[Kabar-indonesia] Transcript: Conflict over Sharia law in Aceh

[Joyo at aol.com]

Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) 
Friday, 1 September, 2006 
-transcript-

Conflict over Sharia law in Aceh

Reporter: Geoff Thompson

MARK COLVIN: A year and eight months on from the tidal
waves that flattened so much of Aceh, the province has
undergone a remarkable transformation. Reconstruction
continues and a peace deal between Indonesia's
Government and GAM rebels is holding. Democratic local
elections are even scheduled for December.

But the province is also embroiled in a controversial
national debate over how Islamic Sharia law should be
adopted, implemented and enforced.

Recently "Sharia police" forced their way into the
compound of the UN's World Food Program and peered
through windows where foreign workers were sleeping,
and more than 50 people have been publicly caned in
the past year.

Geoff Thompson's report begins with the sound of a
public caning.

(Sound of crowd yelling, man counting through
loudspeaker)

GEOFF THOMPSON: Five, six, seven, finish. So yells the
man in charge of Aceh's first public caning of women
last August, as reported on Indonesian television.
Four women accused of gambling received between 6 and
10 whips across the back.

The woman pictured in the television footage is
dressed all in white with her head covered, and kneels
on a stage as she is caned by a masked man clothed in
black from head to toe. One of the women passes out as
she's led from the stage to the roaring appreciation
of the excited crowd.

A growing number of Sharia law punishments have been
handed down in Aceh over the past year, as at least 22
of 450 districts enact regulations drawn from Sharia
law.

Dr Muslim Ibrahim is the Chairman of the Aceh Ulemas
Assembly.

MUSLIM IBRAHIM (translated): Of the 21 regencies in
Aceh so far, he says, the Sharia courts have handled
55 cases, which have been proven guilty and punished.
Most punishments have been for gambling, he says, and
then couples consorting outside of marriage, and
lastly alcohol offences.

GEOFF THOMPSON: Known as the "Veranda of Mecca," Aceh
was granted the right to legislate provisions of
Sharia law in 1999 when the province was granted
special status. In 2001 a Sharia law bureaucracy was
established and a special Aceh autonomy law allowed
the creation of Islamic courts.

The drive continued as the military used is as bulwark
against the escalating GAM rebellion. In 2003 caning
and fines were authorised for specific offences.

But for the past year Sharia police have been
increasingly active, they are loosely reminiscent of
the Taliban's morality police for the Ministry for the
Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.

Two weeks ago, a band of Sharia police found their way
into a UN World Food Program compound in Aceh, and
peered through the bedroom windows of foreign staff,
searching, apparently, for evidence of alcohol or drug
abuse.

Professor Azyumardi Azra of Jakarta's National Islamic
University believes Aceh's Sharia police are headed
for a clash with Indonesia's National Police.

AZYUMARDI AZRA: This kind of special police have been
criticised for being, you know, overreacting. And
also, you know, bypassing their jurisdiction. There is
some kind of overlapping within what they have done
with the authority, jurisdiction of the police. So
people complain a lot about these special police who
enforce Sharia.

GEOFF THOMPSON: Aceh's Sharia police are not just some
band of prudish volunteers, but an official group of
men who operate under the provincial government.
Getting people to talk openly about Sharia in Aceh is
not easy because, insiders say, they fear being
branded as un-Islamic.

A recent survey found that a vast majority of
Indonesians do not support adopting a strict Sharia
system, which would enforce the wearing of headscarves
for women, stoning for adultery or cutting off the
hand of a thief. However, about 80 per cent of those
polled did support cracking down on alcohol use,
gambling and prostitution.

But only 3 per cent of the respondents supported
Indonesia implementing what was termed a
"Western-style democracy". The apparent contradictions
are explained to some extent by what people working on
the ground Aceh say is a common discrepancy between
people accepting the idea of Sharia law, but rejecting
its enforcement by a group of Sharia police.

Notably the leadership of GAM, or the Free Aceh
Movement, which negotiated the now year-long peace
deal with Jakarta, maintains the implementation of
democracy and not Sharia is its priority, and says
that public floggings, for instance, are not part of
Aceh's Islamic tradition.

Nur Juli is GAM's spokesman.

NUR JULI: For GAM, What we fight for is democracy. If
those elected by the people would be an Islamic party,
and they want to create and an Islamic government
according to how they see it, then by all means, why
not? But you have seen the Islam that is implemented
in Aceh.

So for the state, what is the business of the state
dictating how women should dress? It's ridiculous.

So, my answer is that what we want in Aceh is true
democracy. Why? Democracy works elsewhere, why not in
Indonesia, why not in Aceh? We want to be an example
for the whole of Indonesia.

GEOFF THOMPSON: Aceh's Islamic leaders are currently
debating issues such as whether the practice of caning
offenders for gambling, drinking or consorting outside
of marriage should move in the direction of, say, the
Islamic criminal law practice of cutting off the hands
of thieves?

A common concern is that the powerless are being
targeted by the Sharia Police, while corrupt officials
go untouched.

While with its special autonomy, Aceh is the only
Indonesian province with the authority to pass Sharia
laws, 22 local governments across Indonesia have
included Sharia provisions in their bylaws. That has
led to isolated incidents of caning in Sulawesi, for
example.

National Islamic University's Azyumardi Azra.

AZYUMARDI AZRA: There is a lot of potential, within
these so-called Sharia bylaws, you know, regulations
that run contrary to the national law. There is a lot
of potentialities within this local regulation, you
know, but there are some points that are not in line
with national law.

GEOFF THOMPSON: On the national level the push is
embodied in the so-called Anti-Pornography Bill, which
is due to be debated by Indonesia's Parliament and is
criticised as being a stalking horse for introducing
Sharia across the Archipelago.

In Jakarta this is Geoff Thompson for PM.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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