Servicemen requested to help curb spread of HIV/AIDS

Servicemen requested to help curb spread of HIV/AIDS

Religious leaders have requested members of the Indonesian
Military (TNI) and National Police to stop backing prostitution
and drug trafficking to help reduce the spread of HIV.

Leaders from the Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI), Nahdlatul
Ulama (NU), Muhammadiyah and the Communion of Churches in
Indonesia, as well as Catholic and Buddhist leaders declared on
Thursday that the HIV/AIDS problem was a "national threat" and
they were ready to fight it.

They agreed to encourage other religious leaders to promote
family unity among their followers, thus reducing extramarital
affairs and drug use among them.

However, they conceded that they could not work alone in
addressing the problems.

"I know that people still listen to ulemas, but most people do
not take in what they say," Ma'ruf Amin, the head of MUI's
commission of fatwa (religious edicts), said at an open dialog
hosted by the offices of the Coordinating Ministry for People's
Welfare and the National AIDS Commission.

Therefore, they also asked police and military officials to
control those members who have backed illegal activities that
contribute to the spread of HIV/AIDS.

"I just read in a newspaper that a lot of police and military
members are involved in these illegal activities, which are the
source of the spread of HIV/AIDS," said Mardiatmaja, a Catholic
leader. "It would be better if the commission also invited them
to this dialog."

According to data presented by Farid Husain, the secretary of
the commission, 12 million to 19 million people in Indonesia are
at high risk of acquiring HIV/AIDS.

They are sex workers, drug users and those who frequent
prostitutes as well as their spouses. -- JP