INDONESIA: Police failed to protect Ahmadiyah mosque from attacks by Islamic fundamentalist group in Singaparna 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the attack directed by an Islamic fundamentalist group, Islam Defenders Front (Front Pembela Islam, FPI) towards an Ahmadiyah mosque in Singaparna, Tasikmalaya, West Java. The attack took place on Friday, 20 April 2012. The police was present at the time of the attack yet it did not take any action to prevent or stop the attacks directed towards the mosque. As of the time of writing, the police have not named anyone as suspects.

CASE NARRATIVE:

According to information AHRC obtained from a witness, Doni Sutriana, at around 8 in the morning two police Mass Control (Pengendalian Masyarakat, Dalmas) trucks arrived in the location where the Baitul Rahim mosque is located. One platoon of police was deployed to Baitul Rahim mosque. On the previous day, there was news received from the police, the village officers as well as the religious affairs office that the FPI would come to the mosque. The FPI said it wanted to come to the mosque to put a banner which reads that the local villagers refuse the presence of Ahmadiyah in their area.

Not long after the FPI managed to place the banner, approximately 150 people came and some of them were carrying sticks. In front of the Baitul Rahim mosque, the leader of the group delivered a speech saying that, according to the Joint Decree of the Minister of Religious Affair, the Attorney General and the Indonesian Home Minister No. 3 Year 2008 as well as the Governor’s Regulation No. 12 year 2011, the mosque should be closed down. These two regulations were based on the view that Ahmadiyah is a deviant form of Islam that it is considered as religious blasphemy. Religious blasphemy itself is a crime and prohibited by Law No. 1/PnPs/1965 which was later adopted in Article 156a of the Penal Code.

In his speech, the leader of the group also mentioned that they would come back again later to the mosque without any coordination with the police should there be any Ahmadiyah activities conducted at the mosque. The leader of the group later ordered the group members to ensure that the mosque was sealed. Soon after his order, the window of the mosque was destroyed to which the leader responded by asking the group not to be violent. Yet his order was simply ignored because after successfully being calmed for sometime, the group started destroying the mosque again. The group even broke the seal they put themselves on the gate of the mosque and destroyed the lamps, water taps as well as the TV aerial of the mosque.

Two Ahmadiyah men were cleaning the mosque as this happened and the group attempted to get them. One of the men fell over and suffered light injuries. The attack was ongoing for about 20 minutes and, during this time, three Molotov bombs were thrown into the mosque which started a fire. The police were present during the attack yet none of them took any measures to prevent the group from destroying the mosque. Instead, the police attempted to disperse the group only after the mosque had been severely damaged. The police said they did not know that the group was attacking the mosque as some members of the group managed to get into the mosque by using the back entrance. Yet the witnesses testified that nobody got into the mosque from the back entrance. All members of the group managed to get in by using the front entrance of the mosque.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Under the Law No. 2 Year 2002 regarding the Indonesian National Police, one of the main duties of the police is to provide protection to any members of society. Article 14 paragraph (1) point i of the law specifically establishes that the police is obliged to protect life, properties, the society and the environment from any kind of attacks or disruptions. In exercising such duty, the police have to respect human rights principles, one of which is the prohibition of discrimination. The Chief of the Indonesian National Police’s Regulation No. 8 Year 2009 emphasises this by stating in one of its articles that ‘in accordance with the principle of respect for human rights, every INP member in discharging his/her duties or in the course of their daily lives must protect and respect human rights, or at least… act justly and non-discriminatory’.

However, this obligation is rarely fulfilled by the police when it comes to cases regarding attacks towards the Ahmadiyah communities in Indonesia. A local NGO, Lembaga Studi dan Advokasi Masyarakat (Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy, ELSAM) reported that Ahmadiyah is the most persecuted religious groups in Indonesia. In 2011, 54% of freedom of religion cases in Indonesia is concerning the Ahmadiyah. The full report in English can be downloaded in here. Despite this fact, those who committed violence against the Ahmadiyah is hardly punished proportionately. Twelve people who beat three Ahmadiyah members to death last year were only sentenced to less than a year imprisonment. In other cases, the perpetrators just simply got off scot-free.

Attacks towards the Ahmadiyah seem to be encouraged and justified with the issuance of policies that prohibit any religious activities of Ahmadiyah in Indonesia. In 2008, the Indonesian Minister of Religious Affair, the Attorney General and the Indonesian Home Minister issued a joint decree banning any religious activities of Ahmadiyah in Indonesia. One of the points established in the joint decree is that the members of Ahmadiyah are prohibited to disseminate any interpretation and religious activities which are not in accordance with the mainstream Islam’s teachings otherwise they will be punished for religious blasphemy, in accordance with laws. Such joint decree influenced the issuance of the Governor of West Java Regulation No. 12 Year 2011 three years later which does not only reaffirm the 2008 Joint Decree but also provides more detailed prohibition of Ahmadiyah’s activities in West Java. For instance, according to Article 3 paragraph (2) of the Governor Regulation, the prohibited activities include the dissemination of Ahmadiyah’s teachings in any forms, the using of any Ahmadiyah’s attributes and the establishment of Ahmadiyah’s name boards.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the listed authorities below urging them to ensure the perpetrators to be brought to justice. Independent, impartial and effective investigation has to be conducted and the punishment imposed to the perpetrators should reflect the severity of the crimes they committed. Please also urge the relevant authorities to repeal any law and policies which are discriminatory towards religious minority groups. It is also essential to ensure that the police and other law enforcement officials have to protect every individual within Indonesia territory and jurisdiction without any discrimination.

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