SBY ‘Undeserving’ of Award for Tolerance: Rights Group
The Jakarta Post:
Members of Batak Christian congregations, Indonesian Shiite Muslim and Islamic sect Ahmadiyah participate in a protest outside the US embassy in Jakarta on May 6, 2013. They held a peace protest against the plan to give the World Statesman award to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono from The Appeal of Conscience tolerance and peace Foundation in New York.
An Indonesian human rights organization has blasted a US-based interfaith group’s decision to recognize President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for championing religious freedom, arguing that he has failed abjectly on that front.
Ahmadis remove damaged furniture from a burnt mosque in Cipasung, SINGAPARNA, Tasikmalaya, West Java http://www.tempo.co/read/news/2013/05/08/173478786/Polisi-Usut-Motif-Penyerangan-Masjid-Ahmadiyah
The Human Rights Working Group said on Monday that there were “several reasons why SBY doesn’t deserve” the World Statesman Award from the Appeal of Conscience Foundation.
Kemenag: Ahmadiyya Case Solution, Stop Violence and Obey Rules http://www.tempo.co/read/news/2013/05/08/173478786/Polisi-Usut-Motif-Penyerangan-Masjid-Ahmadiyah
“On cases of [religious-based] violence and intolerance, the president has failed to uphold the law in a fair manner, both in preventing violence committed in the name of religion and in ensuring that the victims receive justice,” Muhammad Choirul Anam, the HRWG deputy director, said in the statement.
“On the other hand, law enforcement and government officials in the SBY administration have actually been involved in acts of intolerance and even criminalization of the victims.”
He added that the government had also failed to nurture a culture of tolerance and to afford protection to minority religious groups in the country.
Nowhere to pray: A local resident shows the wall of an Ahmadiyah mosque in the West Java regency of Tasikmalaya, which was burned by a mob on Sunday.http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/05/08/issue-day-mob-ransacks-ahmadiyah-village.html
“Another reason that SBY doesn’t deserve the award is because he has far too often remained silent on the rights abuses suffered by members of minority faiths in Indonesia,” Choirul said.