RI fails to protect religious minorities, says US

JAKARTA. The US Department of State’s 2012 Report on International Religious Freedom has revealed that the Indonesian government has failed to properly address the banning and assault of religious minority groups.

The annual report was released by the US Embassy in Jakarta on Tuesday.

“The Indonesian government honors the freedom to choose religion but fails to prevent violent acts toward religious minority groups,” a statement in that report said as quoted by Antara news agency.

The report said the Indonesian government respected six official religions but that some religious sects were deemed as deviant by clerics.

The report also said that the police tended to be lenient on hard-liners that tried to implement laws that limited religious freedom.

“Police failed to protect religious minority groups when they are  being attacked by hard-liners,” the
report said. (hrl/dic)