INDONESIA: Increasing attacks on religious groups demands central government act

ion
April 7, 2011
Dear friends,
We wish to share with you the following statement from Amnesty International, Ko
ntraS, Imparsial, Elsam, Setara Institute, ICRP, HRWG, ANBTI, ILRC and Wahid Ins
titute.
Asian Human Rights Commission
Hong Kong

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AHRC-FST-025-2011
April 7, 2011
A Statement from Amnesty International, KontraS, Imparsial, Elsam, Setara Instit
ute, ICRP, HRWG, ANBTI, ILRC and Wahid Institute forwarded by the Asian Human Ri
ghts Commission
INDONESIA: Increasing attacks on religious groups demands central government act
ion
The Indonesian government must do more to stop the rising number of incidents of
violence, intimidation, harassment and discrimination against religious minorit
ies, said a group of Indonesian and international human rights organizations tod
ay.
Amnesty International, along with KontraS, Imparsial, Elsam, Setara Institute, I
CRP, HRWG, ANBTI, ILRC and Wahid Institute voiced their concern about the growin
g 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 yea
rs. There are also concerns about continuing attacks against Christians.
A particularly alarming development was the involvement of the Indonesian milita
ry and police in intimidation and forced conversion of members of the beleaguere
d Ahmadiyya community. KontraS has documented at least 20 cases in March and ear
ly April 2011 where military and police have been involved in cases of intimidat
ion, harassment and forced conversion.
Amnesty International shared the concerns raised by Indonesian human rights grou
ps with the senior leadership of the Indonesian National Police on 5 April.
Amnesty International also met some of Indonesiaâ s largest mass religious organizati
ons, including Muhamadiyyah, Nahdlatul Ulama, and the Communion of Churches in I
ndonesia (PGI), an umbrella group for Protestant Churches.
Alarmed by the deteriorating situation, and in light of the positive meetings wi
th police officials and religious leaders, the human rights groups issued the fo
llowing recommendations:
â The central government must fulfill its obligation to ensure that all citizens, re
gardless of their religious beliefs, benefit from the human rights enshrined in
the 1945 Indonesian Constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Pol
itical Rights, which Indonesia ratified in 2005 as provided by Law No. 12/2005;
â The central government, through the Ministry of Home Affairs, should immediately a
ssert its exclusive authority to regulate religious affairs under the 2004 Law o
n 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 Indonesiaâ s obligations under inte
rnational law, in particular the ICCPR;
â 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;
â The Indonesian police should restate publicly its commitment to protecting the rig
hts of all citizens regardless of their religious beliefs and put in place a pro
active strategy for preventing and addressing incidents of religiously based vio
lence. 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 proce
ed without intimidation of the victims, witnesses and their lawyers. The police
should also ensure they register and investigate all cases of religious-based vi
olence, regardless of the religious background of the victim.
â Central and local government officials should emphasize the basic protections for
religious belief, expression, and association included in the 1945 Indonesian Co
nstitution and international law and refrain from making comments stigmatizing r
eligious minorities, which has created a climate fostering discrimination and vi
olence.
Jakarta, 6 April 2011