KontraS Urges Govt to Not Keep FPI's Status in Limbo

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS) urged the government to immediately decide on the permit renewal of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) organization.

“[The proposal of FPI’s permit renewal] seems to be set aside. This deepens suspicions that there is a political deal,” said KontraS coordinator Yati Andriyani at her office, Friday, December 6.

Yati asserted that the government should act as a referee upholding legal mechanism, legal corridor, human rights perspective, and democracy in a discourse.

This, she went on, was vital so that the government could easily convey problems or mistakes pertaining to the mass organization, including indicators and evidence that FPI encouraged the establishment of an Islamic caliphate was against Pancasila.

The government must be committed to resorting to a legal path under Law No. 17/2013 on the mass organization.

“[The government] can issue a warning, clarification, or decision. If FPI disagrees, it can sue it. Make a decision, so FPI can file an objection. This is a state based on laws that honors the principles of democracy and human rights,” she remarked.

According to Yati, if the case is set aside, the government does not only ignore the legal mechanism but also generates a biased situation that hampers political stability and law enforcement. Besides, it might trigger horizontal conflict in society and become political issues.

HALIDA BUNGA