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DE RUEHJA #3610/01 3622327
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O 282327Z DEC 06 ZDS
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2621
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0275
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 1254
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RHHJJPI/USPACOM HONOLULU HI

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 JAKARTA 013610 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
Consulate Medan cable # 38, 2006 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KISL SOCI ID
SUBJECT: Aceh: Incoming Governor Blasts Syariah, Syariah Police 
Crack Down 
 
 
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¶1. (SBU) Summary: Aceh's incoming governor Irwandi Yusuf has 
publicly vowed to block new Syariah regulations, including a draft 
law to cut off the hands of convicted thieves, prompting Syariah 
officials to withdraw temporarily the proposed law pending revision. 
Meanwhile, out of the public eye Irwandi and his advisors are 
working on a plan to enlist moderate ulamas in an effort to rollback 
some of the existing Syariah rules. In late December the religious 
police in Banda Aceh launched a crackdown on hair salons serving 
both male and female customers for "promoting inappropriate contact" 
between the sexes.  End Summary. 
¶2. (SBU) Asking an Acehnese if he supports Syariah law is like 
asking an American if he supports liberty and democracy; you know 
the answer you are going to get before you ask the question. The 
problem is in how it is defined. According to several Acehnese 
intellectuals as well as our own conversations around the province, 
a majority of Acehnese hold moderate views on the implementation of 
Syariah. Many say that, except in the case of crimes which the 
police seem powerless to stop such as corruption, it is best 
enforced within the family. In fact, one group of villagers 
professing adamant support for Syariah law near Kuala Langsa flatly 
refused to believe that people could be physically caned under 
existing regulations; caning, they insisted, was, and should be, 
"mental." Only a relative minority of Acehnese are thought to 
support vigorous enforcement of petty offences such as small-scale 
gambling. A solid majority of GAM members, including incoming 
governor Irwandi Yusuf, are in the former camp. 
Incoming Governor Blasts Syariah 
-------------------------------- 
¶3. (SBU) Prior to the election Irwandi privately criticized Syariah 
law as "imposed by Jakarta" and blamed it for distorting traditional 
Acehnese culture and scaring off tourists and investors.  Should he 
become governor he promised to reform Syariah enforcement and 
rollback the most extreme provisions.  Not wishing to alienate any 
of Aceh's powerful ulamas before the election, however, he avoided 
discussing religious issues during the campaign. 
¶4. (SBU) With the election over, however, Irwandi has become more 
open about his views. On multiple occasions he has blasted a draft 
law mandating that the hand of convicted thieves be amputated as 
"persecuting the poor" who steal to feed their families and vowed to 
block its implementation. According to Irwandi, Syariah's enforcers 
should focus on improving peoples' welfare and says that if any 
hands are to be cut off it should be the hands of "rich, corrupt 
officials". 
Amputation Law Withdrawn 
------------------------ 
¶5. (SBU) Although he has not yet assumed office, Irwandi's 
criticisms are already having an effect.  While downplaying 
Irwandi's influence, Syariah officials acknowledged to us recently 
that their plans to present the draft amputation law to the 
provincial legislature (DPR-D) in early 2007 have been set back; the 
law has now been shelved until they can write rules distinguishing 
between thieves who steal to feed their families and those motivated 
by greed. This rewrite will take about a year to complete. 
Religious Police Launch New Crackdown 
------------------------------------- 
¶6. (U) At approximately the same time the Syariah Affairs Office was 
withdrawing the draft amputation law, the Syariah Police (waliyatul 
hisbah or WH) were launching a crackdown on cell phone vendors 
suspected of distributing pornography and on Banda's ubiquitous 
unisex beauty parlors. According to the WH Chief in Banda Aceh, 
these businesses were violating section two of Provincial Regulation 
number 14 of 2003 concerning inappropriate contact between members 
of the opposite sex. (Note: This section in the law forbids 
"inappropriate contact of unmarried couples, immorality, and filthy" 
as defines them as "activities, events, or situations that can lead 
to adultery." Some Acehnese have complained that the language is 
vague and grants excessive discretion to the WH.) 
¶7. (SBU) The crackdown affected more than 30 salons and nearly a 
dozen cell phone vendors.  In preparing to take action against the 
salons, the WH Chief said he had deputized elderly ladies from the 
neighborhood to monitor salons and report on their activities. He 
also said that the mayor's office had previously notified each of 
the salon owners in writing that they were suspected of violating 
applicable regulations and in jeopardy of losing their license. On 
the day of the crackdown, he said, persons working in the salons and 
their customers were "educated" about the regulations and released. 
 
and will not be clearly identifiable as "Irwandi's plan", he hopes 
it will give him the political cover needed to implement genuine 
reform.  Heffern