The Jakarta Post, December 22, 2003
Indonesia has progressed in religious freedom: U.S.
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesia made progress in promoting respect for religious freedom, but in a number
of cases the government failed to punish extremists responsible for murder and other
crimes.
This was the view expressed in a yearend report on Indonesia issued by the United
States, part of the International Religious Freedom Report 2003 released on Thursday.
Covering the period of July 1 2002 to June 30 this year, it was compiled by the Bureau
of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor under the Department of State and is
accessible on http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2003.
"The government made considerable progress in some areas, such as reducing
interreligious violence in the Maluku islands and Central Sulawesi, and arresting and
prosecuting terrorists and religious extremists for carrying out religiously motivated
attacks," the report said. "However, in several cases the government failed to hold
religious extremists responsible for murder and other crimes."
The report was compiled in line with the U.S. 1998 International Religious Freedom
Act, which instructs the Secretary of State to submit such a report to Congress. The
report's summary states that religious freedom is a "central tenet of U.S. foreign
policy."
The Indoenesia report said that while the death toll fell particularly in the Maluku
islands, localized incidents of interreligious violence continued in Maluku and Central
Sulawesi.
In the promotion of religious freedom the progress cited was the "cracking down on
terrorists and other extremists who carried out attacks in the name of religion".
"After members of Jamaah Islamiyah ("Islamic Community" or JI), a terrorist
organization committed to the goal of creating an Islamic super-state in Southeast
Asia, bombed two nightclubs in Bali on Oct. 12, 2002 ... the government aggressively
tracked down and arrested at least 32 individuals."
However there were "some setbacks for respect for religious freedom".
"The government did not prosecute Laskar Jihad members who had killed and
terrorized Christians in the Malukus and Central Sulawesi, and allowed them to return
to their homes, mostly in Java, without legal recriminations," the report said.
It cited the arrest of Laskar Jihad's chief, Jafar Umar Thalib, who was charged with
inciting religious violence and two other relatively minor offenses. On Jan. 30 he was
acquitted.
The report noted that the government generally respects the provisions cited in the
Constitution that provides "all persons the right to worship according to his or her own
religion or belief". Yet there are "some restrictions on certain types of religious activity
and on unrecognized religions," it said, citing difficulties in gaining identity cards
among minorities.
On "notable advances in interreligious tolerance and cooperation" the report cited that
"In the first half of 2003 many Muslims and Christians in Maluku and Central Sulawesi
worked together to repair mosques and churches".
However, "Increasingly, hard-line religious groups used pressure, intimidation, or
violence to silence those whose message they found offensive".
It cited that in August 2002, Majelis Mujahiddin Indonesia prompted a private
television network to stop airing a commercial that featured the phrase "Colorful
Islam," aimed at promoting tolerance and diversity. The group said the ad insulted
Islam.
The report also pointed out that "Islamic hard-liners sometimes criticized, threatened,
or attacked other Muslims who held a more moderate view of the faith".
There were "strong indications" that many attacks on entertainment sites such as
nightclubs "were linked to extortion and kickback schemes, rather than to religious
motives".
The report also noted efforts by some political parties to amend the Constitution to
adopt sharia nationwide.
The proposal was voted down. However the approval by the People's Consultative
Assembly to change the Constitution to include a mandate that the government
increase "faith and piety" in education set the scene for a controversial education bill
that was passed in June, the report said.
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