India and Indonesia must bury the hatchet
India and Indonesia must bury the hatchet
WRITTEN BY AKASH SAHU
27 April 2020
Relations between New Delhi and Jakarta have grown increasingly tense in recent weeks, in large in response to the violence in February this year that saw mosques and Muslim owned businesses attcked in New Delhi. This is however part of a wider trend with India and Indonesia increasingly at odds on the issues of Citizenship Amendment Act (AAC), the recurring protests outside Indian diplomatic missions in Indonesia, and presence of several Indonesian Islamic preachers at religious gatherings in the Indian capital.
The gatherings outside India’s embassy and consulates has sparked alarm in the Modi administration due to the nature of the protestors hailing from several radical Islamist organizations. The protests have seen the burning of the Indian flag as well as effigies of Prime Minister Modi.
It is believed that around 13 such Islamist groups participated in the protests against India, the most notable being Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), 212 Alumni Brotherhood (PA 212) and National Fatwa Guard Movement.
Inflammatory threats and absurd demands
The situation within Indonesia has grown increasingly hostile towards India from these political elements. The chairman of PA 212, Slamet Maarif, has threatened to close down Indian businesses operating in Indonesia if his demands are not met by the Modi and Jokowi governments. His principal demand is the rolling back of the Citizenship Amendment Act, the failure to do so has seen Maarif advocate Indonesia severing all diplomatic relations with India.
The aggressive stance of radical Islamist elements risks the wider security of Indians and Indonesians alike, with expats and the diplomatic community in Jakarta concerned with the protests against Indian missions in the country. Indonesia to its credit has now deployed 1,100 police and security forces for the protection of the Indian embassy.
He has likewise urged the Majlis Ulama Indonesia (MUI) to invite Muslims around the archipelago to Jakarta and surround the Indian Ambassador’s residence. PA 212 has also threatened to start a national boycott movement of all Indian products.
Sobri Lubis, the chairman of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) has threatened more direct action. In recent statements Lubris urged the demonstrating crowd to be ready to fly to India and wage a jihad in defence of India’s Muslims, adding that the Pakistani mujahidin has already done that in Kashmir. He also compared the recent pogroms in New Delhi to the genocide of Muslims by the regime in Myanmar.
Security of Indian citizens in Indonesia
Within Indonesia there are increasing concerns regarding the safety of Indian citizens but also those of Indian origin. The protesting organizations outlined above have publicly threatened to ‘sweep’ persons of Indian origin in the country.
Indian origin Indonesians are a sizeable minority, believed to number approximately 75,000, in a country of more than 270 million. Most of them are Tamils and have achieved a modest livelihood within Indonesia’s economy. Alongside this minority there are also a sizeable number of Indian expats living in the country, estimated to be roughly 9,000.
Indonesian society, like many socities in the Indo-Pacific, is facing increasing levels of attacks on religous and ethnic minorities. There has been a record of violent attacks on groups like the Ahmaddiyas, Shias, Chinese Christians and Buddhists. Going by Jakarta-based Setara Institute; there have been more than 200 violent attacks on religious minorities each year in 2010, 2011 and 2012. As a result, threats against Indians living in Indonesia, whether expats or of Indian origin must be taken seriously in the current climate.
Recent interactions
Beyond the Islamist groups outlined aboved, more mainstream politicians and institutions within Indonesia have been critical of recent events. In response to the protests, India’s ambassador to Jakarta, Pradeep Kumar Rawat, declined to meet with the leaders of the protesting Islamist groups, considering their reputation and undiplomatic acts of burning the India’s flag. However, Rawat has been called on by Indonesia’s Vice-President Ma’ruf Amin to talk about the issues disrupting India-Indonesia ties, including addressing the concerns of the Indonesian civil society on the violence in New Delhi in February.
The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), Indonesia’s highest clerical body, has also come out with a statement on Kashmir, calling for a plebiscite in the disputed region. Such acts tend to reverberate negatively in Indian policy circles given the extremely sensitive position Kashmir occupies in Indian strategic discourse.
Indian governments of all colours, under the BJP and Congress have not shied from criticizing countries who have tried to comment or intervene in Kashmir or the security campaign being waged there. Modi’s bonhomie with Indonesia’s Joko Widodo however has prevented any escalation on that front at least. Ambassador Rawat has subsequently met Indonesia’s Minister for Social and Political Affairs to provide a clearer picture on the Delhi riots and to discuss increased security around India’s diplomatic missions in the country.
Leverage of the protesting organizations
There is a question to be asked regarding the influence of Islamist groups on India-Indonesia relations. Within Indonesia, the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) is largely known as a hardline vigilante Islamist organization that uses hate speech against minorities and in attacks on bars or nightclubs, declaring itself a self-proclaimed moral police force. It has a long and sustained history of support from agencies with a hardliner interpretation of Islamic law. Most recently the FPI has been thrust into growing position of influence due to its successful campaign in ousting the former governor of Jakarta, Ahok in 2017.
Mass FPI and PA 212 rallies against Governor Ahok, accusing him of blasphemy, led to him being sentenced to two years in an Indonesian prison. These Islamist rallies have also had the participation and support of Kivlan Zen, a former military officer and a close aid of Prabowo Subianto who ran for Indonesia’s president in 2014 and 2019.
These organizations are unsatisfied with President Joko Widodo and have been persistent in their calls for action against India on the issue of Muslims. President Widodo is facing increasing pressure from these groups, so much so that it is possible that Indonesia may bring this matter to the UN; however, this would be a considerable act, given that both India and Indonesia are democracies and emerging diplomatic partners in the Indo-Pacific. If Jakarta is forced to take such action in the face of an increased Islamist campaign, it would constitute a severe blow to friendly relations between the two countries.
Indonesia has historically been known for its secular constitution and moderate interpretation of Islam but the increasing radicalization of Indonesia’s politics is a growing concern and not just for India. The administration of Joko Widodo has taken several measures to control radical Islam, but hasn’t been able fully confront the growing fringe of Islamist groups with political ambitions to remould Indonesian society.
The aggressive stance of radical Islamist elements risks the wider security of Indians and Indonesians alike, with expats and the diplomatic community in Jakarta concerned with the protests against Indian missions in the country. Indonesia to its credit has now deployed 1,100 police and security forces for the protection of the Indian embassy right after the Islamist protests. However, sensitization of the issue is required, along with separation of Indian politics with Indians living in Indonesia.
A collective fight against fighting COVID-19
More than a 1,000 Indonesians are stranded in India due to the COVID-19 lockdown, and are being assisted by the Indonesian embassy. However, there are no joint efforts or exchange of commodities to fight the pandemic between the two countries as of yet.
India has the fourth largest automotive industry, and is set to produce 50,000 ventilators from the end of May. At the same time, Indonesian companies will produce 17 million pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) per month. Indonesia currently is facing over 8,800 COVID-19 cases with the numbers expected to increase whilst India is facing over 27,000 cases, as of writing.
In the face of a global pandemic that threatens the global economy, India and Indonesia must view this crisis as an opportunity to bury the diplomatic hatchet. Both the countries should enter into an arrangement where they fulfill each other’s critical needs and enhance their bilateral cooperation. Mutual assistance by Jakarta and New Delhi to each other can bring together the region’s two largest democracies,and be a lynchpin for the success against COVID-19 within the Indo-Pacific region.
As soon as possible, both states must initiate high level exchanges and solve their issues diplomatically and bilaterally without allowing radical voices in either country to take advantage of recent events. Indonesia and India should cooperate to fight COVID-19, given the grave and immediate threat it poses to the people of both nations. On the Indian side, Narendra Modi in particular must address the concerns over the Citizenship Amendment Act outlined by the government and people of Indonesia, and for its part Indonesia must assuage India’s concerns and prevent the development of anti-India sentiments among its civil society groups.
DISCLAIMER: All views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent that of the 9DASHLINE.com platform.
Author biography
Akash Sahu is a Research Intern with Centre for Southeast Asia and Oceania in Manohar Parrikar- Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA) and Research Assistant at Centre for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS), Jindal Global University. Image credit: Indian Ministry of External Affairs/Flickr.