Enforce the Law, Activists Demand

Enforce the Law, Activists Demand

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Farouk Arnaz | February 11, 2011

An Ahmadiyah follower in the library of the Ahmadiyah office in Yogyakarta. While officials and analysts debate the merits of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s call to disband violent organizations, calls grew louder on Thursday for the minority Ahmadiyah sect to be disbanded instead. (JG Photo/Boy T. Harjanto) An Ahmadiyah follower in the library of the Ahmadiyah office in Yogyakarta. While officials and analysts debate the merits of President Susilo

With the recent rise in religion-related violence and people seeking ways to curb the worrying trend, rights activists claim all that is needed is serious enforcement of the current laws.

Several rights organizations held a closed-door meeting with National Police Chief Gen. Timur Pradopo on Thursday to urge stronger action against those responsible for the deadly attack on the Ahmadiyah community in Banten on Sunday and the violent rampage in Temanggung, Central Java, on Tuesday.

Haris Azhar, the Jakarta coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), said the purpose of the meeting was to show Timur that activists backed the police but wanted stronger action against offenders.

“There should be no doubt that only the police have the authority to use force in upholding the law,” he said.

Activists say that when police take firm action against anarchic groups, they have proven to be able to prevent or minimize bloody incidents such as the ones in Temanggung and Banten. “But whenever the police keep silent, this encourages [anarchic groups] to spread terror,” Haris said.

Other participants included Hendardi from the Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy and Usman Hamid, chairman of the Kontras board, as well as representatives from Imparsial, the Wahid Institute, the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) and Benny Susetyo of the Indonesian Bishops Conference (KWI).

The meeting came a day after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called for the disbanding of violent organizations, which received a mixed response.

The hard-line Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) denounced the call and threatened to topple the government if it tries to dissolve the group.

The Home Affairs Ministry, which oversees organizations such as the FPI, also had a lukewarm response, saying dissolving them would be no easy task.

Even Usman said the idea should be shelved for now because it could be used by some parties as a pretext for attacking the government. “Now is the time to focus on arresting the culprits first,” he emphasized.

The chairman of the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS), Denny Tewu, proposed the formation of a new task force to eradicate violence. “The president has established a special task force on corruption eradication. We hope he will establish a new one to eradicate violence,” he said at a seminar on the violence.

The House of Representatives must also work on the establishment of a new national commission against ethnic, religious and racial discrimination and violence, he added.

However, Ifdhal Kasim, chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) said all the government needed to do was strengthen security institutions already in place.

The priority should be for the state to ensure protection of its citizens against violence and crimes in the name of religion by launching comprehensive probes and punishing the guilty, Ifdhal said.

He cited the case of Europe, where many racist groups were allowed to exist. “But once they commit violent actions in the name of their beliefs, then they will be prosecuted and punished,” he said.