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NU calls for stronger laws against radical groups

Jakarta Post - April 18, 2017

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Agus Maryono, Kebumen, Central Java – A representative of Indonesia's largest Islamic organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), has deplored President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's administration's stance against radical groups in Indonesia, suggesting it is too soft to deal with groups that pose a direct threat to the government.

NU central executive board member As'ad Ali said anti-government attacks had been clearly stated in the ideological movements of radical groups, although they had not yet been realized through physical action.

"This is the problem: Our government does not dare to take tough measures against groups that have called for the establishment of an Islamic caliphate or those that oppose the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI), stating that all of those calls are just ideas," said As'ad Ali in front of around 16,000 NU cadres at an event in Petanahan Beach, Kebumen, on Sunday.

He said the government had repeatedly stated it could not take legal action against anti-government groups, because so far they had not been proven to commit an attack against the government. There was no law allowing the government to launch pre-emptive strikes, he added.

"In the absence of tough government measures, radical groups have continued to expand their movement and spread their anti-government propaganda. This is dangerous for the solidity of the NKRI," said the NU board member, who is also the former deputy chairman of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN).

Therefore, As'ad Ali said, there should be clearer and tougher laws on assaults against the government. "Don't let the state make a move only after bloody conflicts occur in this country," he said. (ebf)

Against radicalism: Thousands of cadres of Indonesia's largest Islamic organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), from areas across Central Java call on the government to take tougher measures against radical groups at a mass gathering in Kebumen on Sunday.(JP/Agus Maryono)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/04/18/nu-calls-for-stronger-laws-against-radical-groups.html.