The Jakarta Post
The police are reluctant to get tough with the hard-line Islam Defenders Front (FPI) group because of its ties to the Indonesian Military (TNI), a legislator says.“There is information saying the FPI is a pet of the TNI, and the police hesitate to deal face-to-face with the military, because police consider the armed forces their elder brother,” said Eva Kusuma Sundari, an Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician.She added the FPI was originally established to accommodate the interests of hard-line Muslim groups that had suffered from oppression by the government during the New Order era.“The organization is now part of the conflict management strategy the TNI exercises to maintain its power. The FPI serves as a stepping stone for the military to re-enter politics,” she said.It was a blatant accusation of the military’s role in supporting the FPI, which is kno...