Religious Freedom Conditions the indonesia

USCIRF’s 2010 Visit

A USCIRF delegation visited Indonesia in May 2010, traveling to Jakarta, Yogyakarta, and the former conflict zone of Ambon. The delegation met with officials from the Yudhoyono administration, including individuals from the Foreign Ministry and the Ministries of Law and Human Rights and Religion. The delegation also met with justices from the Supreme and Constitutional Courts, senators and members of the House of Representatives, the Sultan of Yogyakarta, appointees to the National Human Rights and National Women‘s Commissions, and representatives of civil society and Indonesia‘s diverse religious communities.

The delegation discussed a wide-range of religious freedom issues while in Indonesia, including the rise of extremism, sectarian violence, the blasphemy law, protection of religious minorities, police impunity, the removal of the religious designation on national identity cards, and issues related to Aceh, Papua, and the former conflict zones of Central Sulawesi and the Malukus.

Indonesia’s Tradition of Religious Tolerance and the Challenge of Extremism

The majority of Indonesia‘s diverse religious communities operate openly and with few restrictions. Politicians, religious leaders, and civil society have vibrant public discussions about the role of religion in political life, and religious communities continue to play an important role in Indonesia culture and society. There are more Muslims in Indonesia that in any other single country, and Indonesian Islam is known for its accommodation of a variety of indigenous cultural and religious traditions. Over the past decade, there has been a revival of Islamic awareness and practice. The wearing of Islamic dress has reemerged as an outward sign of devotion; the number of Islamic banks, businesses, and publications is growing; and Islamic-themed art and fiction are becoming more popular. Indonesian Muslim leaders have often played an important role in public life, and there are numerous religiously-based political parties, universities and schools, media, and other institutions.

The revival of Islamic devotion, coupled with Indonesia‘s new democratic openness, has strengthened Indonesia‘s mainstream Muslim institutions, but it also has nurtured a small number of groups espousing intolerance and extremism under the banner of Islamic orthodoxy. Over the past several years, the influence, visibility, and activities of extremist groups have lead to sectarian tensions, religious freedom violations, and violence.

Although extremist groups and religiously-conservative Islamic political parties have failed to win popular support, hard-line activists and extremist organizations, such as the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), wield considerable influence, particularly in some provincial governments and in parts of the Indonesian bureaucracy. They have successfully pressed their agenda, pressuring government officials, judges, and politicians through private lobbying, media, demonstrations, threats, and mob action. Such efforts resulted in the 2008 Joint Ministerial Decree on the Ahmadiyah, the Anti-Pornography Law, and the extensive use of the "blasphemy law" (Article 156(a)), as well as a continued use of local shariainspired laws in some provincial areas. Coalitions of moderate Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, and other religious and civil society groups have opposed these measures, both politically and in the public square. Opponents of extremist groups, however, have become recent targets of intimidation and violence, including in March 2011 when "book bombs" were sent to police officials and moderate Muslim organizations who have opposed religious militancy, terrorism, and religious freedom violations.

Religious relations in Indonesia are increasingly strained. Anti-Christian and anti-Ahmadiyah sentiment is growing among hard-line Islamic groups, who view these groups‘ apparent growth as a threat to Islam.

The state occasionally intervenes in defining religious orthodoxy and deviancy, and has resisted calls to review provincial ordinances that discriminate against religious minorities. As a result, opinion polls in Indonesia demonstrate a marked decline in religious tolerance. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono won major electoral victories in 2009. While his public statements have stressed that religious tolerance and pluralism are the cornerstones of Indonesian democracy, his administration has not taken active steps to improve religious relations and firmly protect constitutional guarantees of religious freedom. In fact, the President stated in February 2011 that he supported continuation of the 2008 decree restricting the rights of Ahmadiyah, and the Ministers of Law and Human Rights and Religious Affairs have actively supported new measures further restricting and banning Ahmadiyah religious activity in the provinces of East and West Java and South Sulawesi. Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto did say publicly that provincial bans were unconstitutional, but the national government has taken no action to invalidate the provincial bans against the Ahmadiyah community at this time.

Indonesian religious and civil society leaders also have criticized the Yudhoyono administration for being reactive to the violence and harassment perpetuated by extremist groups and for not vigorously enforcing the constitutional protections for the freedom of religion and belief. After violence targeting Christian and Ahmadiyah communities last year, President Yudhoyono and Coordinating Minister Djoko called for the arrest of perpetrators and the protection of religious minorities. Individuals who both instigated and carried out violence were arrested and convicted, but Indonesian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) continue to express concern that sentences handed down are not a sufficient deterrent and do not fit the crimes committed.

While Indonesia has demonstrated progress in advancing human rights overall, serious challenges remain. Religious freedom violations continue to be perpetuated by problematic laws that contradict Indonesia‘s constitutional protections and its international commitments, by extremist groups who use violence to intimidate religious minorities and human rights advocates, and by the passivity, and sometimes even complicity, of law enforcement and government officials to these groups‘ actions. These problems are a threat to Indonesia‘s tradition of religious tolerance and pluralism and undermine the trust of Indonesia‘s citizens in the institutions that are the foundation of a flourishing democracy.

Addressing Past Sectarian Violence

USCIRF first placed Indonesia on its Watch List in 2002, after sectarian violence in Central Sulawesi and the Malukus claimed thousands of lives and displaced tens of thousands of others. The USCIRF delegation visited the Malukus in May 2010. USCIRF remains concerned about the potential for renewed sectarian tensions in these regions, but notes that religiously-motivated violence has declined sharply in recent years and police have arrested or killed – and local courts have sentenced or executed – dozens of individuals, Muslims and Christians, responsible for past acts of violence.

The Indonesian government reportedly has committed funds for local programs in conflict mediation and interfaith economic development. Local governments have projects to rebuild churches, mosques, and homes destroyed in past violence. Local civic and religious leaders and government officials have worked to promote reconciliation and diffuse tensions in former conflict areas, creating "early warning" and mediation systems to deal with tensions. However, residential segregation between Muslims and Christians, as well as between different ethnicities, has grown in the past 10 years. USCIRF‘s interlocutors viewed this growing segregation and decreasing levels of communication between Christian and Muslim communities at local levels as increasing the potential for future conflict.

Police and prosecutors in former conflict areas continue to arrest and sentence individuals accused of carrying out sectarian violence. On January 27, 2010, police arrested Eko Budi Wardoyo in Sidoarjo (East Java), for alleged involvement in the 2005 bombing of the Central Market in Poso that killed 22 persons and injured more than 90 others in religiously-tinged violence. Wardoyo also was accused of the murder of Christian Pastor Susianti Tinulele in 2004. A decision in that case is still pending. On May 20, 2010, the Palu State Court prosecutor sought a 17-year prison sentence for Arifuddin Lako following his conviction for the murder of Ferry Silalahi, the prosecutor in numerous terrorism and corruption cases in Poso in 2004 – including one case involving the terrorist organization Jemaah Islamiyah. In December 2009, Indonesian courts sentenced 17 individuals to 14 years‘ imprisonment for taking part in sectarian violence in Ambon a decade ago.

Two individuals were sentenced in February 2009 for their part in instigating riots that destroyed parts of a Christian village in the Malukus in 2008. One of the individuals tried was a schoolteacher, Wilhelmina Holle, who reportedly denigrated Islam in her classrooms. Holle and the other suspect, Asmara Wasahua, coordinator of the Central Maluku Islamic Communication Forum, were charged with provoking the attacks and circulating inflammatory pamphlets. On April 28, 2009, Masohi State Court sentenced Holle to one year in prison under the country‘s blasphemy law. The Masohi State Court also sentenced Wasahua to one year in prison for inciting the riot. Holle was released on December 10, 2009.

Many grievances remain, and many persons remain displaced, from the sectarian conflict that occurred previously in Central Sulawesi and the Malukus. While local governmental officials and religious leaders are committed to decreasing tensions, sectarian flash-points continue between sometimes segregated communities. In addition, though crippled by recent government action, terrorist organizations still operate in the region, recruiting, and setting up training camps in remote areas. The arrest of suspected terrorist leader Abu Dujana confirmed that the goal of terrorist networks was to stoke sectarian tensions through bombings and assassinations of religious leaders, particularly in Papua, Central Sulawesi, and Ambon. These continue to be areas of concern moving forward, despite the apparent commitment by local religious and political leaders to quickly address sectarian tensions and head off future sectarian violence.

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