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.â€
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.â€
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.â€
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..........
