Far Eastern Economic Review, Wed May 8, 6:30 PM ET
Indonesia's Double Standards
Religious Freedom Comes Under Fire In Indonesia
The Indonesian government's caution in dealing with Islamic militancy was perfectly
illustrated with the recent arrest of a top militia leader for allegedly inciting a renewed
outbreak of violence on the island of Ambon. On May 1 , Political Coordinating
Minister Bambang Yudhoyono told a group of visiting European MPs that he had
ordered the arrest of Ja'far Umar Thalib, leader of the militant Laskar Jihad. Yet police
waited another three days -- until Ja'far had returned to the East Java port city of
Surabaya from Ambon -- before taking him into custody. Although it is still not clear
who carried out the attack, masked gunmen killed 14 Christian villagers in the hills
east of Ambon on April 28 , two days after Ja'far made an inflammatory speech
rejecting a recent peace agreement that brought a formal end to three years of bitter
sectarian violence.
In stark contrast to Ja'far's apprehension, the authorities in Ambon on April 16 had no
hesitation in arresting Alex Manuputty, leader of the Maluku Sovereignty Front , a
mainly Christian separatist group which has clashed on the island with the Laskar
Jihad in the past. He was picked up before he could carry out a plan to fly the flag of
the long-dormant Republic of Maluku on the 52nd anniversary of its founding.
Copyright ©2002 Review Publishing Company Limited, Hong Kong
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