Hasyim Widhiarto, Jakarta – Residents of Pondok Timur Indah housing complex ran a massive rally against the Bekasi Protestant church congregation.

Pondok Timur Indah Huria Kristen Batak Protestant (HKBP) church congregation priest Luspita Simanjuntak said around 200 local residents gathered at 7 a.m. in front of the house in Jl. Puyuh Raya where the congregation regularly ran their Sunday Service.

"I was shocked," Luspita told The Jakarta Post. "The protesters yelled, telling us to stop because we were not allowed to run religious activity at a residence."

Established in 1990, Pondok Timur Indah HKBP currently has 300 families as its members. Facing long-standing resistance from local residents, the congregation ran their activity from private residences as they failed to secure approval from Bekasi municipality to build their own church.

In 2004, it bought 2,000 square meters of land, located 1 kilometer from the housing complex, to build their church.

The church construction committee decided to start the construction of their church while once again submitting their building permit application. The move, however, went sour after hundreds of local residents attacked and demolished their half-built church structure.

After dealing with a series of difficult situations, the congregation decided to buy a house in Pondok Timur Indah housing complex, hoping it would help them run their religious activities peacefully as well as accommodating the increasing number of congregation members.

Samosir, Pondok Timur Indah resident and congregation member, said the congregation had almost no problem in their first two years of activity in the complex. The tension, however, began prior to Christmas last year. "They said our Sunday Services were disturbing," he said.