Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) plans to summon president-elect Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and vice president-elect Jusuf Kalla to demand that they commit to upholding religious freedom in the country, amid cases of discrimination targeting religious minorities.

Komnas HAM commissioner Imdadun Rahmat said in Jakarta on Thursday that the commission felt the need to summon Jokowi to ensure that the future government was committed to protecting the right of every citizen to practice their religion or belief.

"We're hoping the new government is more responsive [in handling cases where religious freedom is compromised]," he told a press conference at Komnas HAM headquarters in Central Jakarta.

Imdadun warned the former Surakarta mayor not to fall into the same trap as President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who the commission deemed had failed to protect the religious rights of Indonesians. The commission said Yudhoyono had done very little to protect human rights and his administration was easily controlled by intolerant groups.

"It's a bad sign [when the government appears powerless] and it can lead to a failed state," Imdadun said. "The recommendation [to Jokowi] is a form of our disappointment in SBY. Even in the last 100 days of his tenure, serious cases of religious intolerance remain unsolved."

Komnas HAM urged Jokowi to establish a special committee tasked with solving cases of religious intolerance, which have steadily increased in the past four years.

A report from the Wahid Institute, which promotes pluralism and peaceful Islam, showed that religious intolerance cases in 2012 stood at 274, up from 267 in 2011. In 2010, the institute recorded 184 cases and 121 cases in 2009.

"The special committee is a signal that the government is serious [about handling religious intolerance cases," he continued. (nfo)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/09/04/komnas-ham-wants-jokowi-act-rising-intolerance.html