Ahmadi refugees to be relocated

MATARAM: The West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) provincial administration will relocate 33 Ahmadi families, comprising 140 people, according to a government official.

“We are currently deliberating with the West Lombok regency administration to decide on the relocation site,” the head of NTB provincial administration’s public relations division, Lalu Moh. Faozal, said in Mataram on Monday.

Hundreds of Ahmadis were forced to leave their homes in Ketapang village, Gegerung subdistrict, Lingsar district, West Lombok, in February 2006, for belonging to the Ahmadiyah sect, which is considered deviant in Indonesia.

They have since taken refuge at Wisma Transito in Mataram.

Lalu said relocation was chosen to make sure that the rights of the Ahmadis as citizens of Indonesia were guaranteed.