Hasyim Widhiarto, Jakarta – Members of a church congregation in Tambun Utara, Bekasi, said they would hold their upcoming Sunday service on a street should the Bekasi regency administration refuse to reopen their under-construction church, closed earlier to ease protests from locals.
Filadelfia Huria Kristen Batak Protestan (HKBP) church official Tigor Tampubolon said the congregation had sent Thursday an official letter to Bekasi regent Sa'duddin, requesting him to either retract his decision or facilitate them to find another place to run Sunday services. "But, we haven't received a response," Tigor told The Jakarta Post Friday.
The Bekasi regency administration sealed off Tuesday the building site in Jejalen Jaya subdistrict following a series of protests by local residents over the legality of the church.
Earlier Sunday, more than 100 members of the HKBP held services under tight police security, after hundreds of subdistrict residents rallied to demand the congregation stop religious activity and church construction be halted until a building permit was obtained.
Residents gathered in front of a block of a land surrounded by a 2-meter-high wall, where members of the congregation held their Sunday service.
Shouting "Allahu akbar" (God is Great), "Go away" and "We have been deceived", residents entered the compound, but were blocked by 200 police officers, deployed from Bekasi Police and seven other precincts to secure the area.
Bekasi regency secretary Dadang Mulyadi, promised to mediate a meeting between HKBP church elders and Jejalen Jaya subdistrict leaders, scheduled for Tuesday.
He said Sa'duddin would lead the meeting. However the administration closed the church Tuesday without notifying it. The congregation then reported the administration to the National Commission on Human Rights, which concluded that the regent's decision was a "violation of human rights".
"The church congregation had submitted a request to the Bekasi administration for a building permit (for the would-be church) over a year ago, but did not receive a response," commissioner Jhonny Nelson Simanjuntak said Thursday.
"No wonder they were dissatisfied and looked for other solutions, including holding Sunday services on the empty land." The commission said they would also send a letter this week to Sa'duddin to ask him to retract his decision. As of Friday, there was no official statement made by the Bekasi administration regarding the issue.