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US State Department slams Indonesia for intolerance

Jakarta Globe - July 31, 2014

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Josua Gantan, Jakarta – The US State Department's 2013 Report on International Religious Freedom accuses the Indonesian government of having failed to ensure religious freedom in the nation.

The report, released on Monday, claims that the government has generally "failed to prevent violence, abuse, and discrimination against individuals based on their religious belief." It further accused the government of being responsible for having "limited the rights of adherents to minority faiths to worship freely."

The annual report to the US Congress pointed out that there is a willful negligence by law enforcers in Indonesia when it comes to dealing with cases involving religious intolerance.

The report said the police in Indonesia "failed to prevent or sufficiently investigate instances in which militant groups and mobs throughout the country attacked, vandalized, forced to close, or prevented the establishment of places of worship, religious schools, and homes of Muslim groups regarded as unorthodox."

The report quotes the Setara Institute, a nongovernmental group that monitors religious freedom, stating that "inaction by security forces was the most common category of abuse by state actors."

Government officials are accused of being actively involved in undermining religious freedom in Indonesia, according to the report. According to the Setara Institute, there were at least 70 instances between January and June last year where government officials abused religious freedoms.

Hendardi, executive director of the Setara Institute, told the Jakarta Globe on Thursday that the Yudhoyono administration's performance in this regard has been disappointing.

He said sporadic violence occurring in various parts of Indonesia was indicative of the poor state of religious freedom in the nation as well as poor law enforcement, "as if our Constitution is impotent."

"The government has always handled this problem awkwardly," Hendardi said. "In terms of religious freedom, there has not been a single significant improvement. In fact there were many setbacks."

In the same vein, Solahuddin Wahid, a Muslim leader and brother of Indonesia's fourth president, Abdurrahman Wahid, told the Globe on Thursday that the government "has not been firm" in this regard.

Yet, Hendardi expressed his hope that religious freedom can improve under the Joko Widodo administration. Hendardi mentioned that Joko's track record shows that he is a public official that is not afraid to uphold religious freedom.

"It is not easy to handle this and there are certainly political challenges, but when he led Jakarta, he set some good examples," Hendardi said.

For example, according to Hendardi, Joko stood his ground as a governor when he elected Susan Jasmine Zulkifli – a Christian – as a district head in Lenteng Agung despite mounting criticism against the move. Hendardi said that Jusuf Kalla, Joko's deputy, is also reputed as a peacemaker.

"He is a peacemaking figure, such as in Aceh and Poso [Central Sulawesi]," Hendardi said, stating the two places where Kalla brokered peace pacts to resolve separatist and religious conflict. "There is hope for religious freedom and pluralism here," Hendardi said.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/us-state-department-slams-indonesia-intolerance/.