The decree, signed on Monday, is seen as targeting hard-line Islamic organisations and has been criticised by rights groups as a threat to freedom of association.
The decree is “simply aimed at maintaining national unity and the existence of the Indonesian nation,” said Wiranto, the co-ordinating minister for security, legal and political affairs, who goes by one name.
“It’s not an act of government arbitrariness or an attack on Islamic mass organisations,” he said.
The decree does not specify which organisations will be disbanded, but the Ministry of Justice has the power to act based on it, the minister said.
Wiranto said in May that the government was considering disbanding Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia, the local chapter of an international Islamic group that seeks to unite Muslim countries under a caliphate.
Wiranto said Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia’s activities were not in line with the state secular ideology — which is known as Pancasila — and were “causing friction in society.”
Hizbut Tahrir, which says that it uses non-violent means to achieve its goal for a caliphate, is active in Australia and Britain, but is banned in several Middle Eastern and Central Asian countries.
“This is tyranny,” said Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia spokesman Ismail Yusanto, referring to the newly-signed presidential decree.
“HTI is a legal religious organisation and has been spreading its messages peacefully, in an orderly manner, in accordance with the law,” he said.
New York-based Human Rights Watch criticised the decree. “The Indonesian government is empowered to take appropriate legal action against any group...that is suspected of violating the law,” said Phelim Kine, the group’s deputy Asia director. “But banning any organisation strictly on ideological grounds is a draconian action that undermines rights of freedom of association and expression.”
