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FPI and the Government: Best Friends?

Anti-FPI protesters gather at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle on Valentine's Day to voice their displeasure with hardline religious groups. (JG Photo/Yudhi Sukma Wijaya)

We should be thankful to the Dayaks in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan. The recent clash between the Dayaks and the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) has sent a message that acts of violence are unwelcome in the land of Borneo.

The Dayaks know well that the FPI often conducts violent acts according to self-judgement, and the FPI’s presence is proof that the government has failed to secure protection for its citizens.

In fact, despite the violence associated with it, the FPI is being treated as golden child by the government. Think about the FPI and Free Papua Movement (OPM), and compare the two. The OPM is a government organization in exile that advocates for Papua’s independence from the Republic of Indonesia. Its movement is largely political and less violent than the FPI. 

Jakarta worries so much about losing its territory that it regularly sends the military to oppress any possible independence movement. This is exactly what the Dutch did to the new republic during police actions and Dutch military aggression.

The double standard is obvious. The FPI has regularly committed acts of violence since it was established in 1998, promoting anti-pluralism and a jihadist approach. There is even a Wikipedia page tracking the FPI’s misdeeds.

Every year during Idul Fitri, the public watches as the FPI forces street vendors and restaurants to close their business to respect the holy month. Think of the revenue lost from non-Muslims who do not fast.

The video of the FPI’s assault on an Ahmadiyah village showed that police often choose to ignore violence. Furthermore, the perpetrators were punished lightly.

Is there any hope the FPI will be disbanded in the near future? The chances are slim. Police and the government have proven themselves either useless, powerless or the best friend of the FPI. The government and police have accepted the FPI’s presence as a legal organization and often justify its violence.

Instead of charging the radicals with treason, for example, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the FPI should be more introspective. The statement indicates that even the leader of the country justifies the group’s existence and is either unable or unwilling to disband it. The government also has not listed the FPI as a terrorist organization — it is virtually untouchable, just like the Gestapo in Nazi Germany or Ku Klux Klan in the United States.

It doesn’t seem like the FPI will stop advocating Islamic supremacy and conducting violence anytime soon. This can be seen in the FPI’s silent treatment toward the frequent violence and rapes of Indonesian maids working in Saudi Arabia. The FPI demonstrated in front of the US embassy to protest against the American invasion of Iraq, but it never commented of any beheadings of Indonesians in Saudi Arabia.

It is a sad fact that politicians are reluctant to criticize the major religions in their country because they don’t want to lose their support. In Indonesia’s case, the government tolerates radical movements because they are more important in keeping its image for Muslim voters. When the government gives public statements about disbanding the FPI, it should be treated as a best friends’ quarrel, a political drama which will result in nothing useful. Best friends support each other, right?

The only man who openly spoke about freezing (not disbanding) the FPI is Gamawan Fauzi, the Minister of Home Affairs, whose office was attacked by the group a while ago. It took three warning letters before the FPI was finally frozen. Now, let’s hope this will come to fruition.

Indonesia without the FPI will make this country one step closer maintaining its pluralism.

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