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