Camelia Pasandaran – A top judge says the Bogor administration is clearly in the wrong in defying a Supreme Court ruling to unseal a church it had previously closed down for a building violation.

Justice Akil Mochtar, from the Constitutional Court, said on Tuesday that the national Ombudsman Commission had the power to force the city administration to comply and reopen the GKI Yasmin Church building.

"If [the Supreme Court] has issued an order and the regional administration keeps refusing to execute that order, then the administration is in violation of the law by going against the court ruling," he said.

Although in possession of a valid building permit issued in 2006, the church was sealed off by the city in 2010 on the grounds that residents opposed the building of the house of worship.

The Supreme Court in January ruled against the revocation of the church's permit by the Bogor administration and ordered the building reopened. However, the city has refused to comply, citing a ruling by the Bogor District Court that church officials had falsified residents' signatures in order to get the building permit.

Last week, church officials reported the Bogor administration to the Ombudsman Commission for defying the Supreme Court ruling.

Despite Akil's opinion on the issue, Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar backed an offer by the Bogor administration to relocate the church building. "I heard that the best way to prevent conflict among the people is for the Bogor administration to provide a new site for the church," he said.

Patrialis skirted the issue of how this move would still put the administration in violation of the ruling, saying only that people needed to view the issue in a comprehensive way. "We shouldn't wear blinders when looking at the problem," the minister said.

"We should look left and right. What's most important is how to put the people at ease. On one hand, the Christians should be allowed to worship according to their beliefs and without being disturbed," the minister said.

"But on the other hand, it shouldn't create trouble for the Muslim residents." Patrialis added that although the government held both religions in equal regard, social considerations on the ground needed to be taken into account.

Bona Sigalingging, a spokesman for the GKI Yasmin congregation, told the Jakarta Globe that although the Bogor administration had told the media about a new site for the church, it had never made a formal offer to the congregation.

"Even so, we would [reject] it, given the legal aspect and past experience," he said. "It's not a solution at all. It's a mockery of the law. The Supreme Court ruling cannot be negotiated because that would be an insult to the court."

Bona added that in a similar dispute involving the HKBP Ciketing congregation in Bekasi, a relocation offer had also been made but nothing had come of it. "To date, they still haven't been issued a building permit," he said. "It's just a trap by the administration."

He added that GKI Yasmin members would continue to hold services on the streets outside the locked church "for the world to see how this country treats its minorities."