Former members of the controversial group Fajar Nusantara Movement (Gafatar) may be allowed to participate in a transmigration program provided by the government as long as they uphold the state ideology of Pancasila, a minister said on Thursday.

The government would assist and put the former members of Gafatar who were recently forced from their homes by a mob to be included in a transmigration program, Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration Minister Marwan Jafar said.

"But on the condition that they no longer trouble about ideology. It is must be clear [they uphold] the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) and Pancasila," Marwan told journalists on Thursday.

The government would provide areas in Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi to resettle them if they had nowhere else to go, he added.

The government is also preparing an education program for the former Gafatar members who will return to the group's farm complex in Mempawah of the Pontianak regency in West Kalimantan, from which they were unlawfully evicted earlier this month.

However, they will still face opposition to their return by members of a mainstream religion that accuse them of heresy and because of unsubstantiated rumors involving the unexplained disappearances of several member of the now outlawed group.

Before they can reintegrate with the general society, Marwan said the former Gafatar members must first disband their organizational structure, with the help of the government's re-education program.

"They have their own state structure. They have a president, a prophet and even their own ministers," he said.

The Religious Affairs Ministry is also carrying out a re-education program with the former members of Gafatar to change their religious beliefs. Meanwhile, the Social Affairs Ministry is conducting promotional programs to try to make sure that they will not suffer from intimidation when they return home.

Hundreds of people, mostly from Central Java, have reportedly gone missing after they supposedly joined Gafatar, although they allegedly moved to Kalimantan voluntarily as part of the group attempt to establish a headquarters there.

A mob burned down the residences of several former members of the group in Mempawah last week and forced more than 1,000 of them, including children, from their homes and into temporary shelters.

The government had tried to move individuals back to their home areas, but they continued to meet rejection from local people because of the perception that they are heretics.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo called on his ministers to manage the issue well and to ensure the safety of the beleaguered citizens during the relocations. (rin)(+)

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