Obama: "Indonesia is an example of religious tolerance" - Hillary Clinton Under Pressure to Tackle Indonesia over Rising Religious Violence.

Obama: "Indonesia is an example of religious tolerance" - Hillary Clinton Under Pressure to Tackle Indonesia over Rising Religious Violence.(Telegraph).Attacks against both Christians and minority Shiite Muslims by militant Islamic groups are on the rise in the archipelago nation, especially on the island of Java. Last month, dozens of Shiite homes were burnt down in east Java and two Shiite men killed. In February last year, a 1500-strong mob set churches alight in Temanggung in Java, while demanding that a Christian man be put to death for insulting Islam. Human rights groups say that the Indonesian government is failing to crack down on the perpetrators of religious violence and that punishments for the few people prosecuted have been too light. They claim also that despite the fact that Indonesia’s constitution guarantees religious freedom, minority groups face ongoing discrimination. “Secretary Clinton should press the Indonesian government to take concrete steps to address rising religious intolerance,” said John Sifton, the Asia advocacy director of the New York-based Human Rights Watch. “Indonesia needs to recognise that oppressive laws and policies against religious minorities fuel violence.” Indonesia’s 200 million Muslims, the vast majority of whom are Sunni, make up 85% of the population and the country has been a fertile recruiting ground for Islamic extremists. Jakarta has spent much of the last decade locked in a continuing battle with the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist organisation. Responsible for the 2002 Bali bombings, two suspected terrorists from the group were killed in Solo, central Java on Friday.Read the full story here.