Letter: Dropping Ahmadiyah ban

Wed, 05/07/2008 9:38 AM  |  Reader's Forum

I refer to an article titled "Government can't drop Ahmadiyah ban: VP", (The Jakarta Post, May 3, p. 1)

This is government by shrug of the shoulders. How much legal research is necessary to prove that the proposed ban is clearly unconstitutional and will lead to further violence against minorities?

Of course the government can and must drop the stupid decree. The prevarication in making a decision is just allowing more rent-a-mobs to try to continue their rampage and force the government to say, "What can we do?" and give in to them.

What must be done -- and it needs no decree to do it -- is to arrest anyone who attacks any person or property and for the courts to award suitable punishments designed to deter further lawlessness.

The courts and the police have no business dealing with harmless flag-wavers, "blasphemers" and writers. What is at stake here is the future of the nation.

If the government is incapable of governing and the mob is allowed to rule the streets then we will be in for another era of military rule and can wave goodbye to dreams of freedom and democracy.

The government is fiddling while Indonesia burns. They must serve and protect the people and stop trying to ride the religious tiger or they will be replaced. Do we really want tanks on the streets of Jakarta again?
RAFIQ MAHMOOD
Bogor, West Java

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