National Human Rights Commission Asks For The Destruction Of The Ahmadiyah Mosque In Sintang To Be Taken Over By The National Police Headquarters

JAKARTA - The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) has requested that the case of the destruction of the Ahmadiyah mosque in Sintang, West Kalimantan, be taken over by the National Police Headquarters. Moreover, the local police did not seem to have handled the vandalism to its full potential.

"We think that the regional police there cannot do it optimally. So we ask the National Police Headquarters to intervene to take this case", Komnas HAM Commissioner Choirul Anam said in an online press conference broadcast on the Indonesian Human Rights Commission's Public Relations YouTube video, Monday, September 6.

The takeover of the vandalism case, he continued, also needs to be done to prevent similar vandalism from occurring. Anam then mentioned that cases like this usually have a high escalation and must be addressed immediately.

"So to prevent it from happening in other areas, in Kalimantan or in other places. Due to the typology with the previous case, it was exploded in one corner that was difficult to access and so on, spread through social media, eventually exploded in many places", he explained.

"Therefore, we encourage this case to be taken over by the National Police Headquarters to ensure that the same incident should not occur in Kalimantan or in all regions in the state. That is important", Anam added.

Furthermore, Komnas HAM also asked the police not only to investigate the perpetrators of vandalism but also intellectual actors, including those working on social media. Because, if the police only arrest the perpetrators in the field, it is not impossible that similar incidents will happen again.

"We have learned from the case of West Java in Cikeusik, we have learned from Kudus, Lombok. Therefore, it is important that law enforcement must be serious and not only by field actors, especially since it is easier at this time", said Anam.

He considered finding intellectual actors, especially those who mobilized the community, of course very easy because of the various digital track records.

This, said Anam, has even been obtained by Komnas HAM. So, the perpetrators who are engaged in social media should also be caught by the police.

"Komnas HAM also has various networks there, digital track records. Indeed, the nuances, the nuances of provocation, the nuances of hatred, and so on. So we encourage this to be taken over", he said.

As previously reported, incidents of attack and destruction of places of worship and buildings belonging to the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI) in West Kalimantan. A group of people using stones and bamboo damaged the mosque building located in Balai Gana Village, Temunuk District, Sintang Regency.

For this incident, the West Kalimantan Regional Police and the Sintang Police have arrested 10 perpetrators who are suspected to be related and will be investigated further before being named suspects.