Public order police patrol a street in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Critics say Indonesia's police often deliver different levels of service to people from minority communities. (Photo by Abby Seiff)
An activist priest has criticized Indonesian President Joko Widodo for failing to promote proper law enforcement and human rights during his first year at the helm of the Southeast Asian country.
Father Antonius Benny Susetyo from the Jakarta-based Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace said that alarming cases of rights abuses and religious intolerance have marred Widodo's first year in office.
"What we see is that law enforcement was bad, as there were a number of cases of human rights violations and violations against rights activists. It shows the absence of the state," said Father Susetyo, who is also former secretary of the Indonesian bishops' Commission for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs.
"The president's toughest homework is law enforcement."
Father Susetyo said law enforcement agencies must do their work regardless of ethnicity or religion, particularly in a Muslim-majority country that is wildly diverse. Often, the priest said, police fail to do their jobs when a case involves disagreements between majority and minority communities.
"That can destroy diversity," he said.
For example, the issue of building permits for places of worship can be a divisive issue. In some Muslim-majority communities, churches have had difficulty fulfilling onerous requirements to get a building permit. Under such conditions, fundamentalists view churches built without permits as illegal, causing discord in the tense communities.
This tension boiled over in October, when a mob burned down a church in Aceh province because its congregation lacked the proper permits.
Widodo was inaugurated as president on Oct. 20, 2014. Since then, his administration has touted policies meant to strengthen human rights, including an agenda that seeks to guarantee citizen safety by developing a strong and professional police force.
However, critics say Widodo has not adequately addressed human rights concerns during his first year in office. This month, the Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission and the Jakarta-based Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence issued a briefing that declared that Widodo has not made a policy of protecting human rights.
"Over the past year, we have recorded a number of human rights violations that have tainted the Widodo government, including threats to human rights defenders working on corruption and environmental issues as well as acts of violence such as torture and fabricated cases," the groups said in a statement on Nov. 6.
The two groups highlighted multiple problems rooted in poor law enforcement and the absence of justice.
"Without serious action to improve law enforcement and the justice process, human rights violations will remain rampant in Indonesia," the groups said.