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Public calls for disbandment of FPI as permit ends
As the permit for hard-line group Islam Defenders Front (FPI) is due to expire next month, calls have been mounting for the disbandment of the group, which has a track record of religious-related violence
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span>As the permit for hard-line group Islam Defenders Front (FPI) is due to expire next month, calls have been mounting for the disbandment of the group, which has a track record of religious-related violence.
FPI’s five-year permit as a mass organization will end on June 20.
The government requires all organizations to register and extend their permits with the Home Ministry, as stipulated in Law no. 16/2017 on mass organizations, to control them.
However, an online petition urging the Home Ministry not to extend the FPI’s permit has garnered widespread support from the public, with more than 180,000 petitioners since it was created on May 6.
The petition, created by Ira Bisyir on change.org, refers to the FPI as “an organization that spreads radicalism and supports violence just like Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI)”.
The HTI is a Muslim group disbanded by the government in 2017 for contravening the Pancasila state ideology and the principle of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.
Calls for the FPI’s disbandment have grown over the years, with many accusing the group of acting above the law with its constant raids, violent tendencies and anti-Pancasila sentiments.
FPI leader Habib Rizieq called for the implementation of a sharia-based Indonesia during a “212 reunion” rally, referring to a rally in December 2016 that demanded then-Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama be jailed for blasphemy.
FPI spokesman Slamet Maarif rejected claims that his group spread radicalism, adding that the group would request a permit extension from the Home Ministry, CNN Indonesia reported.
Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo said his ministry had not received a request for a permit extension from the FPI.
He said that upon receiving such a request, his ministry would evaluate the FPI before issuing a permit extension, adding that the public’s opposition to the group would not automatically be taken into consideration.
“What is important is that mass organizations must accept Pancasila as the state ideology,” Tjahjo told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
He added that his ministry would ensure citizens’ rights to freedom of speech and freedom of association as long as they adhered to the state ideology.
The Home Ministry’s director general for political affairs and general administration, Sudarmo, said his ministry would consider mass organizations’ track records as well as suggestions from concerned ministries and institutions before issuing permits.
“There are 17 requirements that mass organizations must fulfill to obtain permits, among them is that they must not be involved in activities that violate the law,” he said.
Sudarmo said the government would not accommodate mass organizations that did not have permits, although no sanctions would be imposed on them.
“The FPI still has time to request a permit extension. The process usually takes up to 15 days,” he said.
Sociologist at Yogyakarta State University, Amika Wardana, said the FPI’s right to association should be respected as long as the group was not proven to be involved in organized crime.
He added that challenging the state ideology through ways allowed by the constitution should not be a reason to ban groups, especially in a democratic country that upheld civil rights.
Amika argued that although the FPI has conducted raids before, the group had also opted for legal processes to influence policy-makers, such as by filing a judicial review in 2013 to support local administrations in prohibiting the sale of alcoholic beverages — which it won.
“If the FPI has been involved in organized, violent crimes, then there must be legal proof. The problem is that the police seem to be overly careful when dealing with the FPI, such as in raid cases, so there has not been a way to legally prove that these incidents are organized,” he said.
Senior FPI member Novel Bamukmin lambasted the petition that targeted the group, saying it was initiated by “blasphemers” who are intimidated by the Muslim majority.
“It’s clear that the petition is from transgressors, communists and LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] supporters,” he told the Post. (ars)
