaw them would mean that we are working hard to stop deviant acts from continuing.”

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe

URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/indo...religious-affairs-minister/404876

Local govts ‘main actors’ in faith attacks

HEADLINES Tue, 07/27/2010 8:57 AM

Local govts ‘main actors’ in faith attacks

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The trend of employing violent means to suppress the religious freedom of minority groups is escalating, with local governments acting as the greatest violator, a report shows.

The research, carried out by the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace, shows there were 28 attacks on Christian churches between January and July this year. The figure is higher than 2009’s year-end total of 18 cases and 2008’s 17 attacks.

According to Setara deputy chairman Bonar Tigor Naipospos, the trend was troublesome because it reflected a continuing trend of violations against the constitutional and human rights of certain citizens.

“It’s true that no congregation members were hospitalized from being beaten up. But isn’t intimidation, the banning of houses of worship, and the sealing of churches by government a form of violence?” The sealing of churches and the refusal to grant building permits top the list of major violations.

The forceful closure of churches, the burning of churches and obstruction of services are next, with three cases each.

As an example, Bekasi administration sealed the Filadelfia Batak Protestant church in January after protests from hard-line religious groups contested the absence of the church’s building permit. Church officials said they had obeyed all the government’s requirements.

A 2006 joint ministerial decree outlines requirements needed to build a house of worship, including obtaining signatures from congregations and residents living nearby, as well as approval from the local administration.

The research supports the finding that name local administrations, organizations and citizens as the main violators, with 12, 10 and five cases attributed to each.

“The puritan and radical Islamic movement is strong in West Java,” Bonar said. “Sixteen cases were seen in Jakarta’s satellite cities of Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi and even in Karawang.”

Political motives, economic interests involving illegal extortion, and ideological clashes of “intolerant groups” refusing the presence of those with different religion mired most cases, he added.

“The local administration sees these groups as assets for local elections,” he said. “They bow to pressure from mass organizations that insist the churches’ presence and activities have caused unrest.”

Bonar said churches in Jakarta mainly faced trouble in renovating and expanding their buildings, which require building permits.

“They have to start over again by obtaining 60 signatures from residents living around the church and sometimes residents refuse to provide signatures,” he said.

Bonar urged the government to take legal action against violent groups as a deterrent for future cases.

However, the government has remained unresponsive to intolerant groups who violate the Constitution.

“We have a hesitant President. He is too busy maintaining his image,” he said. “It’s time to show a strong and definite leadership that would decide the political future of the country.”

The report recommends President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono review the 2006 joint ministerial decree and facilitate the establishment of houses of worship that have suffered rejections from local administrations and society.

A Catholic priest from the Indonesian Bishops Council, Father Beni Susetyo, said the problem lay in regional administrations’ inconsistency and lack of commitment to complying with regulations on the establishment of houses of worship.

“We are witnessing the politics of negligence, which makes people feel discrimination has taken place because the Constitution grants everyone the right to practice religions. If [local] administrations can be intimidated by those who commit violence, this country is doomed,” he said. (gzl)

URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/07/27/local-gov...-attacks.html

Displaced Ahmadis losing hope for normal life

---The Jakarta Post, Indonesia

Headlines Thu, 01/07/2010 8:50 AM

Displaced Ahmadis losing hope for normal life

Panca Nugraha, The Jakarta Post, Mataram

After four years of living in limbo at the Wisma Transito shelter in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), dozens of families from Jamaah Ahmadiyah say they are losing hope of a return to normal life and freedom from refugee status.

“I hope to be able to return to my place of origin, but I feel it’s becoming more difficult now. After living as a refuge for almost four years, we are even regarded as non-existent,” Ahmadiyah refugee Zuhaer Majid, 44, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

A group of housewives were in a makeshift kitchen when the Post visited the camp. Some toddlers played on the verandah, while others ate lunch. One plate of fried rice was shared between four.

“The price of rice has surged to Rp 7,500 [75 US cents] a kilogram. We have to be frugal. The important thing is to feed our children,” said a 28-year old mother of two, Nuraini.

Nuraini’s husband Zuhri, 34, helps out at a food stall and earns Rp 15,000 per day. The couple must make sure this is enough for food and pocket money for their eldest child who is in fourth grade.

The local social welfare office stopped providing the refugees with assistance (in the form of rice and side dishes) in the mid 2008, and the group has had to struggle to make ends meet ever since.

The other 33 refugee families, comprising at least 126 people staying at the Wisma Transito shelter camp.

The Ahmadiyah refugees also stopped receiving rice from the rice-for-the-poor program. Tapped water is restricted at the shelter. Power supplies were cut six months ago because of the group’s outstanding electricity bills.

The dozens of elementary students learning there have had to study only during daylight hours because of the lack of lighting at night, except for candles and kerosene lamps.

On Feb. 4, 2009, the group will have been enduring at the shelter camp for exactly four years since being forced by a Muslim mob from their homes in Ketapang hamlet, West Lombok, in early 2006.

The Ahmadiyah refugees live in three 20-by-8-meter barracks at the shelter. The rooms for each family, measuring 2.5-by-3 meters each, are only divided by cloth, used banners and sarongs tied up with plastic string.

The NTB provincial administration stopped providing relief aid to the refugees since the middle of 2008, but has also not given them permission to return to their village.

The refugees have taken up odd jobs, working, for example, as builders or vendors to meet their basic needs.

According to refugee coordinator Syahidin, four people have died at the shelter since they moved there, and 11 babies have been born.

Various efforts have been made to resolve the issue. In their latest effort, the Ahmadis appealed to the Mataram mayor for permission to live within the city, but he has not responded yet.

“We have abided by the joint-ministerial decree banning Ahmadiyah activities, expressed the syahadat confession of faith in public proving we are also Muslim, but why is our status still unclear?” Syahidin said.

In March 2009, 17 Ahmadiyah families took the initiative to return to their village, but shelved the plan because the NTB provincial administration and West Lombok regency administrations promised to compensate them for their properties in Ketapang, so that they would not return, but move elsewhere.

URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/01....e-normal-life.html