Indonesia: Ahmadiyya

(asked on 13th March 2020) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Indonesian counterpart on the status of displaced Ahmadi Muslims who have spent over a decade at the Wisma Transito refugee camp.


Answered by
Nigel Adams Portrait
Nigel Adams
This question was answered on 25th March 2020

In January 2018, Minister of State (Minister for South Asia and the Commonwealth) Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon met Indonesian Ambassador Rizal Sukma where he raised our concerns. In October 2018, Lord Ahmad visited Jakarta in his capacity as the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion and Belief (FORB). He met representatives of the Ahmadi Muslim community to discuss minority rights, underlining the UK's close interest in their welfare and protection of their rights. He also underlined UK support for FORB in Indonesia and raised concerns on the use of blasphemy laws. HMG officials regularly discuss minority rights with senior members of all six official faiths in Indonesia and meet with leaders of the Ahmadi community.

Freedom of Religion and Belief is a core aspect of the Embassy's work under the Human Rights strand. In December 2019, the British Embassy ran a workshop on media freedom in Jakarta. This included a discussion on reporting on FORB. Embassy officials regularly attend 'Friends of FORB' meetings, and in January of this year embassy officials met with an Ahmadi spokesperson.

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