GOVERNMENT ISSUES DECREE AGAINST MINORITY SECT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001134 SIPDIS DEPT. FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, DRL, DRL/AWH, DRL/IRF NSC FOR EPHU E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/10/2018 TAGS: PGOV KIRF PINS ID SUBJECT: GOVERNMENT ISSUES DECREE AGAINST MINORITY SECT REF: A. JAKARTA 1070 ¶B. JAKARTA 888 AND PREVIOUS JAKARTA 00001134 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: DepPol/C Stanley Harsha, for reasons 1.4 (b+d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On June 9, the GOI issued a Joint Ministerial Decree prohibiting the Muslim sect Ahmadiyah from proselytizing and conducting religious activities. Issued weeks after it was first announced (ref B),the decree balances several GOI interests and represents a compromise between radical elements wanting to ban Ahmadiyah outright and moderates supporting freedom of religion. Rights advocates said the GOI action sets a dangerous precedent for the influence of hard-line groups on government policy. A team of lawyers plans to defend Ahmadiyah by contesting the legal basis of the decree. Ahmadiyah followers continued to go quietly about their activities on June 10 as it remained unclear whether the decree would be used to stop them from worshipping quietly. See paragraph 11 for recommended next steps and press guidance. END SUMMARY. THE GOI "FREEZES" AHMADIYAH ¶2. (U) On June 9, the Attorney General, Minister of Religion and Minister of Home Affairs issued a Joint Ministerial Decree on Jemaah Ahmadiyah Indonesia that stopped short of banning the minority Islamic sect. A six-point decree "warns" members of Ahmadiyah against making their own interpretations of Islam and against spreading their beliefs. In an attempt to prevent vigilantism as a result of the decree, it also prohibits the public from taking the law into their own hands by taking illegal actions or committing violence against Ahmadiyah. ¶3. (U) The government had been mulling issuing this decree for several weeks (ref B). The decree was issued hours after thousands from hard-line groups rallied in front of the Presidential Palace to demand the president dissolve Ahmadiyah. The demonstrators included the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI),the Jakarta-based Forum Betawi Rempung (FBR), Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI),and a few members of the mainstream Islamic United Development Party (PPP). ¶4. (C) According to political observers, the decree is the first step toward banning Ahmadiyah and follows word-for-word a 1965 presidential decree against "misusing and/or denigrating religion." This decree, issued by President Sukarno, calls first for ministers to prohibit activities of deviant groups, followed by a recommendation for the President to issue a ban if the group does not comply, and finally to arrest for non-compliance with the ban. IMPACT OF THE DECREE ¶5. (C) Ahmad Suaedy, Executive Director of the Wahid Institute, told poloff the joint decree will have several impacts: Ahmadi will retreat from society; people may interpret the decree to mean that the Ahmadi are not allowed to freely associate; Ahmadi may have trouble accessing public services such as marriage and birth certificates or going on the Haj; and the decree may motivate hard-liners to press for bans against those whose practices and beliefs differ from Sunni orthodoxy. Other Muslim leaders we spoke with said depending on how the decree is interpreted, Ahmadiyah followers may be allowed to continue practicing quietly as along as they do not prosletyze. That said, some point to the 1965 presidential decree upon which the current action is based, which prohibits religious activities including prayer for deviant faiths. ¶6. (C) Adnan Buyung Nasution, an advisor to President Yudhoyono, told DepPol/C that unless President Yudhoyono stands up to the radicals, they will be empowered and become more aggressive. He said he is afraid the decree will lead to grassroots attacks against Ahmadiyah. Nasution said a large group from FPI, HTI and other radicals who gathered at the Presidential Palace last week threatened him and his family personally, calling followers to "drink his blood" and identifying his Landcruiser's license plate number. Leaders JAKARTA 00001134 002.2 OF 002 from the two largest Muslim organizations, Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama, both told DepPol/C that the GOI is interfering with matters of faith by issuing this decree. LAWYERS PLAN ACTION ¶7. (C) The Pancasila Defenders Team ("Tim Pembela Pancasila"),a group of over 200 lawyers formed to defend victims of the June 1 Monas attack (ref A),will pursue legal recourse against the joint decree, Suaedy said. He said the lawyers plan to contest the constitutionality of the 1965 presidential decree on which joint decree was based. They will argue that the decree is counter to the 1945 Constitution's clause on freedom of religion, the 1999 law on Human Rights, and the 2005 law ratifying the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Attorney General Hendarman Supanji welcomed the challenge, telling press, "go ahead, bring it to the Constitutional Court." AHMADIYAH REACTION ¶8. (C) Mubarik, spokesperson for Ahmadiyah, told Pol FSN that the Ahmadiyah community plans to keep a low profile in the wake of the joint decree. He said they are in a difficult position; they feel they cannot speak out against the decree. The community plans to keep quiet and not issue any statements for now. POLICE RESPONSE ¶9. (U) Police have maintained a heightened presence in previously attacked Ahmadiyah communities in West Java, Bali, Central Java and South Sulawesi, according to press reports. So far, there has been no violence in response to the decree. ¶10. (U) Demonstrators had also gone to the Jakarta police headquarters to demand the release of FPI leader Habib Rizieq. Police brought Rizieq to address the crowd for a few minutes, but did not release him. Police arrested one hard-line demonstrator on Monday who was discovered carrying a knife. Later on June 9, fugitive Munarman, the Komando Laskar Islam leader wanted in conjunction with the Monas attack on religious freedom activists, turned himself in to the police. RECOMMENDED STEPS ¶11. (C) DepPol/C raised our concern over the joint decree to the Foreign Affairs Ministry's Director General for Human Rights. In the coming days Mission will consult with political and civil society leaders to underscore USG concern over this decree's impact on religious freedom. ¶12. (C) We recommend that the USG not issue a public statement at this point. We recommend waiting for the dust to settle. We should allow moderate groups an opportunity to plan their next steps. Contacts agreed that a USG statement would be counterproductive at this time. A USG statement would inflame the situation and stigmatize the moderate coalition, they said. Radicals would use a USG statement to convince grassroots groups that the U.S. is behind efforts to defend Ahmadiyah, they added. The Australian and British Embassies do not intend to issue a public statement at this time. ¶13. (SBU) We recommend the following press guidance on an if-asked basis: "We call on the Government of Indonesia to act in accordance with Indonesia's long tradition of tolerance and respect for religious freedom, as guaranteed in the 1945 Constitution, and to protect the rights of its citizens." HUME