CSW\u2019s new report on Indonesia, which will be launched on 25 February in the UK Parliament, warns that \u201cReligious intolerance is no longer confined to areas such as West Java and Aceh, known to be particularly conservative, nor is it confined to Christians and Ahmadis. Shi\u2019a Muslims, Sufi Muslims, Confucians, Buddhists, Hindus, Baha\u2019is, Jews, traditional indigenous believers and atheists are all under attack.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The report, Indonesia: Pluralism in Peril – The rise of religious intolerance across the archipelago<\/i>, draws on more than 15 years of work in Indonesia by CSW and contains first-hand testimonies and comprehensive analysis of trends such as impunity in crimes against religious minorities and the criminalisation of the victims of persecution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The launch event at the House of Commons is co-hosted by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on International Freedom of Religion or Belief, the APPG for Indonesia and the APPG for Ahmadiyya. It will be presented in the European Parliament a week later, on 4 March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An interfaith delegation from Indonesia will testify at a hearing to launch the report, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 The Reverend Favor Bancin from the Communion of Churches in Indonesia<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Dr Ahmad Suaedy, Executive Director of the Abdurrahman Wahid Centre for Inter-Faith Dialogue, at the University of Indonesia and former Director of the Wahid Institute<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Father Benny Susetyo from the Catholic Bishops Conference<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Representatives of the Ahmadiyya and Shi\u2019a communities<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leading scholars and experts specializing in Indonesia have endorsed the report, including Martin van Bruinessen, of Utrecht University, who describes it as a \u201ctimely and well-researched\u201d study of \u201cprobably the most worrying developments in post-Suharto Indonesia\u201d. Government inaction \u201cor worse\u201d, says van Bruinessen, has \u201cdeprived numerous Indonesians of the most basic human rights and has arguably empowered society\u2019s most intolerant voices\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr Peter Carey, Adjunct Professor at the University of Indonesia and Emeritus Fellow at Trinity College, Oxford, has described the report as \u201crequired reading\u201d for anyone concerned about Indonesia\u2019s future. \u201cStanding firm against religious bigots and safeguarding its dearly bought traditions of pluralism and tolerance are vital if Indonesia is to realize its full potential as Southeast Asia\u2019s largest democracy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The report contains in-depth analysis of the Government of Indonesia\u2019s policies and actions which, the report concludes, have fuelled intolerance. There are also detailed recommendations, which are especially pertinent given Indonesia\u2019s upcoming Presidential elections later this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Benedict Rogers, author of the report and CSW\u2019s East Asia Team Leader, said, \u201cThis report is intended to serve as a wake-up call to Indonesia and the international community, to warn that Indonesia\u2019s much celebrated tradition of religious pluralism is in grave peril. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has presided over the introduction of the most discriminatory legislation in the country\u2019s recent history. He has given religious extremists license to spread hatred and perpetrate violence, some of his ministers have made inflammatory remarks that could be interpreted as a green light for intolerance; the number of Christian churches, Ahmadi mosques, Shi\u2019a communities and other religious minorities that have been forcibly closed, violently attacked or otherwise marginalized has risen year on year, and many Indonesians now live in fear. With Presidential and Parliamentary elections in Indonesia this year, now is the time to highlight these issues and urge the new government to take action to prevent further intolerance and to protect and promote the values of pluralism on which Indonesia was founded.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To RSVP, to arrange interviews or receive an advance copy of the report, please contact Kiri Kankhwende, Press Officer at Christian Solidarity Worldwide on +44 (0)20 8329 0045 \/ +44 (0) 78 2332 9663, email kiri@csw.org.uk<\/a> or visit www.csw.org.uk<\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is a Christian organisation working for religious freedom through advocacy and human rights, in the pursuit of justice.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. The launch will be held on Tuesday 25 February at 6pm, in Committee Room 9 in the House of Commons. Please RSVP to kiri@csw.org.uk<\/a> .<\/p>\n\n\n\nNotes to Editors:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n