Western Resistance

« Chechnya: Terrorist President of Ichkeria Gets One-way Trip Down to Allah | | Russia: Muslim Racism Stirs Civil Strife »

June 17, 2006

Indonesia: Are Police & Government Finally Reacting Against Islamism?

We described how the release of the Islamist cleric, Abu Bakar Bashir, combined with his subsequent provocative statements, has caused a diplomatic between Indonesia and Australia.

A report that an Indonesian was involved in the bombing campaign on Thailand seems to have added to the government's embarrassment. Today's edition of the Jakarta Post has a few articles which suggest that something of a backlash against extremist Islam may be taking place.

Today, the paper states that Indonesia will respond to Bashir's inclusion on the UN's consolidated list of terrorists. Foreign Ministry spokesman Desra Percaya said yesterday: "As a responsible member of the UN, we will obey its Resolution No. 1267, which obliged us to ban those on the list from traveling, freeze their assets and impose ban on arms possession."

In the UN's Article 7 on terrorism, the Security Council was asked to list individuals with links to Al Qaeda, the Taliban, bin Laden and others. Resolution 1267 lists 10 Indonesians, including Bashir. Desra said his country had the means in place to comply with the resolution and believed local law enforcers knew what to do.

This comes after contradictory statements were made in Thursday by the national head of police, Gen. Sutanto, concerning how much monitoring of Bashir would actually take place. Sutanto cited the Islamist cleric's human rights as a reason to not push for too much monitoring. Syamsir Siregar, the head of BIN, Indonesia's State Intelligence Agency, had declared there was no need to monitor Bashir, saying: "What for? He's a citizen like all of us, so why would we specially monitor him?"

Even the statements by Desra were tempered by a childish defiance, dismissing the suggestion by Australia's foreign Minister, Alexander Downer that Bashir should be closely watched. Desra said: "We won't let another country dictate to us. Australia has the right to deliver its opinion, but Indonesia also has the right to maintain its position as a sovereign state."

Jusuf Kalla, the Vice President, said: "Now that Ba'asyir is free, what assets are there to be confiscated? And I believe Howard understands the law. What assets of a free man can be confiscated? Even his Islamic boarding school belongs to the public. How can we freeze it?"

Kalla acknowledged that Bashir was on a list of terrorists from the UN, but insisted that "everything has to be done in accordance with Indonesian laws."

At least Bashir will not be allowed to travel outside of Indonesia, but as he is someone who goads others into committing acts of terror rather than being an active participant, such a measure will not of itself prevent him from organising more attacks.

The police, who have previously done virtually nothing to stop the extremist activities of militant groups in the country, have in one area at least, decided to take action against one militant group. Police have declared that they are intending to curb the intimidation which has recently been carried out by mass organizations.

Yesterday, Fadloli El Muhir, the head of the Betawi Brotherhood Forum (FBR) was charged by police in Jakarta for defaming women protesters and for incitement of hatred. They will be passing the case to the Jakarta Prosecutor's Office. If found guilty, he could receive a maximum of four years' jail.

The FBR ostensibly is a group which exists to protect the rights of the Betawi, the native people of Jakarta, but as well as operating like an unrestrained mafia, they have also been against measures to prevent the current tide of Islamist laws in the country.

On May 1, Fadloli had called women who protested against the Islamist anti-pornography bill "evil, wretched and immoral" on a televised interview. Sinta Nuriyah Wahid, the wife of former president Kyai Haji Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) had made formal complaints about his comments.

Before the program was broadcast, the FBR had been harassing Ratna Sarumpaet, the woman who had organised the rally against the anti-pornography bill. On Saturday, April 29, 150 FBR members staged a protest outside the Jakarta Arts Council, demanding that Ratna Sarumpaet apologize for organising the "pluralism rally".

On Thursday, 27 April, FBR members had harassed singer Inul Daratista, arriving at her home in South Jakarta and telling her to go back to her hometown in East Java.

FBR members had also threatened actress and activist Rieke Dyah Pitaloka, telling her to go home to Garut, West Java. At the time, Ratna Sarumpaet had said: "They are terrorizing Inul and Rieke. But where are the police?" On Friday 28 April, a group of 20 activists had gone to Jakarta Police HQ to register a complaint about FBR intimidation.

FBR's lawyer had then responded sarcastically: "Let us not allow dim-witted civilians to threaten our civil rights and liberties."

Police have done nothing to address the harassment of these women until now, and only because the defamation was aired on Metro TV. But even now that they have charged the leader of FBR, police are still discussing the possibility of acting to have the former First Lady charged. This follows a complaint filed by Fadloli on May 23. This concerned comments made by Sinta Nuriyah Wahid which referred to FBR as an "intolerant and anarchistic group."

It is easier for the police to tackle the intolerance and anarchy of the FBR as they are a localised group. To take on the violent thugs of the Front Pembela Islam, which has terrorised Christians, aid workers, and smashed up pool halls and bars without receiving punishment, will be more difficult. This group has activists in 22 of the country's 33 provinces.

We reported earlier that the government's Home Minister, Muhammad Ma'aruf, had said that he would allow the 33 provincial governors in Indonesia to decide if the recent swathe of Sharia-based bylaws contravened the constitution, which expressly states that Indonesia is a pluralist state.

The Jakarta Post reports that such a cautious approach was criticized heavily on Thursday by a group of legal experts. In 2004, a law called the Regional Administration Law was introduced. Article 3 of this law gives the government the right to regulate various affairs, including policy on judicial and religious affairs. As such, all sharia-based bylaws can be revoked by a presidential decree.

Denny Indrayana, a legal expert, said that the government needed to act fast to preserve national unity. He criticsed the president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, for being reticent to take a lead on the matter.

Even political parties seem split on the matter. The Golkar Party at a local level has been supportive of the sharia bylaws in places such as Tangerang city council and Banten province, but Golkar Party members in the House of Representatives have petitioned the President to scrap these laws.

Denny states: "Based on Law No. 32/2004, the government can make a decision 60 days after local administrations give bylaws for review."

At the Home Affairs Ministry, the national unity and politics director-general, Sudarsono Hardjosoekarto, said his office was still examining if the sharia by-laws were in line with the 2004 autonomy law. He said: "There are several procedures that we have to follow." He said local leaders, mayors, regents and governors firstly have to review the bylaws, to see if they contradicted the Pancasila (state ideology), the constitution or other higher laws. He admitted that his ministry was authorized to revoke bylaws, once issued.

As the Jakarta Post states: "Some consider the government's reluctance (to revoke the obviously unconstitutional bylaws) to stem from fears of a backlash from hard-line religious groups and political opportunists."

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at June 17, 2006 4:09 PM

Comments

Post a comment