Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi says the government will not bow to 27 US Congressmen’s demand for the annulment of regulations banning the activities of the Islamic minority Ahmadiyah sect in Indonesia.
Gamawan said the government would not revoke a joint decree regarding the ban issued by then religious affairs and home ministers, and the attorney general in 2008, which was accused of escalating violence against Ahmadiyah followers and later on inspiring the creation of a number of bylaws that carried the same spirit.
“Not until we can produce a permanent decision,” the minister said when asked on whether the government was planning to revoke the decree in response to the US Congressmen’s request.
As for the “permanent decision”, he was referring to a bill on religious freedom currently being deliberated at the House of Representatives.
Gamawan said, as quoted by kompas.com, that the government would organize next week a national dialog expected to be attended by interfaith figures to produce permanent solutions regarding the Ahmadiyah issue.
He added he had not read the letter from the US Congressmen regarding the request, which was dated March 15 and addressed to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and was sent through the Indonesian Embassy in Washington.
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