Jokowi inks decree to ban radical groups

JAKARTA: Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo ( pix) has issued a decree allowing authorities to disband groups deemed threatening to national unity, the top security minister said yesterday.

The decree, signed on Monday, is seen as targeting hardline religious organisations and has been criticised by rights groups as a threat to freedom of association.

The decree is “simply aimed at maintaining national unity and the existence of the Indonesian nation,” coordinating minister for security, legal and political affairs Wiranto said.

“It’s not an act of government arbitrariness or an attack on Islamic mass organisations,” he said.

The decree does not specify which organisations will be disbanded, but the ministry of justice has the power to act based on it, the minister said.

Wiranto said in May the government was considering disbanding Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), the local chapter of an international Islamic group that seeks to unite Muslim countries under a caliphate through non-violent means.

Wiranto said HTI’s activities were not in line with the state’s secular ideology and were “causing friction in society”.

Hizbut Tahrir is active in Australia and Britain, but is banned in several Middle Eastern and Central Asian countries.

“This is tyranny,” said HTI spokesman Ismail Yusanto, referring to the newlysigned presidential decree.

“HTI is a legal religious organisation and has been spreading its messages peacefully, in an orderly manner, in accordance with the law,” he said. – dpa