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Government to crack down on mass organizations

Jakarta Post - January 20, 2016

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Nurul Fitri Ramadhani, Hans Nicholas Jong and Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta -- The Home Ministry says it is keeping a close eye on 10 unregistered mass organizations that may pose a threat to national security.

The ministry's director general for political affairs and general administration, Soedarmo, said on Monday that the list included the outlawed Fajar Nusantara Movement (Gafatar) but refused to reveal details of the other groups due to the sensitivity of the matter.

"We cannot expose [their names] unless they are proven to be engaged in dangerous radical activity," Soedarmo said.

Soedarmo explained that such groups were deemed a threat to security, because their values were opposed to the state's regulations and above all contradicted the state ideology of Pancasila.

Gafatar, he said, had been under monitoring by the ministry since 2006 and had applied for a license several times, but the request had been rejected due to the group's radical values.

"Gafatar poses as a group for social activities but secretly spreads its ideology and recruits followers. In fact, they never blow their cover and show their hostility toward the government," Soedarmo.

To beef up surveillance of unlicensed and radical mass organizations, the Home Ministry has equipped its officials throughout the archipelago with intelligence skills in cooperation with the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) as well as intelligence divisions from the National Police and the Attorney General's Office (AGO).

According to Soedarmo, the Home Ministry has so far engaged around 400 government officials from the middle to lower level, including district heads and civilian defense units (hansip), in the training.

They have received know-how on how to identify potential conflict in their neighborhoods and monitor organizations that might cause conflict. "They are all tasked to report directly to the relevant division of the Home Ministry," Soedarmo emphasized.

Besides closely monitoring radical groups, the Home Ministry aims to enforce a circular banning hate speech issued by the National Police with respect to radical groups on their radar.

"If we find them spreading hate speech, such as insults or provocation, we have the authority to take action against them," Soedarmo said, referring to the National Police's circular issued in October last year.

He admitted, however, that the ministry had no authority to disband them, because they did not even exist as proper organizations. It only has the authority to ban their activities, as stipulated in Article 156 point A of the Criminal Code.

Human rights watchdog Setara Institute said the ministry's decision to keep a close watch on unregistered organizations was misguided.

The institute's research director, Ismail Hasani, said that it was better for the government to focus on existing hard-line groups like the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), rather than the new and obscure groups listed by the Home Ministry.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/01/19/govt-crack-down-mass-organizations.html.