ConflictBarometer_2016

ASIA AND OCEANIA
INDONESIA (AHMADI)
Intensity: 2 | Change: | Start: 1980
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
Ahmadi vs. Muslims
subnational predominance
The non-violent crisis over subnational predominance in various
provinces between members of the Ahmadiyya community
and radical Muslims continued.
Violence against religious buildings, such as Ahmadi mosques
as well as open discrimination were predominantly carried
out by Muslims, viewing Ahmadis as heretics.
On January 5, the Bangka regency government, Bangka-
Belitung Islands province, published a letter ordering the local
29 Ahmadis to convert to Sunni Islam, lest they be expelled
from the province. On May 23, unknown attackers destroyed
the Ahmadiyya al-Kautsar mosque in Gemuh, Central
Java. Religious freedom advocacy group Sentara Institute and
the country's second-largest Islamic organization Muhammadiya
condemned the attack. In accord with the 2008 ministerial
decree against proselytizing by Ahmadi Muslims, police
detained eight Ahmadis for four days in East Lombok regency,
West Nusa Tenggara province, on 21 June. After being
released, police and village officials urged them to sign
statements promising not to disseminate Ahmadiyya beliefs,
threatening them with expulsion if they did not change their
beliefs. On June 30, the National Commission on Human
Rights called on the government to assist displaced Ahmadi
to return to their hometown of Ketapang in West Kalimantan
province. They had been expelled in February 2006 due to accusations
of blasphemy and relocated to a shelter in Mataram,
West Nusa Tenggara. On July 26, 160 police personnel and
one village official closed the Ahmadiyya al-Furqan mosque
in Sukabumi regency, West Java province. Police stated the
mosque had to be closed as it endangered public order and
social peace. At an International Peace Symposium in Yogyakarta,
Yogyakarta Special Region province, on October 29,
a leader of the Indonesian Ahmadiyya community, Jamaah
Ahmadiyah Indonesia, appealed to the government to protect
Ahmadi rights.
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INDONESIA (ISLAMIST MILITANT GROUPS)
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 1981
The violent crisis over the orientation of the political system
between Islamist militant groups fighting for an Islamic state
and the government continued. Throughout the year, violent
encounters between militants and security forces resulted in
at least 32 fatalities and 31 injured.
On January 9, the government replaced ''Operation Camar
Maleo IV” with ''Operation Tinombala”, aiming to kill ''Santoso”,
head of the Mujahidin Indonesia Timur (MIT). The operation
included 3,500 police and military personnel and was
repeatedly extended, also after the military killed Santoso in
Poso, Central Sulawesi province, on July 18. In the course of
the operation, police and military forces killed 15 MIT members
and arrested six.
On January 14, the so-called Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility
for an attack in the capital Jakarta, which included two
suicide bombings, the detonation of several bombs in a café,
and a shooting [→ Syria, Iraq et al. (IS)]. The attack left the four
militants and four civilians dead and injured another 24.
On July 5, an alleged militant committed a suicide attack on a
police station in Surakarta, Central Java province, killing himself
and injuring a police officer. On October 20, an alleged
IS-supporter attacked police with knives and pipe bombs in
Tangerang, Banten province, wounding three police officers
before being shot. On December 10 and 25, five militants
were killed and eight arrested in police operations in connection
with planned attacks on Christmas and New Year's Eve.
Police seized explosives and weapons. As in the previous
year, the government installed the 155,000-strong ''Operation
Candle” to secure churches and sites of celebration during
the holidays.
Throughout the year, police seized small weapons, ammunition,
and IEDs as well as arrested several people accused of
planning terrorist attacks in the country and abroad. For instance,
on November 23, police forces seized a large amount
of IEDs in Majalengka, West Java province, and detained four
men who were suspected to plan attacks and sell weapons to
other militant groups.
In the course of the year, the government arrested more than
100 people for alleged membership of an Islamist militant
group, at least 17 were linked to the Jakarta attacks. After
the January attack, the government debated to amend
the Anti Terrorism Law, giving police and military more competences,
such as preventively detaining suspects for up to
six months. Indonesian human rights organizations criticized
these amendments, especially after a man detained by police
forces died in custody on March 9. On October 20, the House
of Representatives approved a law, which strengthened the
military's competences in counterterrorism measures. tgu
INDONESIA (MUSLIMS – CHRISTIANS)
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 1998
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
Muslims vs. Christians
subnational predominance
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
MIT et al. vs. government,
system/ideology
147
The violent crisis over subnational religious predominance
between Muslims and Christians continued.
In previous years, violent clashes had occurred repeatedly,
especially in the mainly Christian western provinces, as well
as Aceh, a province under Sharia law with a higher level of autonomy
from the central government. In 2016, tensions between
Muslims and Christians manifested mostly in church
closures, the denial of building permits and other related administrative
matters, sometimes accompanied by protests.
In early January, Sharia police in Aceh Singkil regency, Aceh,
reportedly removed two church tents, built as temporary re-