Arya Dipa, Bandung – West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan has told Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto to settle once and for all a protracted local religious dispute about an under-construction Taman Yasmin Indonesian Christian Church in the city.
"I told the Bogor mayor this morning to please settle this. They could just copy the settlement of the Cikeuting dispute. The implementation in the field could translate into a variety of outcomes because I don't know for sure what the real situation is," Heryawan said in Bandung.
The governor was referring to a Sept. 12, 2010, attack on the HKBP church congregation, which sought to gain permission to build a church in Bekasi, West Java.
In the attack, Rev. Luspida Simanjuntak and Hasean Lombantoruan Sihombing, one of the church's senior members, were wounded by a group of Muslim assailants grouped under the Bekasi Islam Defenders' Front (FPI), which rejected the plan to build the church.
The Bekasi District Court sentenced Murhali Barda, head of the Bekasi FPI, to five months and 15 days in jail for masterminding the attack. Murhali was freed after the verdict was read because he had been in detention since Sept. 13, 2010.
Heryawan said the dispute over the Yasmin church could be settled if the two opposing sides were willing to negotiate.
Previously, the Ombudsman of the Republic of Indonesia issued a recommendation for the Bogor mayor to annul the city administration's decree that revoked the Yasmin church building permit.
Budi Santoso, an ombudsman, said that under the recommendation the mayor should have implemented a Supreme Court verdict that ruled that the building permit was valid. The verdict was also sent to the West Java governor and the Home Ministry.
The governor and the Home Ministry, Budi said, had been told to ensure that the court verdict was implemented within 60 days after its issuance in mid-July, 2011. He said that if the mayor refused to comply with the ruling, the ombudsman body would forward the case to the President and the House of Representatives.
The Supreme Court's verdict included an edict that said the verdict was permanently binding. However, the mayor, who was elected with the support of the Golkar Party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), has refused to comply with the court ruling.
In response to being denied access to its half-completed church, the Yasmin church congregation began holding its Sunday services on a sidewalk near the church, prompting aggressive protests from local Muslims.
Budi said that Mayor Diani's stubbornness was counterproductive. "There should have been institutions or bodies supervising the recommendation, in this case the West Java governor and the Home Ministry," he said.
Heryawan, who had recently spoken to the mayor over the phone about the issue, said that his provincial administration was ready to support an amicable solution. "Please, settle this amicably through negotiation," the governor was quoted as saying.
The governor has pledged the Bogor municipal administration funds to solve the issue. "If needed, we are ready to set aside funds from the regional budget. The most important thing is to settle the case through the best possible means. Whether this will be similar to the settlement of the Cikeuting church attack case is up to the mayor.
"This should have satisfied all parties involved in the dispute. If they need financial assistance, the provincial administration is ready to help, note this, ready to help," Heryawan added.