Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – Several mass organization (Ormas) leaders have called on the government to boost law enforcement to deter organizations from employing violence, adding that disbanding organizations was not a solution.
Law enforcement would also prevent the potential anarchy that followed any disbandment of organizations, they said.
"Restricting [the presence of] mass organizations will be a human rights violation. It breaches the right to assemble," said Saleh Daulay, chairman of Muhammadiyah's youth-wing organization. Saleh was speaking at a seminar on Saturday discussing the Mass Organization bill.
He added that poor law enforcement had opened the door to violent groups such as the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), to impose its power on others.
"It seems today that the FPI has greater power than law enforcers, even than the President. The FPI would not have such courage to freely conduct violent acts had law enforcers used the Criminal Code (KUHP) to punish those comitting violence," Saleh added.
The violent measures frequently practiced by the FPI, Saleh said, should not be used by lawmakers as a pretext to repress mass organizations across the country.
The deliberation of the Mass Organization bill has attracted public attention following the rejection by Central Kalimantan residents, mostly from the Dayak tribe, of the FPI plan to open a chapter in the province. Local residents staged a demonstration at Tjilik Riwut Airport on Feb. 11 to prevent FPI leaders from coming to the city of Palangkaraya.
Following the incidence, the East Java chapter of Banser and GP Ansor, the youth wing of Indonesia's largest Islamic group, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), urged the government to suspend or disband all mass organizations that use violence. The FPI is widely known for its use of violence in pushing its ideas.
FPI legal staff member Hasbi Ibrohim said disbanding mass organizations such as the FPI in order to curb anarchy would not resolve the core problem, which according to Hasbi was poverty.
"We can easily make a new organization if we are disbanded by the government. Moreover, the FPI would not bother do what it has been doing had law enforcers, the police particular, fulfilled their responsibilities. They fail to uphold justice by protecting corruptors who participate in nurturing poverty in Indonesia," Hasbi said, adding that the FPI would focus on combating corruption from now on.
A member of the House of Representatives' special committee on the bill, Abdul Malik Haramain of the National Awakening Party (PKB), promised that the House would guide the deliberation of the bill to avoid lawmakers and government officials using it as a tool to repress mass organizations in the country.
"We will ensure that the revision of the bill provides an opportunity for the public to report violent groups to the Home Ministry," he said.
He assured that the deliberation of the bill was not meant for anarchic groups such as the FPI, but for the managing of foreign-funded organizations operating in Indonesia.
"There are more than 160 foreign-funded organizations in the country, of which less than 100 are registered. We must do something about them," he said.
Tri Pranadji, an expert from the Home Ministry, assured that the revision of the 1985 Law on Mass Organization was meant to re-organize foreign organizations operating in Indonesia, as well as foreign-funded ones, as the ministry had found that some of them were involved in money laundering.
"We have found indications leading to involvement of foreign funded organizations in irregularities, such as money laundering. However, there has yet to be any proof of this, but we are nearly there," he said, refusing to disclose any further details.
"The revision of the bill must instead disband foreign-funded organizations because they are a threat to the unity and security of the country. Some of these foreign-funded organizations even have offices at several ministries. This is dangerous because they might see important data [about Indonesia] and transfer it to their respected countries," Saleh said.