NGOs demand independent probe into Mahdi case

NGOs demand independent probe into Mahdi case

Tb. Arie Rukmantara, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) urged the National
Commission of Human Rights to set up an independent team to
investigate possible human rights violations that may have
occurred during the recent deadly clash between police and the
people of Selena village in Palu, Central Sulawesi.

The Indigenous People's Alliance (AMAN), the Indonesian Forum
for the Environment (Walhi) and the Commission for Victims of
Violence and Missing Persons (Kontras) made the call during the
weekend.

They said the reporting of the clash illustrated police and
the public's misconceptions about the legitimate and traditional
beliefs of the Selena people.

"The police have been the only source (of information) about
what happened in the village. No one really knows why the police
raided the village in the first place and why the violence
occurred? Therefore, we urge the commission to conduct a
thorough and objective investigation in this case," AMAN
executive secretary Emilianus Ola Kleden told The Jakarta Post

Selena, a mountainous region located about 11 kilometers west
of Palu, Central Sulawesi, made headlines last week after five
people died in a clash between police and members of the local
Mahdi sect, which blends Islam with local traditions.

The police have said they initially only intended to summon
the Mahdi leader for questioning after the sect was reported to
them by people in the area.

Since then high-ranking police officers and a government
minister have declared the sect "deviant".

Emil said state officials were mistaken in their view of the
group as a dangerous cult.

"The (original Mahdi) group was just an ordinary martial arts
group that existed years ago. It just so happens that its leader
has the power to cure people. Such similar groups can be easily
found elsewhere in Java because they are part of traditional
teachings, not 'deviant' ones," Emil said.

The Palu-based Yayasan Tanah Merdeka executive director
Arianto Sangaji said the authorities had failed properly identify
the Mahdi group.

"The teachings were not more than rituals carried out by
traditional farmers, who are also known as the To Lare (mountain
people). The rituals consist of shamanistic rites, the prevention
of disease and martial arts rituals," Arianto wrote in Kompas.

Emil said calling the group a "deviant" cult showed that the
government could only see things from the viewpoint of mainstream
religions -- Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Hinduism,
Buddhism and Confucianism.

"That shows that the government can't appreciate and protect
traditional knowledge, which actually is required in the
(country's) laws," he said.

The 1945 Constitution also guarantees the right of people to
freely practice their religion.

Emil said the state should appreciate traditional forms of
knowledge because Indonesia had ratified the International
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination.

"These laws stipulate that traditional knowledge must be
preserved and be protected," he said.

Ridho Saleh of Walhi, who made a study of the Mahdi group six
years ago, urged the government to improve the situation in the
local villages so that people who had fled the area could return
to their normal lives.

"The government should do its utmost to prevent more violence
from taking place," he said.