Yuliasri Perdani, Jakarta – Rights activists have called on the New York-based interfaith organization the Appeal of Conscience Foundation (ACF) to reconsider its decision to grant President Susilo Bambang with the World Statesman Award, following a string of attacks against religious minorities including the forced relocation of the Sampang Shia community last week.
Wahyudin Djafar of the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam) said on Sunday that the ACF needs to launch a probe into the eviction of the Shiites and evaluate Yudhoyono's performance in protecting minority groups.
"It is a paradox that the government sponsored the Shia community's eviction only weeks after the President received the award," Wahyudin said.
On Thursday, local officials in Sampang, Madura, used force to drive dozens of Shia members from a sports complex, where they had sought refuge for the past year, to low-cost apartments in Sidoardjo, East Java.
"The eviction shows that the government does not consistently guarantee their religious freedom or basic right to security in their hometown," Wahyudin said.
The relocation, officials said, was to prevent another clash between Shia community and the Sunni majority in Sampang. Less than a month before the relocation, Yudhoyono was given the award in recognition of his work in promoting pluralism and human rights.
Setara Institute chairman Hendardi said that Yudhoyono must prove that he deserved the award by finding a solution that would help the Shia community.
"He did not deserve the award in the first place, but he insisted on accepting it. It is time for him to demonstrate his quality before his tenure ends next year," he said.
Hendardi said that relocating the Shia members to the Sidoarjo apartments was wrong, given the fact that most of them live from farming. "It is almost impossible to create a farm around their new residences," he said.
Previously, House of Representatives' Speaker Marzuki Alie maintained that the relocation was a temporary measure until the security situation in Sampang improved. Wahyudin doubted that the government would return the Shiites to their old homes.
"How can we know that the government will keep their promise? Until now, the Ahmadiyah members are still unable to go back to Cikeusik," he said, referring to the Islamic minority sect Jamaah Ahmadiyah, who sought refuge after being attacked by local vigilante groups in Banten.
The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) coordinator Haris Azhar said that expecting the government to solve the Shia problem would be too much.
He said that the best way to resolve the case was by involving independent groups. "We are trying to get the National Commission on Human Rights [Komnas HAM], the Ombudsman, the National Child Protection Commission [KPAI] and the Commission on Violence against Women [Komnas Perempuan] to create a fact-finding team on this case," he said.
Presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said that the relocation was part of an effort to provide better protection for the Shia community. Julian also said that Yudhoyono deserved the World Statesman Award.
"The award was bestowed upon the President due to his commitment in maintaining diversity in the country [...] but we must remember that no country can ever be free from tensions," he told The Jakarta Post.
Another presidential spokesperson Teuku Faizasyah said that the award should be perceived as "a boost to create a better Indonesia".
"As president SBY said in New York [during the award ceremony], we still have problems, including pockets of intolerance. The award is expected to be a momentum for us to continue our endeavor to achieve a more tolerant society," he said.