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