Ronna Nirmala – The Jakarta Police said on Friday that they had questioned three witnesses about an attack on the Home Affairs Ministry by hard-line Islamic groups.
The attack on Thursday happened as hundreds of members of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) and the Islamic People's Forum (FUI) rallied in front of the ministry to protest its decision to revise several regional bylaws restricting the sale and distribution of alcohol. Some of the protesters began pelting the ministry with stones, breaking several windows.
"Everyone has the freedom to express themselves, but they cannot damage government property," Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said. He said the police would not sanction the two organizations, but would go after the individuals involved in the vandalism.
"We have questioned three demonstrators. We aren't judging them based on their connection to any groups, but on the individuals responsibility for the damage," he said.
Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi said on Thursday that while the FPI and FUI had the constitutional right to exist, the ministry would "evaluate" the groups' involvement in the incident.
"We have decided to take two courses of action," he said. "First, we have already asked law enforcement to investigate the case and charge those responsible for the attack. Second, we are going to evaluate the organizations, which might lead to freezing them over anarchic acts."
Gamawan did not offer details on potential actions his ministry might take against the groups.
The FPI has long waged what it calls a moral crusade, often in direct violation of laws and regulations. Few of its members have ever faced charges, and those who have ended up in court have received light sentences.
"We are not looking for a scapegoat or to distance ourselves from the case," FPI chairman Muhammad Rizieq Shihab said on Friday. "We will leave it to the police. Let them investigate because they must have obtained the surveillance camera footage showing who was responsible for [Thursday's] incident."
The protest and attack occurred despite the Home Affairs Ministry's insistence that it was not seeking to repeal the bylaws on alcohol sales. Spokesman Reydonnyzar Moenek said the ministry had simply asked the regions to revise the bylaws in line with higher laws and regulations.
"It is just a misinterpretation of the central government's letter on the liquor bylaws, Reydonnyzar said. The ministry, he said, would change "the wording" of the letter to avoid further confusion.
Rizieq said that after meeting ministry officials on Friday, the FPI would examine the local bylaws and help get them in law with existing laws. "The FPI will form a team to formulate a comprehensive solution, which will be submitted to the ministry," he said.