PDI Perjuangan agrees to Islamic law in Aceh

PDI Perjuangan agrees to Islamic law in Aceh

JAKARTA (JP): In a surprising move, the Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) unexpectedly expressed
acceptance of the implementation of Islamic law in Aceh, backing
down from a previous statement it had issued earlier.

PDI Perjuangan deputy chairman Roy B.Janis said on Tuesday
that there were no more problems in the implementation of Islamic
law as the country had acknowledged it for decades in several
aspects of daily life.

"Actually, the country had already implemented Islamic law
especially in marital and probate laws. Not just in Aceh, but in
all parts of the country, so we should not make a problem out of
this," Roy said in a media briefing after the party's weekly-
meeting.

He further underlined that in Aceh the implementation of
Islamic law had already been decided by Law No.44/1999 so there
was no need for further discussion on the matter.

"What is important for PDI Perjuangan is that the
implementation of Islamic Law in the province will not present a
threat to the unitary state and should strengthen our country,"
Roy remarked.

Last week, the largest party in the country indicated that it
would reject Islamic law saying that it was against the basic
principles of the country as mentioned in the 1945 Constitution,
the state ideology of Pancasila and the principles of a unitary
state.

It was a very unpopular decision as many see the
implementation of Islamic law, as demanded by the Aceh people, to
be one of the possibilities of winning over the hearts of the
Acehnese and to calm their call for freedom.

President Abdurrahman Wahid also blasted the decision saying
that the government will go ahead with the implementation of the
law despite opposition from PDI Perjuangan.

Islamic law is stated in the Special Autonomy draft of Aceh
Nanggroe Darussalam that is currently being discussed by the
House of Representatives special committee.

The proposed draft also gives the province wide authority in
security, financial and legal matters.

However, PDI Perjuangan did not provide further elaboration as
to how the draft actually proposed to cover the wide range of
aspects for implementation that would include financial and legal
aspects as the current Law No.44/1999 only allows the province to
implement Islamic law in social, educational, religious and
cultural fields.

When asked if PDI Perjuangan agreed to the implementation of
Islamic Law, Roy said, "Agreed...there is no problem whatsoever."

He even said that the party's earlier statement might have
been made in a different context and not regarding the
implementation of Islamic law. (dja)