Source/Credit: The Jakarta Globe
By Nurfika Osman | June 23, 2011
Human rights activists on Thursday accused Indonesian police of fanning the flames of religious-based conflicts rather than protecting victims and upholding rights.
Choirul Anam, deputy director of the Human Rights Working Group, said the trend had been apparent in the past three years, with police standing by idly when faith-based conflicts erupted.
“Even in religious sermons, such as Friday prayers or those of other religious groups, police are doing nothing to prevent the spreading of hatred of other groups,” Choirul said.
He also cited the example of police standing by as Christians are barred from their own church in Bogor, despite a Supreme Court ordering local authorities to grant the congregation access to the building.
Choirule said that police, especially in West Java, appeared to maintain a close relationship with certain religious groups known to employ violence — such as the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) — including in Tasikmalaya, Cianjur and Cikeusik districts, where persecution of the minority Ahmadiyah sect has been rife and deadly.
“What the police have been doing has made people feel uneasy. People feel unsafe,” he said.
The fact that police take sides in conflicts only makes it more difficult for the victims, he added, citing the murder of two sect members in Ahmadiyah.
In February, instead of protecting members of the Ahmadiyah community there from mob violence, police asked them to leave their homes.
“The police should have been able to prevent clashes and they have to be able to say that they are upholding the law — standing up to protect citizens from groups that use religion [to justify violence],” he said, adding that there were more than 100 violent cases of religious violence recorded in West Java in the past year.
Siti Musdah Mulia, the chairwoman of the Indonesian Conference on Religion and Peace, stressed that the state ideology Pancasila put all belief systems on an equal footing.
“Even an atheist has rights in this country and that person should be protected,” Siti said.
She added that the first tenet of Pancasila, “Belief in One God,” just meant that all religions have the right to believe in their one God and worship that God. She also said that the most important part of Pancasila was its recognition of justice and human rights.
“Police should focus on their main duty: they are responsible for the protection of citizens and upholding the laws, they should put aside the issue of faith. Everyone — regardless of their religion — should be protected,” she said.
Tjatur Sapto Edy, a member of the National Mandate Party (PAN) on the House of Representatives’ Commission III, which oversees legal affairs, said police should restructure their system of education and change their current mind-set in regard to religious conflicts.
Tjatur also pointed out that the police budget for this year only earmarked Rp 80 billion out of a total of Rp 30 trillion ($9.3 million out of $3.5 billion) for preventive efforts.
Ghufron Mabruri from the Indonesian Human Rights Monitor (Imparsial) said it’s time police realize this is a democratic country whose citizens should respect each other. “Violence cannot be ignored. Perpetrators should be punished,” Ghufron said.
Read original post here: Police Urged to Protect All Citizens
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your comments. Any comments irrelevant to the post's subject matter, containing abuses, and/or vulgar language will not be approved.