Thai tragedy has nothing to do with religion: NU
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) chairman Hasyim Muzadi met Thailand's Ambassador to Indonesia, Atchrara Ceriputra, on Tuesday to discuss last week's tragedy in her country that resulted in the deaths of 85 Muslim rioters, and later said the bloodshed had nothing to do with religious sentiment.
Hasyim made the statement following reports that a group of Islamists in Surakarta, Central Java, were actively searching out and trying to harass non-Muslim Thai citizens to get revenge for the deaths of fellow Muslims in southern Thailand.
Ceriputra, however, said the harassment of Thai expatriates was just a rumor and that her embassy had not yet received any reports of such incidents.
After a closed door meeting with Ceriputra at the NU headquarters in Kramat Raya, Central Jakarta, Hasyim urged Indonesian Muslims not to be narrow-minded in their responses to the tragedy and asked them to help Thailand find a solution to the problem.
The 85 deaths took place on Oct. 25 after a protest by some 3,000 demonstrators from the Muslim south of predominantly Buddhist Thailand. At least 1,300 were rounded up and packed into four military trucks. Six of the 85 dead were killed by gunshot wounds in the rowdy protest, while the rest suffocated in the back of the trucks.
Hasyim said that during the meeting he had asked Ceriputra a number of questions, including whether her government considered the protesters to be part of an armed separatist group.
"The ambassador told me that the Thai government had never viewed the unarmed protesters as being part of a separatist group. However, she admitted that violence had frequently erupted there," he added.
The leader of the 40 million-strong NU said Ceriputra had assured him that her government would be better prepared to handle similar demonstrations in the future.
"Indeed, the Thailand case shows us that all countries in Southeast Asia must protect minority groups," Hasyim said during a press conference with Ceriputra after the meeting.
He said that in an effort to increase religious brotherhood among Thais and Indonesians, the NU would invite Thai Muslim and Buddhist leaders to its national leadership congress to be held from Nov. 29 to Dec. 3 in Surakarta.
The guests would be given a chance during the upcoming forum to explain the religious situation in Thailand, Hasyim added.
"God willing, the Thai religious leaders will be able to explain the tragedy to our guests from the International Conference of Islamic Scholars," Hasyim said.
Ceriputra said the Oct. 25 tragedy in Tak Bai district, Narathiwat province, followed a series of previous incidents that started earlier this year after firearms were stolen from the a military base in the province.
"After that, there were 325 cases of arson, 77 bombing attempts, 22 attacks on government facilities and 477 assaults, including drive-by shootings of citizens," said a statement released by the Thai embassy.
It said that up to Oct. 21, the death toll from the incidents stood at 264 people, including officials, innocent citizens, judges and monks, with 397 people injured.
The Thai tragedy, blamed on a military crackdown, drew widespread condemnation from other countries, including Indonesia.
The Thai embassy has issued a warning to its approximately 500,000 citizens in Indonesia to be on alert against possible harassment of them by hard-line groups.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has asked the police to provide additional protection for Thai nationals and to take resolute action against any Indonesians threatening them in connection with the recent bloodshed in Thailand.