Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Catholic News ServiceMarch 06, 2013

The Indonesian government is failing to protect the country’s religious minorities from growing intolerance and violence, Human Rights Watch said in a new report. The report documents government failure to confront militant groups, whose harassment and assaults on houses of worship and members of religious minorities have become increasingly aggressive. Those targeted include Ahmadiyahs, Christians and Shiite Muslims. The Jakarta-based Setara Institute, which monitors religious freedom in Indonesia, reported a rise in violent attacks on religious minorities to 264 in 2012, from 244 in 2011. “The Indonesian government’s failure to take decisive action to protect religious minorities from threats and violence is undermining its claims to being a rights-respecting democracy,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “National leadership is essential. [President Susilo Bambang] Yudhoyono needs to insist that national laws be enforced, announce that every violent attack will be prosecuted, and map out a comprehensive strategy to combat rising religious intolerance.”

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
Chris NUNEZ
12 years 4 months ago
I appreciate the updates on religious freedom throughout the world, and the failure to protect those freedoms. But I would much prefer to have included in these reports what the source of animosity is that fuels these disturbances. We know political competition is often at the bottom, but the 'reason' and the 'rationale' fueling these hostilities would be very helpful.

The latest from america

Pope Leo XIV has appointed the French archbishop of Chambéry, Thibault Verny, as the new president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. He succeeds Cardinal Seán O’Malley, 81, the emeritus archbishop of Boston.
Gerard O’ConnellJuly 05, 2025
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks with other members of the House July 3, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington after final passage of U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping spending and tax bill. (OSV News photo/Jonathan Ernst, Reuters)
“Deep cuts” to SNAP and Medicaid will “inflict real suffering on these families…. SNAP and Medicaid are not luxuries, they are lifelines for millions of children across our country.”
Kevin ClarkeJuly 03, 2025
It was one of the first times Leo has spoken unscripted at length in public, responding to questions posed to him by the children.
The Vatican has named the judges that will preside over the trial of disgraced Father Marko Rupnik.