Indonesian Shia Cycle to Jakarta to Demand Rights

Indonesia’s Presidential advisor on human rights recently said that the forced relocation of  the Shia community in Sampang was “inhumane”.

Shia Muslims make up less than 3% of Indonesia’s population... and they’ve become a target for intimidation in recent years.

For nearly a year now, the Shia community in Sampang, Madura, have been living in make-shift shelters, after being thrown out of their own village.

Recently a group from the Shia community travelled to Jakarta by bike... to demand protection from the President.

One of them is 24-year-old Muhammad Rasyid who cycled for 14 days... over hundreds of kilometres to reach Jakarta.

“We cycled to Jakarta to ask our President to fulfil his promises to us. The President has said that this case needs to be resolved soon but so far there’s no solution. We have the right to fight for our rights.”

Members of the Sampang Shia community have been living in a sports complex for nearly a year now.  They took refuge here following an incident in August last year when around 200 people stormed their village in Sampang.

At least two people were killed and 10 homes razed to the ground during the incident.

And recently the local administration forced them to relocate to another city, saying this will “speed up the peace process”.

This happened less than a month after Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono received an international award in recognition of his work promoting pluralism and human rights.

Hadi Joban, who led the bike convoy to Jakarta says, President Yudhoyono is their last hope.

“We don’t have anything else. We don’t have money, cars, or motorbikes. Bicycles is all we have... and with these we are trying to touch the President’s heart.”

But they weren’t able meet the President himself...

The President’s advisor on human rights, Albert Hasibuan, held a meeting with the group and said that he disagrees with the decision to relocate the Shia community.

“The decision by the local government to forcibly relocate the Shia community who has been living in the sports complex for the past 10 months, to Sidoarjo is an inhumane, unwise and incorrect decision. This will not solve the problem. And this is not in line with what the President has said about harmony and tolerance,” Albert says.

Albert said the council of Presidential advisors will suggest that the President forms a task force to look into the problem.

Bujadin has been living in the camp with his wife and 4-year-old son. And his son keeps asking to go home soon...

“He says,”Father, let’s go home..” And I have to tell him, where can we go son... They’ve burnt down our home.. We can’t go home...”

The month of Ramadhan is coming... and as practising Muslims, they’re going to fast for the next month. Rasyid says, they want to perform their rituals at home.

“All the refugees in the sports complex in Sampang want to go home before Ramadan starts. Even if we’re not allowed to do so, we will still go back.. We want to spend the fasting month at home.”