Aceh: Incoming Governor Blasts Syariah,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 013613

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

Consulate Medan cable # 38, 2006

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KISL SOCI ID
SUBJECT: Aceh: Incoming Governor Blasts Syariah,
Syariah Police Crack Down


1. (SBU) Summary: Aceh's incoming governor
Irwandi Yusuf has publicly vowed to block new
Syariah regulations, including a draft law to cut
off the hands of convicted thieves, prompting
Syariah officials to withdraw temporarily the
proposed law pending revision. Meanwhile, out of
the public eye Irwandi and his advisors are
working on a plan to enlist moderate ulamas in an
effort to rollback some of the existing Syariah
rules. In late December the religious police in
Banda Aceh launched a crackdown on hair salons
serving both male and female customers for
"promoting inappropriate contact" between the
sexes. End Summary.


2. (SBU) Asking an Acehnese if he supports
Syariah law is like asking an American if he
supports liberty and democracy; you know the
answer you are going to get before you ask the
question. The problem is in how it is defined.
According to several Acehnese intellectuals as
well as our own conversations around the
province, a majority of Acehnese hold moderate
views on the implementation of Syariah. Many say
that, except in the case of crimes which the
police seem powerless to stop such as corruption,
it is best enforced within the family. In fact,
one group of villagers professing adamant support
for Syariah law near Kuala Langsa flatly refused
to believe that people could be physically caned
under existing regulations; caning, they
insisted, was, and should be, "mental." Only a
relative minority of Acehnese are thought to
support vigorous enforcement of petty offences
such as small-scale gambling. A solid majority of
GAM members, including incoming governor Irwandi
Yusuf, are in the former camp.
Incoming Governor Blasts Syariah


3. (SBU) Prior to the election Irwandi privately
criticized Syariah law as "imposed by Jakarta"
and blamed it for distorting traditional Acehnese
culture and scaring off tourists and investors.
Should he become governor he promised to reform
Syariah enforcement and rollback the most extreme
provisions. Not wishing to alienate any of
Aceh's powerful ulamas before the election,
however, he avoided discussing religious issues
during the campaign.


4. (SBU) With the election over, however, Irwandi
has become more open about his views. On multiple
occasions he has blasted a draft law mandating
that the hand of convicted thieves be amputated
as "persecuting the poor" who steal to feed their
families and vowed to block its implementation.
According to Irwandi, Syariah's enforcers should
focus on improving peoples' welfare and says that
if any hands are to be cut off it should be the
hands of "rich, corrupt officials".
Amputation Law Withdrawn


5. (SBU) Although he has not yet assumed office,
Irwandi's criticisms are already having an
effect. While downplaying Irwandi's influence,
Syariah officials acknowledged to us recently
that their plans to present the draft amputation
law to the provincial legislature (DPR-D) in
early 2007 have been set back; the law has now
been shelved until they can write rules
distinguishing between thieves who steal to feed
their families and those motivated by greed. This
rewrite will take about a year to complete.
Religious Police Launch New Crackdown


6. (U) At approximately the same time the Syariah
Affairs Office was withdrawing the draft
amputation law, the Syariah Police (waliyatul
hisbah or WH) were launching a crackdown on cell
phone vendors suspected of distributing
pornography and on Banda's ubiquitous unisex
beauty parlors. According to the WH Chief in
Banda Aceh, these businesses were violating

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section two of Provincial Regulation number 14 of
2003 concerning inappropriate contact between
members of the opposite sex. (Note: This section
in the law forbids "inappropriate contact of
unmarried couples, immorality, and filthy" as
defines them as "activities, events, or
situations that can lead to adultery." Some
Acehnese have complained that the language is
vague and grants excessive discretion to the WH.)


7. (SBU) The crackdown affected more than 30
salons and nearly a dozen cell phone vendors. In
preparing to take action against the salons, the
WH Chief said he had deputized elderly ladies
from the neighborhood to monitor salons and
report on their activities. He also said that the
mayor's office had previously notified each of
the salon owners in writing that they were
suspected of violating applicable regulations and
in jeopardy of losing their license. On the day
of the crackdown, he said, persons working in the
salons and their customers were "educated" about
the regulations and released.


8. (SBU) The WH Chief emphasized to us that the
targeted salons were not suspected fronts for
prostitution but were simply allowing improper
contact between men and women which "could lead
to adultery". In one case, however, his men
reportedly found alcohol and condoms, leading
them to believe that more illicit activities may
have been going on.
How Far Can Irwandi Go?


9. (SBU) Unlike governors in other provinces, the
governor in Aceh is empowered to veto legislation
passed by the DPRD, at least until a new DPRD is
elected. Irwandi will therefore be able to block
the passage of new Syariah laws for the next
several years should he choose to do so.
Numerous Syariah laws are already in effect,
however, including those authorizing caning.


10. (SBU) Irwandi has told us privately that he
wants to rollback the existing laws and curb the
power of the religious police. While rolling back
existing laws will require political dexterity,
reforming the religious police will be
significantly easier because their authority is
established by Gubernatorial Decree. By contrast,
overturning existing laws will require agreement
from the legislature.


11. (SBU) One of Irwandi's closest advisors and
political strategists told us that Irwandi does
not intend to attack existing Syariah laws
directly, but will attempt to build consensus
around a moderate "roadmap". During the first
year of Irwandi's administration, the advisor
told us, Irwandi will invite moderate ulamas to
Aceh to discuss the implementation of Syariah and
to propose reforms. Irwandi will embrace some of
the proposals and use them to guide the
development of Syariah in the province. Because
the recommendations will come from within the
religious community and will not be clearly
identifiable as "Irwandi's plan", he hopes it
will give him the political cover needed to
implement genuine reform.

Heffern