Freeze of FPI militia hailed, other paramilitary groups told to disband
Muhammad Nafik and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto and Muslim scholars hailed on Thursday the announced freeze of the paramilitary wing of the militant Islam Defenders Front (FPI) with a call on all other extremist groups or militias to immediately disband.
Many other paramilitary groups affiliated to political parties and those belonging to Nadhlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, the nation's two biggest Muslim organizations, should also freeze their operations since their mission was no longer relevant in the reform era, they added.
Speaking to journalists who asked him to comment on the cessation of FPI's violent activities, Endriartono said security was a matter that must be entrusted to the government and not to the civilian paramilitary groups.
"We do not need such civilian groups. The police handle the security and if the people need help, there are official security posts across the country," he said.
Endriartono said the presence of those civilian militia organizations had adversely posed threats to security and order.
"It is quite easy to provoke conflict among many groups and it would be very dangerous if they (opposing groups in the country) start to rise up against each other," the four-star general added.
Earlier last week, Endriartono made a similar call for other extremist and paramilitary organizations to cease their militaristic operations.
FPI, notorious for vandalizing bars and nightclubs, decided on Wednesday to indefinitely freeze its armed group's activities in Jakarta and throughout Indonesia.
The disbandment came less than one month after Laskar Jihad, a much larger paramilitary group, which was blamed for much of the sectarian fighting in Maluku and Central Sulawesi, dissolved itself.
That came in the wake of foreign pressure on Indonesia to get tougher against militant groups following the Bali bombing which claimed at least 190 lives, mostly foreigners.
Also, Muslim scholars hailed FPI's announcement as a proper decision, urging similar civilian paramilitary gangs to follow suit in an effort to nurture the nation's young democracy.
"It is a positive campaign for Islam amid the global fight against terrorism," Ulil Absar Abdalla, of the 40-million strong NU, told The Jakarta Post.
He praised Endriartono for making such a forceful call for all paramilitary organizations to disband. "I admire his stance. He is the right general to lead the military at the right time."
NU leader Solahuddin Wahid said the FPI's decision to dissolve itself would help boost the image of Islam despite the fact that the hard-line group did not represent Indonesian Muslims, most of whom claim to be moderate.
Solahuddin, also a deputy chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), said the existence of paramilitary gangs was a negative influence on democracy and security, and "does not develop the nation".
He said he believed that the dissolution of FPI was a result of fear by its sponsors of being accused of involvement in terrorism amid the global war on it.
Ulil said the FPI dissolved itself as the hard-line group had lost its "political protection from generals". Heavier public criticism against the gang also forced it to disband, he added.
He urged the government to use the Bali bombings as "momentum" to get tougher against all paramilitary gangs by pressuring them to quit their violent ways.
The FPI claimed it operated solely to rid the world of sin, but owners of the entertainment spots said they had been targeted after failing to pay protection money to the police.
In a sign that the authorities were adopting a tougher line against radicals, police last month arrested FPI leader Habib Rizieq Shihab, along with nine of his followers on charges of vandalism connected to their latest attack on a billiard center and nightclub in Central Jakarta. Rizieq is now under house arrest.