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Anthropologists urge government to take stern action against intolerance
Jakarta Post - December 17, 2016
"Indonesian values have been continuously destroyed. We consider it important to declare an emergency situation on Indonesian values," senior anthropologist Meutia F. Swasono said in a statement in Jakarta.
Calling themselves the Anthropologists' Movement for Diverse and Inclusive Indonesia, the scholars called on the government, especially the police, as well as the Indonesian Military, to bring to justice groups that committed violence against minorities.
Besides holding a press conference in Jakarta, the anthropologists also conducted similar events in Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, Pekanbaru and Jayapura.
"Law enforcement should be upheld without any pressure from mass mobs," said anthropologist PM Laksono of Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta.
Many observers earlier viewed that an ongoing trial against Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama had been held due to pressure from conservative Muslim groups.
On Dec. 2, hundreds of thousands of people, led by the conservative groups, urged the government to jail Ahok, a Christian and Chinese descent, for alleged blasphemy.
Ahok's case is also believed to have triggered violence. Last week, for example, a Christmas service was dispersed by a group of conservative Muslims in Bandung. In Yogyakarta, another Muslim group coerced Duta Wacana Christian University to take down billboards depicting a female student wearing a hijab. (jun)
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