TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsState turns blind eye to rising intolerance
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Churchgoers are silhouetted as they attend Christmas mass in Bekasi on December 25, 2021. (AFP/Rezas)
R
eligious intolerance in Indonesia is back in the spotlight after the alleged vandalism of a house hosting a Christian youth retreat in Sukabumi, West Java, with criticism mounting over the government’s perceived leniency following its plan to seek a suspended sentence for the seven suspects involved.
Rights group Amnesty International Indonesia, in a statement issued on Friday, particularly condemned remarks made by Thomas Harming Suwarta, a special staffer to Human Rights Minister Natalius Pigai, who described the incident as stemming from “a misunderstanding among residents”.
“The statement is both insensitive and contrary to the state’s obligation to uphold the rights to religious freedom and belief,” said Amnesty International Indonesia executive director Usman Hamid. “Seeking to suspend the suspects’ detention sends a message that the state tolerates violence driven by religious hatred.”
He further criticized the government’s ongoing failure to take decisive action against perpetrators of sectarian violence, such as those frequently targeting members of the Ahmadiyah and Shia communities in the Sunni Muslim-majority country.
“Instead of condemning the attack in Sukabumi, the Human Rights Ministry appears to be siding with the perpetrators. This is deeply ironic and adds insult to injury for the victims”.
Read also: Police detain seven for vandalizing West Java home used for Christian retreat
West Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Rudi Setiawan previously explained that the incident began when local residents grew suspicious that the private residence was being used as an unlicensed place of worship during a gathering of dozens of Christian youths.
