Sita W. Dewi, Jakarta – Some churchgoers will be forced to attend their Christmas masses on the streets because after years of struggle no resolution has been found to the issues their churches face.
Representatives of the Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) Yasmin in Bogor and the Filadelfia Batak Church in Bekasi confirmed on Friday that they had yet to receive positive signals from relevant authorities that their church buildings could be accessed for Christmas, which will be celebrated next Thursday.
GKI Yasmin spokesman Bona Sigalingging told The Jakarta Post that parishioners planned to conduct Christmas mass in the sidewalks in front of the church building on Thursday morning.
"We will gather in one of our congregation member's residence nearby at 7:30 a.m. and then together march to the church area and hold the Christmas mass in front of the church building," Bona said.
He said the congregation would be accompanied by representatives of inter-faith groups and human rights watchdogs, including the Wahid Institute, the Setara Institute, the Bhinneka Tunggal Ika National Alliance and the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute.
Earlier this week, GKI Yasmin representatives came to the National Police headquarters, requesting police protection from potential disturbances and threats during Christmas this year.
GKI Yasmin lawyer Jayadi Da-manik said police protection would be necessary, as there were many groups that had prevented churchgoers from using the half-finished GKI Yasmin church in Bogor as a place of worship.
This year will mark the congregation's fifth year in celebrating Christmas outside the church building since it was sealed by Bogor city administration in 2010.
Last year, they held a Christmas mass under the rain in front of the State Palace. In 2008, the Supreme Court rejected a request from the Bogor City Planning and Parks Agency to revoke the church's building permit (IMB) it issued on Feb. 14, 2008. This ruling was upheld by the Court two years later.
However, then Bogor mayor Diani Budiarto eventually revoked the church's IMB only several days after he promised to uphold the Supreme Court's ruling.
Despite campaign promises that Bogor Mayor Bima Arya will prioritize finding the resolution to the GKI Yasmin saga, Bona admitted there had been no signs of progress on the matter as of today.
Separately, Filadelfia Batak Church representative Rev. Edwin Lubis said the Filadelfia congregation would hold Christmas mass in front of the State Palace this year, just like they did last year.
"There will be around 100 of us who will gather in Bekasi and then take a bus to the State Palace on Thursday morning," he said, "I hope the President will welcome us and invite us in."
In 2011, the Bekasi municipal administration sealed off Filadelfia church after local residents objected to its construction. Although the Bandung State Administrative Court has ruled in favor of the church's right to exist, the administration has still not reopened the site.
Currently, GKI Yasmin and Filadelfia hold Sunday services every two weeks in front of the Presidential Palace in Central Jakarta to protest.
Both Bona and Edwin acknowledged they had met with high-ranking officials from the government, including Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo, who encouraged them to hold Christmas masses inside church buildings. "However, nothing real has happened yet," Bona said.
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/12/20/xmas-streets-churchgoers.html