Yes, things seem to be degenerating in Indonesia. :-( -- Ernie P.
On Jan 28, 2010, at 10:14 AM, [email protected] wrote: > Indonesia : 200 violations against freedom of worship throughout 2009. > Government complicity’ lets religious conflict go on > ("The Jakarta Post," January 28, 2010) > Jakarta, Indonesia - A damning report on freedom of worship in Indonesia has > blasted state agencies and government officials for complicity in violating > this fundamental right. > > The Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace released Wednesday its Report on > the Condition of Religious and Faith Freedom in Indonesia, revealing 200 > violations against freedom of worship throughout 2009. > > The institute claimed state agencies had been involved in 139 of the cases — > 101 of the cases saw “active” involvement by state officials, while the 38 > others were by omission. > > “Over the last three years, we have found that violations against freedom of > religion remain rampant,” Setara Institute chairman Hendardi said at a press > conference. > > “This is mostly because the government is half-hearted in its upholding of > the right to worship.” > > State institutions outed by the report include the police, which Setara > claimed were involved in 48 cases, the Religious Affairs Ministry (14 cases), > mayors (eight cases), regents (six cases) and courts (six cases). > > “State agencies often prohibit certain groups from praying or building a > place of worship,” Hendardi said. > > “We also found government officials discriminated against other groups, > prohibiting them from using public facilities.” > > He added that in many cases of attacks by Muslim mobs on congregations of > other faiths, the authorities turned a blind eye and sided with the offending > majority. > > An attack against supporters of the Ahmadiyah sect in Jakarta, for instance, > led to arrests of Ahmadiyah members, and not their attackers. > > The police claimed they did this to protect the Ahmadis. > > Setara also categorized 86 cases in their findings as crimes that should have > been dealt with by law enforcement officials. > > The violators in 29 of these cases were the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), > the hard-line Islam Defenders Front or FPI (nine cases), and the Forum of > Islamic Community or FUI (six cases). > > “The Ahmadis remained the most persecuted community, falling victim in 33 > separate cases during 2009,” Hendardi said. > > “Christians were next with 12 cases, then followers of the Satria Piningit > Weteng Buwono sect with 10 cases.” > > The number of cases last year was lower than in 2008, when Setara highlighted > 265 violations. > > The most prominent case in 2008 was the attack on Ahmadiyah supporters by the > FPI and other hard-line Islamic groups at a pro-tolerance rally at the > National Monument in Jakarta. > > In 2007, Setara recorded only 135 violations of freedom of worship.......... > > _______________________________________________ > Centroids mailing list: [email protected] > http://radicalcentrism.com/mailman/listinfo/centroids_radicalcentrism.com > Archives at > http://radicalcentrism.org/pipermail/centroids_radicalcentrism.com/
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