ICC Note:

Asia Times says that pre-election tension mixed with growing Muslim extremism is increasing the risk for violence in Indonesia. Unfortunately, these extremists often have strong government ties. The article calls the Islamic Defender’s Front tactics as taking the nation, “back to the pre-democracy period under former dictator Suharto…” The situation in Indonesia is a complicated one, but Muslims are using religion to try to force other Muslims for voting for a Christian candidate. There is even one case where a Muslim family was denied a funeral until they signed a paper saying they would not vote for the Christian candidate.

3/27/2017 Indonesia (Asia Times) – en Islamic hardliners attacked a church under construction in Jakarta’s eastern suburb of Bekasi a few days ago, police arrived in force and were eventually forced to fire teargas to disperse the mob. Not long ago, they would have stood idly by and done nothing.

Police links to groups like the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), which have been used in the past as a proxy stand-over force to extract protection money from businesses, go back to the pre-democracy period under former dictator Suharto when Islam was otherwise repressed.

The difference now is police chief General Tito Karnavian, former head of the elite Detachment 88 counter-terrorism unit and widely viewed as an incorruptible professional. Hand-picked by President Joko Widodo last July, Karnavian will serve until 2023, a longer period in the job than any of his predecessors.

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