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ec. 19, p. 1

Following the round up and imposition of penalties upon a group of youths in Aceh for wearing punk rock haircuts or attire, some believe that it is clear that certain members of the sharia police in the region require additional education and training.

Wearing Islamic teachings on their sleeves and holding hair clippers in their hands, the police have shown that they are not fully aware how to educate youths about ethics in the first place.

M. Choirul Anam from Human Rights Watch, a nongovernmental organization on human rights, said that the sharia police had conducted at least three major violations against human rights in the case.

“First, they violated freedom of expression. To be a punk is only a way of expressing oneself, just like a person wearing a necklace. The punk kids did not disturb public order, so the police did not have to catch them,” he said.

Choirul said that the second violation was that the police treated the youths in inhuman ways that were against the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which Indonesia also signed in 1985.

Your comments:

Aceh is inviting tourists to come and enjoy Aceh’s beauty and harmony. I was told a family from Medan was visiting Banda Aceh to attend their son’s inauguration as an Indonesian Military (TNI) officer.

Passing the border of Medan — Aceh Province, they were stopped by police and asked why the woman did not use a hijab and the man did not use peci.

It is also said that at the airport, hijab and peci are available for incoming foreign tourists so they can enjoy the beauty and harmony of Aceh using Muslim clothes.

I hope, for the shake of Aceh, that the local governing authorities have more education than the
sharia police.
Widya Utama

The problem is due to bad sequencing of education. There is no doubt that religious fanaticism and adherence would be greatly reduced if people learned of religion as adults, when their brains were fully capable of questioning and analyzing the premises.
Gold

M. Choirul Anam from the Human Rights Watch and Ahmad Suaedy, executive director of the Wahid Institute, are both wrong as the religious police in Aceh acted according to sharia law, which radicals see as above every other existing human law in the world.
Edo E

I am for Islam and for minority rights, but I do not support the extremism in Islam and control
of moral.

Islam should be mercy for the world, but not a second form of Communism. Believe me or not, most Muslims do not want an Iranian-form of Islam or the Saudi-form of Islam. They want to simply pray.
Rahim
Germany

Aceh is part of Indonesia and as such must comply with the laws and constitution of Indonesia and the international human rights legislation to which Indonesia is a signatory. To say otherwise is just ignorance.

If Aceh doesn’t want to be part of the world, it is fine. Don’t buy our cars, don’t watch TV and don’t use telephones.
“Rastaman”

I think we are all should look at the “real” situation. I cannot judge the sharia police. Aceh never had a “punk” tradition at all before. Where did it come from out of the blue?

Is “punk” tradition Islamic tradition? Everyone knows where it comes from. One more thing: Although they didn’t disturb anyone during the concert, what about before. We have to look at the real situation again.
Gunar