LAKSAMANA.Net, January 31, 2003 10:29 AM
Laskar Jihad Chief Acquitted
Laksamana.Net - Jafar Umar Thalib, leader of the now defunct Islamic militia
organization Laskar Jihad, has been acquitted of fomenting religious violence in the
Maluku islands and inciting hatred of the government and president.
Observers said Thursday's (30/1/03) verdict, handed down by East Jakarta District
Court, raises doubts over whether Indonesia is serious about tackling criminal acts
involving Islamic radicalism and communal violence.
An estimated 9,000 people were killed in Maluku and North Maluku provinces from
1999-2002 in fighting between Muslims and Christians. Much of the carnage took
place in 2000 after the arrival of thousands of Laskar Jihad fighters from Java.
Laskar Jihad was allegedly formed by a radical faction within the military following the
1998 overthrow of former long-ruling president Suharto, with the aim of destabilizing
democratic governments in order to maintain the Army's powerful socio-political role.
The extremist organization was suddenly disbanded last year, just days after the
October 12 Bali nightclub bombings that killed almost 200 people. Since then, the
religious violence in the Maluku islands has largely come to an end.
Jafar was arrested on May 4, 2002, in the East Java capital Surabaya for allegedly
inciting an April 28 massacre of Christian villagers in Ambon, the capital of Maluku.
He was later transferred to a cell in Jakarta and released on July 25 after he promised
to attend his trial.
The trial was supposed to open on August 1, but was postponed for two weeks
because presiding judge Mansyur Nasution decided the Jafar looked too sick to be in
court. The defendant's alleged illness did not stop him from participating in a
demonstration at parliament a few days later to demand the inclusion of Islamic law in
the national constitution.
Police had initially charged him with stirring up religious hatred in Maluku, inciting
hatred of the government, as well as insulting President Megawati Sukarnoputri. But
when the trial commenced on August 15, the court said the main charge was publicly
inciting hatred of the government and Megawati, not fomenting religious violence.
The charges stem from a speech that Jafar delivered before 2,500 Muslims at the Al
Fatah Mosque in Ambon on April 24. During the speech, which was broadcast by a
Maluku radio station, he accused the government of treachery for holding talks with a
tiny Christian separatist movement.
He said the government had been "working with the South Maluku Republic separatist
movement to sell the land of Maluku and the fate of Muslims to the loyalists of
international Christian imperialists".
Jafar also implored his followers not to abide by the terms of a government-sponsored
peace agreement signed by representatives of the warring Christian and Muslim
communities.
Prosecutors said the speech was a clear violation of Article 154 of the Criminal Code,
which states that "public expression of feelings of hostility, hatred or contempt toward
the government" is punishable by up to seven years in jail.
But the judge ruled that Jafar had the right to freedom of speech and said he should
be honored for having sought to maintain national unity.
"The defendant has been proven not guilty," Nasution was quoted as saying by
Reuters.
"The government is trying very hard to safeguard the unity of the nation. Awards can
be given to those who, without reserve, uphold the unity of our country, Indonesia," he
added.
Dozens of Jafar's supporters, dressed in white robes, chanted "Allahu-Akbar [God is
Great]" after the verdict was announced.
The government had initially flaunted Jafar's arrest in May as proof of the government's
cooperation in the US-led war on terrorism.
Western nations had also viewed his arrest as as positive move by Megawati's
administration.
But Jafar, who once fought alongside members of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda
organization, has plenty of friends in high places, such as Vice President Hamzah
Haz.
"This is a bad decision, because everybody knows that Thalib was involved in the
violence in Maluku," A. Muhammad Asrun, executive director of Judicial Watch
Indonesia, was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
"This is unfair and shows that the government is not committed to stopping violence
by these radical groups," he added.
Christian Separatists Sentenced
On Tuesday, North Jakarta District Court sentenced two Christian separatist leaders
from Maluku to three years in jail for subversion.
Maluku Sovereignty Front chairman Alex Manuputty and his associate Samuel
'Sammy' Waileruny, who lead the Maluku Sovereignty Front, were found guilty after
encouraging their followers to hoist banned separatist flags in April 2002.
The defendants were not in court for the sentencing, as their detention period expired
two weeks before the verdict was passed.
Manuputty on Wednesday described the sentence as "unconstitutional". He said it
was "illegal and fatally wrong" because the government had failed to provide him
Waileruny with expenses of Rp210 million ($23,300) to attend the trial.
Copyright © 2000 - 2002 Laksamana.net, All Rights Reserved.
|
