Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06JAKARTA10880
2006-09-01 01:09:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Jakarta
Cable title:  

ACEH'S SHARIA POLICE TARGETING AID WORKERS, WOMEN,

Tags:  PGOV ASEC CASC PREL KISL SA ID 
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VZCZCXRO2212
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #0880/01 2440109
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 010109Z SEP 06
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9436
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS PRIORITY
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 9889
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON PRIORITY 1015
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0527
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 JAKARTA 010880 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/28/2015
TAGS: PGOV ASEC CASC PREL KISL SA ID
SUBJECT: ACEH'S SHARIA POLICE TARGETING AID WORKERS, WOMEN,
AND THE POOR

REF: JAKARTA 010572

Classified By: Ambassador B. Lynn Pascoe, Reasons
1.4 (d) and (g)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 JAKARTA 010880

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/28/2015
TAGS: PGOV ASEC CASC PREL KISL SA ID
SUBJECT: ACEH'S SHARIA POLICE TARGETING AID WORKERS, WOMEN,
AND THE POOR

REF: JAKARTA 010572

Classified By: Ambassador B. Lynn Pascoe, Reasons
1.4 (d) and (g)


1. (SBU) Summary. After a year of peace in Aceh, negative
fall-out from the imposition of Islamic law (sharia) under
Aceh's special autonomy arrangement is apparent. While the
Acehnese themselves have borne the brunt of the consequences,
on August 17 sharia police raided the World Food Program's
compound in Banda Aceh. Reasons given for the raid vary, but
all parties agree that the religious police lacked the proper
authorization or police escort. The incident is the latest
in a string of examples illustrating increasingly harsh
enforcement of sharia in Aceh. Although the sharia police
have alienated many local Acehnese, the public reportedly
still supports the concept of sharia, which seems likely to
become more entrenched and fundamentalist.


2. (C) Comment. USAID facilities in Aceh are more secure
and low-key than the UN's, and the police have assured USAID
and RSO that no such raids will occur at USAID residences or
offices. The UN representative in Jakarta apparently
declined to press for a strong response, despite the
encouragement of the Government of Indonesia's Aceh
Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Office; the UN will,
however, strongly protest if it happens again. RSO will
return to Aceh to review security at the USAID office and
residence, but stresses that the USG has tighter control over
personnel than the UN and provides briefings to sensitize
staff to local regulations. Aceh's regional police are using
the WFP incident to try to reassert control over the Sharia
office and its enforcers. End Summary/Comment.


3. (SBU) Even as Aceh celebrates the first anniversary of
the peace accord between Acehnese rebels and the Government
of Indonesia (reftel),post has received reports of negative
fall-out from the imposition of Islamic law, or sharia.
While the Acehnese themselves (particularly women and the
poor) have borne the brunt of the consequences, foreigners

are starting to be targeted. According to USAID's Aceh
Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Office, local Acehnese
newspapers have reported in recent weeks that the "sharia
police," locally known as the Wilayatul Hisbah (WH),are
planning to subject international NGOs and other expatriates
residing in Aceh to more raids. Consequently, USAID believes
that expatriates who live and work in the capital city of
Banda Aceh are increasingly at risk for harassment by the WH.

Sharia Police Raid UN Compound
--------------


4. (SBU) On August 17 at 11:15 PM, members of the WH
forcibly entered the World Food Program's (WFP) compound in
Banda Aceh while the residents were sleeping. According to
UN staff, the WH justified the raid by alleging that there
were drugs on the premise (no drugs were found). Although
the WFP compound was guarded, USAID reports that the guards
were not able to stop the WH. (In fact, the UN chief in
Jakarta said that they may well have invited the WH in with
no more than a perfunctory protest.) Following the raid,
local UN staff called on the WH chief, who claimed no
knowledge of the raid. UN-Aceh staff began pressing the
Government of Indonesia's Aceh Rehabilitation and
Reconstruction Office (BRR) to raise the raid (which the UN
considers to be donor harassment) at the highest levels of
local government, in the hope that Aceh's governor would
intervene. The BRR in turn encouraged the UN to take a tough
line to pressure the WH, but the UN Jakarta representative
chose not to do so because of the ambiguous approach of the
WFP's own guards. The UN did say, though, that there would
be a strong protest if this were to happen again.


5. (SBU) In the days after the raid, the explanations of
what happened became somewhat more ambiguous. An Acehnese
police contact told USAID representatives that the trigger
for the raid was not drugs but rather allegations of Acehnese
women "cohabitating" with expatriate men in the compound.
Separately, Consulate Medan police contacts said that the WH
called the police for assistance in dealing with an urgent
problem (Indonesians allegedly drinking alcohol inside the
compound). Both contacts acknowledged, however, that when
the police arrived at the WFP compound, the WH had already
entered. Because the WH lacked the proper warrant to enter
the compound, the regular police were upset with the sharia
enforcers (and, according to USAID's contact, put an end to
the raid).


6. (C) Local police told Consulate Medan that their chief

JAKARTA 00010880 002 OF 003


met with the head of the Office for Islamic Sharia following
the raid to advise him that the WH (who fall under the Sharia
Office's supervision) were not permitted to act unilaterally.
Rather, the WH were to advise the police of suspected sharia
violations, and defer to the police for action. The police
were openly critical of the WH to Consulate Medan staff,
saying that "it is like if you give a child a knife to play
with: he'll wave it around because he does not know how to
use it or the damage it can cause." Aceh's governor also
stressed to CG Medan that his office was taking the WFP
incident very seriously and promised it would not happen
again. The governor said that he had made clear to the
Sharia Office chief that he and the WH must be respectful of
foreign aid workers and more mindful of the limits of their
authority. Both he and the police chief said that the WH were
supposed to apologize to the WFP. (Note. Consulate Medan
staff contacted the WFP, who confirmed that the WH did meet
with the WFP after the raid. End Note.) The governor did
caution, though, that NGO employees should also exercise
discretion. When asked whether that meant that foreigners
could not drink alcohol in their own residences, the governor
clarified that they could, but should not "go outside with a
bottle of whiskey" or walk down the street while obviously
intoxicated, as apparently has happened.


7. (SBU) Whatever triggered the WFP raid, other
international organizations are taking notice. On August 18,
the Asian Development Bank's Field Security Officer emailed
donors throughout Aceh, advising that the issue "isn't going
to go away." He warned, based on input from various NGOs and
donors, that continuing to house workers in co-ed guesthouses
might lead to problems. Foreign workers should "not mistake
community tolerance for community acceptance," he wrote. He
continued that even in Banda Aceh, "mixed houses of
foreigners get unannounced community visits and have pointed
questions asked about marital status."

Who Are the Wilayatul Hisbah?
--------------


8. (C) Established in 2000 by a law on sharia implementation
in Aceh, the Wilayatul Hisbah (WH) are broadly charged with
upholding Islamic law dictates in all facets of daily life
for Muslims, be it public morality, dress, judicial rulings,
or respect for Islamic rituals (e.g., prayer, alms-giving,
fasting during Ramadan). As an excellent recent report by
the International Crisis Group (ICG) on sharia in Aceh notes,
the WH do not have the legal authority to arrest sharia
violators; statutorily, they must refer suspected
transgressors to the police for action. Consulate Medan
reports that while the WH are pressing for increased police
powers, the police are actively resisting because they view
this as an unacceptable dilution of their own powers.
Moreover, members of the police and military pointedly refuse
to accept the authority of the WH over them or their wives
and girlfriends.


9. (U) A further complication lies in the composition of the
WH itself. Initially, prospective members needed only meet
broad criteria to be eligible for employment (for example, a
member had to be a qualified imam with Indonesian citizenship
who declared loyalty to Islamic law, the state ideology of
pancasila, and to the constitution). But because of the WH's
lack of qualifications and their zealous approach, the WH
rapidly lost public support. Consequently, the requirements
for joining the WH have become more stringent: a candidate
now must also be a law school graduate (Islamic or secular)
or have studied for a minimum of seven years in an Islamic
boarding school, or pesantren. More and more are being
recruited from Banda Aceh's branch campus of the State
Islamic Institute, which the ICG says has historically been
moderate, although it is increasingly being infiltrated by
the extremist Islamist organization Hizbut Tahrir.

Sharia Enforcement: Testing Limits
--------------


10. (U) Published reports, both from the ICG and in the mass
media, have cited numerous examples of harsh WH sharia
enforcement and vigilantism by self-appointed guardians of
morality in Aceh. Although this has alienated some Acehnese,
several indicators suggest that the public still supports the
concept of sharia and that it will become even more
entrenched. First, as elsewhere in Indonesia, candidates for
local office are campaigning on platforms that promise
extending Islamic law's reach. Second, ICG's Sidney Jones
told us that the Office for Islamic Sharia, which has overall
responsibility for the drafting, interpretation and
implementation of Islamic law, is increasingly influenced by

JAKARTA 00010880 003 OF 003


conservatives. Finally, Jones contends that moderates are
hamstrung by the belief that all new sharia laws must have a
basis in recognized Islamic texts. Since most textual
interpretations are conservative, Acehnese draft laws are
perhaps more dogmatic than they would have been if the
experts had access to more liberal analyses.


11. (SBU) Although non-Muslims are technically not obliged to
follow sharia in Aceh, WH actions suggest otherwise. Jones
commented that for the first time since she began visiting
Aceh in the late 1970s, she was instructed to cover her hair
upon entering the WH offices. This discrepancy between what
the law prescribes and what occurs in practice manifests
itself in other ways as well. As the ICG report points out,
the "little guy" (more often than not, women and the poor)
tends to bear the brunt of the WH's offensives, while the
bigger fish (officials engaging in large-scale corruption,
for example) are largely immune. Meanwhile, the WH continues
to grow: in Banda Aceh, the force nearly tripled in size
during its first year, from 13 to 33 members; in the last
month, it has grown further to 45 members, says Jones.
Consulate Medan adds that over the past year, WH forces have
been established in virtually every Acehnese county
(kabupaten).

Embassy Response/Comment
--------------


12. (SBU) USAID's facilities in Aceh are more secure and
low-key than the UN's, with an Indonesian regular police
presence on site, and USAID has contacted all of its project
partners to caution them to be careful in managing their
facilities. In follow-on meetings, the police have assured
USAID and RSO that no such raids will occur at USAID
residences or offices; should something be amiss, an
emergency contact number has been provided. RSO stresses
that the USG has tighter control over personnel than the UN,
including a requirement that personnel be accounted for at
all times, especially when traveling outside the city.
Incoming personnel are also briefed about the need to be
sensitive to local regulations and norms concerning alcohol,
proper attire and fraternization. (Note. The WFP residence
was apparently well-known for hosting weekly happy hours at
which alcohol was served. By contrast, USAID does not host
events of this type, nor are there any Acehnese female staff
staying at the residence. End Note.) RSO is planning a
visit to Aceh to discuss the UN incident with the police, and
to review security at the USAID office and residence. RSO
will also ensure that the proper procedures are in place
should the WH confront any USAID employees or partners.


13. (C) Consulate Medan believes that the WFP episode is
indicative of the WH testing the limits of their authority, a
trend that is likely to continue. However, it is positive
sign that the regional police are using the WFP incident to
try to reassert control over the WH and the Sharia office, by
reminding them that unilateral law enforcement actions
undertaken by the sharia authorities are unlawful.


14. (U) This cable has been cleared by Consulate Medan.
PASCOE