Tifa Asrianti and Novia D. Rulistia, Jakarta – 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 of how to educate youths about ethics in the first place.
M. Choirul Anam from Human Rights Watch, a non-governmental 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. Punk is only a way to express oneself, just like a person wearing a necklace. The punk kids did not disturb public order, so the police do 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.
"Last but not least, the youths did not receive proper legal treatment in this case. The police executed punishment against them without going through any legal channels. There will be more human rights violations if we don't process this case legally," he said.
The sharia police caught some 60 youths after a music concert on Dec. 10. Police brought the youths to a detention center where the male adolescents had their spiky Mohawks – deemed insulting to Islamic tradition – buzzed off. For female punks, their hair was cut into short, blunt bobs. The police also told the youngsters to take a bath in a lake and pray communal prayers.
Ahmad Suaedy, executive director of the Wahid Institute, a non-governmental organization on pluralism, said that while sharia police tried to uphold the Islamic values according to the local law qanun, their methods were not in accordance with Islamic values.
"The way the sharia police handled the case was not ethical. They should educate the kids, instead of treating them like public enemies. There are better ways to uphold the qanun. Even drug users now receive treatment for their addiction instead of imprisonment, because the national law has been relaxed for them," he said.
Joshua Andrew, the coordinator of the group that held a rally in Jakarta to protest the police on Saturday, said the arrest was outrageous as they had not committed any crime but were only expressing their love of punk music.