|
Megawati's Party Criticized For Opposing Islamic Law
by Kazi Mahmood
JAKARTA, May 6 (IslamOnline) - Indonesian Vice President Megawati's Democratic Party for Struggle (PDI-P) came under fire Sunday after its secretary-general, Sutjipto, opposed the implementation of Islamic law in Aceh.
A local Muslim organization in Jakarta said the PDI-P's statement meant the party did not want to see a solution in Aceh, torn by years of war and secession led by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).
"If Sutjipto really issued the statement, it's weird and funny. Because, the law on Aceh Province's Special Status, which also regulates on the implementation of Islamic laws in Aceh, is valid and has been enacted," Tengku Hasanuddin Yusuf Adan, secretary to the Indonesian Council of Islamic Propagation (DDII), said, quoted by Antara.
Sujipto reportedly said the PDI-P would stick to the 1945 Constitution and the state ideology of Pancasila. He also said the party would not reject the principles of a unitary state.
Under the Pancasila, the country does not allow the implementation of Islamic laws throughout Indonesia. The Pancasila recognize there is a one God and states that all religions should be respected in the country.
Aceh, a province built by Muslim settlers who mixed with locals, was created on the basis of Islam as the fundamental way of life. And currently, the Acehnese, under the GAM, are struggling for the enforcement of Islamic laws in the province.
"For our party, this issue is non-negotiable and I think from our statement it is clear how we view it [the implementation of Islamic laws]," Sutjipto said Friday.
Hasanuddin said that the PDI-P must have the intention to let Aceh problems remain unsolved, if Sutjipto's statement was also the position of party.
"They have been trying to use the Aceh issue for their personal and group interest as part of political struggle in Jakarta," he said.
He said that with the statement, the PDI-P had been planning to develop its vision of nationalism-secularism.
"If PDI Perjuangan [PDI-P] plans to develop the nationalism-secularism principle, it will let the reopening of jihad [holy struggle] for Aceh people," he said.
The PDI-P has previously been accused of being anti-Islamic, putting its leader Megawati Sukarnoputri under fire from Islamic organizations and parties.
Fears that the PDI-P would forge an open policy towards Israel and prevent the implementation of Islamic laws in Indonesia brought Megawati's failure in her first attempt to win the presidency in 1999.
The prolonged resistance by the Acehnese over the issue has led to years of military operations in the troubled province. Although the operations were halted in 1998, violence and killings continue in the province until now.
|
