Fundamentalists in Aceh, Indonesia

The Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) international solidarity network and the Global Campaign to Stop Killing and Stoning Women! (SKSW Campaign) join their allies in Indonesia in continuing to call for the repeal of a law (or ’qanun’) passed by the Aceh Legislative Council (DPRD) on Monday 14 September 2009, that expands the range of violent punishments for alleged moral and sexual transgressions, including stoning to death for “adultery” and 100 lashes for homosexuality. (http://www.wluml.org/node/5796)

Such cruel punishments can never be justified in the name of ‘religion’, ‘culture’ or ‘tradition’. For the first time, stoning to death would be codified in the Indonesian legal system and Islamic jurisdiction would be expanded into criminal law. We welcome the news that the Governor of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam has expressly stated that he would not sign the Qanun Jinayah, and that he has returned it to the Aceh legislature. The governor is also reported to be providing an opportunity for Aceh’s civil society groups to propose an improved set of laws in the place of Qanun Jinayah.

Local allies in Aceh at the forefront of this campaign are requesting WLUML networkers to continue focusing their advocacy on the eventual cancellation of this law. Koalisi NGO HAM* urges us all to keep disseminating information about this law and to join them in endorsing the Indonesian government’s proposal to further involve civil society groups in the creation of laws that serve the interests of all citizens, in particular the most economically disadvantaged. We are also urged to ask international bodies and governments to put more pressure on the Indonesia government to repeal any laws that discriminate against citizens in the name of religion, and to open up a space in which people can freely discuss and determine the needs of the people of the region without fear of religious backlash, and to urgently address the high rate of poverty in Aceh.

Please support this call by writing a letter to the President of Indonesia calling on him to stand firm on his commitment to women’s rights and human rights, and to the Governor of Aceh welcoming his refusal to sign the law. Please also send letters to other Indonesian authorities.

Follow this link to the online solidarity alert, attached to which is a sample letter: http://www.wluml.org/node/5796

We hope to update the alert with further email addresses, so please do check the online posting in 2010.

*In collaboration with other organizations, the Coalition of Human Rights Organizations (Koalisi NGO HAM) is one of the leading human rights organisations in Aceh advocating against regulations and policies that are particularly discriminatory to marginalized groups. Koalisi NGO HAM has been actively involved in several advocacy programs for the Qanun on Reconciliation and Truth Commission, the Qanun on Education, the Qanun on the Procedures of Formulating Qanun. Koalisi NGO HAM has been doing lobbies at local, national and international levels to ensure the Qanun is relevant to the contextual needs of people in Aceh.

Women Living Under Muslim Laws
and The Global Campaign Stop Killing and Stoning Women!