Fragile Papua
One death was too many.
A 15-year-old died from gunshot wounds while at least
11 others were injured, mostly teenagers, when police opened fire into a crowd
in Karubaga, Tolikara regency in Papua, as they were reportedly protesting
against Muslims conducting the Idul Fitri prayers on July 17. At least 60
families lost their homes and one mosque was razed, as well as 58 kiosks, while
more than 20 other buildings were vandalized. This single incident showed us
that beyond the proud traditions of Idul Fitri, “the day of victory” following
the Ramadhan fasting month, social relations are still too fragile.
The supposedly joyous day ended in deep insecurity in
an entire area.Even after National Police Chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti’s visit to
Karubaga, the reason security forces ended the protest with violence remains
unclear, while issues between the Muslim and Christian communities could
apparently be resolved through dialogue. Badrodin blames the violence on
“miscommunication”, saying that among those under investigation are the local
priest of the Indonesian Church of the Bible (GIDI) congregation Nayus Wenda
and his secretary Marten Jingga and that police will hunt the “provocateurs.”
The GIDI leaders have acknowledged issuing a letter on
July 11 to the Muslim community, requesting that the led prayers be held
indoors without a loudspeaker, because an international seminar of church youth
was to be held nearby. A protest ensued when the Muslims still held the mass
prayers outdoors using loudspeakers, as is the widespread practice to
anticipate limited space during Ied prayers. Badrodin has said that dialogue
involving the police and GIDI leaders led to an agreement to change the letter,
but the corrected letter had not been delivered, he said. For those outside
Papua it is not easy to imagine areas far from the provincial capital of
Jayapura; yet certainly the ratio of police to civilians across the vast nation
is too low — including in the multicultural Papuan towns and regencies where
violence has been traced to many factors beyond religion. In addition, the
morale and discipline of the police varies across the force, likewise among the
military members boosting security in several areas.
Nevertheless poor anticipation of trouble remains the
glaring fact in this case when police are responsible for domestic security,
especially as the GIDI letter was issued a week before Idul Fitri — regardless
of who will be named suspects in the fatal incident. On his Facebook account
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said he “severely condemns” the violence in
Tolikara and said he had ordered his security and intelligence chiefs to
immediately take necessary action for peace in Papua. At least those necessary
actions would need to include institutionalizing preventive measures across the
country, such as involving religious and community leaders and the police, to
regularly meet and discuss any potential issue of dispute. “Provocateurs” have
it easy when on a daily basis “harmony” remains superficial — as reflected in
reports of a few church burnings in Central Java following the Tolikara
incident.
thejakartapost.
As a nation, Indonesia has one major piece of unfinished business: providing a solid, unshaken and irreversible foundation for pluralism to flourish across the archipelago.
ReplyDeleteWhile our constitution firmly adopts the basic principles needed to support a pluralistic society, we are still far removed from implementing this way of life on a daily basis throughout the country.
The biggest tragedy is that it is the government and the state that are the biggest violators of the constitution in this regard. State officials — presidents, ministers, police officers — have long placed the protection of minority groups at the bottom of their priority list, if at all being taken into consideration.
The recent incident in Tolikara can’t be seen as an isolated case. It should be viewed in the light of accumulated problems arising from the state’s systematic negligence in tackling violence, radicalism and religious extremism.
The religious intolerance in some parts of our society is just the tip of the iceberg. Groups like the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), to name one example, have been freely roaming the archipelago while launching attacks in the name of religion and thus taking the law into their own hands. No Indonesian government since the fall of the authoritarian New Order regime has been able to stop this.
Vigilantism, radicalism and extremism are like contagious diseases. Once they are allowed to gain a foothold, they will spread. Others will copy the behavior and the situation will be out of control sooner rather than later.
Minority groups, such as the Ahmadiyah, will always be the first to suffer if the state fails to act. Targeted minorities will continue to live in fear in their own country if the government fails to fulfill its most important constitutional obligation: to protect all citizens equally.
That is why we call on President Joko Widodo to quickly provide protection to Ahmadis and other minorities under siege across Indonesia. It is never too late to act, especially when people’s lives are at stake.