Jakarta – West Java Governor Ahmad "Aher" Heryawan has lamented an Islamic group's raid of a Christmas celebration service in Bandung on Tuesday evening.
"We will solve [this issue]. We will find the root of the problem so that this will not undermine tolerance in our society," Aher said as quoted by kompas.com on Wednesday.
The Spiritual Awakening Service (KKR) at the Sasana Budaya Ganesha building on Jl. Tamansari, Bandung, was stopped by dozens of protesters who claimed to be from the Pembela Ahlu Sunnah (PAS) Islamic group.
PAS chair Muhammad Roin said his group had asked the service organizer to stop the second evening session of the service.
The service's first session ran from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., featuring reverend priest Stephen Tong. "They [the organizer] agreed to stop the service. We advised them to hold the service in places allowed by the country's laws," Roin said.
Arifin, one of the service organizers, said they decided to bow to the protesters demands and stop the service. "We dismissed ourselves peacefully. There is no resentment," he said.
Posts about the raid went viral on Wednesday with netizens protesting the authorities' inaction. (dmr)