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Indonesia: Information on the youth group Pemuda Islam Indonesia or Pemuda Islamaa Indonesia; whether its members' uniforms include robes and bandanas and whether some of their bandanas have Arabic letters on them or the letters PII (January 2003 - November 2005)

Information on the youth group Pemuda Islam Indonesia or Pemuda Islamaa Indonesia and its members' uniform including whether they wear robes and bandanas and whether some of their bandanas have Arabic letters on them or the letters PII could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within time constraints.

However, limited information was found on a group called the Indonesian Islamic Youth Movement (Gerakan Pemuda Islam Indonesia, GPI or GPII). According to three online translation tools, "gerakan" is translated to "movement" in English and "pemuda" means "young man" or "youth" (Toggletext n.d.; Kamus; Fagan Finder n.d.). The International Crisis Group (ICG) describes GPI as "an independent and activist student group that had close ties to the Masjumi, the main 'modernist' Islamic political party that was banned in 1960" (8 Aug. 2002; World Socialist Web Site 13 Nov. 2003). Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2004 lists the GPI among Indonesian "[e]xtremist groups advocating coercion and resorting to violence" (28 Feb. 2005, Sec. 3). Some sources indicate that the GPI has sent volunteers to Afghanistan to help in the war against the United States (CNN, 20 Nov. 2001; The Review, Nov. 2001) while another source states that the GPI is "used for little more than organised thuggery and political demonstrations" and it is "known to have close links with both the police and elements of the military" (The Age, 17 Oct. 2002).

One academic source indicated that the Gerakan Pemuda Islam Indonesia was among a group of youth movements united in the July 1973 establishment of the National Committee of Indonesian Youth (Komite Nasional Pemuda Indonesia, KNPI) (Soeprobo Jan. 2002). In addition, an assistant professor of government at Cornell University, who has a background in Asian studies, stated in correspondence to the Research Directorate that he was "aware of" the group, but that in his opinion it was "relatively minor" (3 Nov. 2005).

In June 2003, the chairman of the GPI, Muhammad Iqbal Siregar, was sentenced to five months' imprisonment for "defacing a picture of President Megawati Soekarnoputri during an antigovernment protest" that had occurred in January 2003 (IFEX 20 June 2003; Country Reports 2003 25 Feb. 2004, Sec. 2.a).

Information regarding the uniform of the Gerakan Pemuda Islam Indonesia could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

Information on another group, called Indonesian Islamic Students, (Pelajar Islam Indonesia), which uses the acronym PII, was provided to the Research Directorate by the assistant professor from Cornell University (3 Nov. 2005). PII has connections to the Coordinating Body of Indonesian Mosque Youth (Badan Koordinasi Pemuda Masjid Indonesia, BKPMI), which was sponsored by President Soeharto's (or Suharto's) son-in-law, General Prabowo in the late 1990s (Assistant Professor 3 Nov. 2005). Another academic source indicated that the PII "was ordered to dissolve itself in 1988" because it had not complied with the requirement to replace Islam with Pancasila (Indonesia's official national ideology consisting of five principles) in its statutes (van Bruinessen 1996).

More recent references to the Pelajar Islam Indonesia and specific information regarding the uniform of its members could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

The Age [Melbourne]. 17 October 2002. John Aglionby Kuta. "Army a Missing Link as Extremists Disband." <http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/10/16/1034561211221.html?oneclick=true> [Accessed 7 Nov. 2005]

Assistant Professor at Department of Government, Cornell University, New York. 3 November 2005. Correspondence.

Cable News Network (CNN). 20 November 2001. Amy Chew. "Indonesia's Muslim Fighters 'Safe'." <http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/southeast/11/20/ret.indon.muslim.afghan/> [Accessed 7 Nov. 2005]

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2003. 25 February 2004. "Indonesia". United States Department of State. Washington, DC. <http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27771.htm> [Accessed 7 Nov. 2005]

Fagan Finder. N.d. "Translation Wizard." <http://www.faganfinder.com/translate/> [Accessed 15 Nov. 2005]

The Guardian [London]. 16 October 2002. John Aglionby. "The Secret Role of the Army in Sowing the Seeds of Religious Strife." <http://www.guardian.co.uk/indonesia/Story/0,2763,812733,00.html> [Accessed 7 Nov. 2005]

International Crisis Group (ICG). 8 August 2002. "Al-Qaeda in Southeast Asia: The Case of the 'Ngruki Network' in Indonesia." Indonesia House Website. <http://www.indonesia-house.org/archive/ICG-ngruki.pdf> [Accessed 7 Nov. 2005]

International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX). 20 June 2003. "Indonesia Should Repeal Criminal Defamation Laws." <http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/51208> [Accessed 7 Nov. 2005]

International Religious Freedom Report for 2004. 15 September 2004. "Indonesia". United States Department of State. Washington, DC. <http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2004/35399.htm> [Accessed 8 Nov. 2005]

Kamus. N.d. "Kamus." <http://www.kamus.net> [Accessed 15 Nov. 2005]

The Review [Melbourne]. November 2001. Michael Shannon. "Stirring the Pot: Anti-US Feeling Boils Over in Asia." <http://www.aijac.org.au/review/2001/2611/aw_spec2611.html> [Accessed 7 Nov. 2005]

Soeprobo, Tara Bakti. January 2002. "Indonesia Youth Employment." Prepared for International Labour Organization (ILO)/Japan Tripartite Meeting on Youth Employment in Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, 27 February – 1 March 2002. <http://www.ilo.org/public/english/region/asro/bangkok/conf/youth/con_stu/indo.pdf> [Accessed 7 Nov. 2005]

ToggleText. N.d. "We Speak your Language." <http://www.toggletext.com> [Accessed 15 Nov. 2005]

Van Bruinessen, Martin. 1996. Universiteit Utrecht. "Islamic State or State Islam? Fifty Years of State-Islam Relations in Indonesia." <http://www.let.uu.nl/~martin.vanbruinessen/personal/publications/State-Islam.htm>

World Socialist Web Site. 13 November 2003. "The Political Origins and Outlook of Jemaah Islamiyah." <http://www.wsws.org/articles/2003/nov2003/ji2-n13.shtml> [Accessed 7 Nov. 2005]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral Sources:

Attempts to consult Tapol, the Indonesian Human Rights Campaign and the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies through correspondence were unsuccessful within the time constraints of this Response.

Internet sites, including:

Amnesty International, Ananova, Antara News, Antenna Foundation, Asean Focus Group, Asian Law Centre, Asia Times Online, Asylum Law, Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Cable News Network (CNN), Contemporary Southeast Asia, Detikcom, Factiva, Freedom House, Gunung Timur, Human Rights Watch, Indahnesia, Indonesia Relief, Inside Indonesia, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, International Crisis Group, International Helsinki Federation, International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development, Jakarta Post, Laksamana, Le Monde, Le Monde Diplomatique, Office of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, ReliefWeb, The Asian Studies Monitor, The Indonesian Human Rights Campaign (TAPOL), the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), United States Agency for International Development, Universitas Indonesia, Universiteit Utrecht, Virtual Information Center, World News.

Publications:

Encyclopedia of Terrorism; The Europa World Year Book: 2005; Extremist Groups: An International Compilation of Terrorist Organizations, Violent Political Groups, and Issue-Oriented Militant Movements; Les Nouveaux Mondes rebelles: Conflits, terrorisme et contestations; Political Handbook of the World 2000-2002; Political Parties of the World (2005).