Ulma Haryanto, Indonesia – Another mob attack on Christian worshipers in Bekasi on Sunday has led to renewed calls for police and national leaders to crack down on the apparently swelling tide of religious violence.
About 20 members of the Batak Christian Protestant Church (HKBP) in Pondok Timur Indah were chased and beaten with sticks by a mob believed linked to the hard-line Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) after they tried to conduct Sunday services at a field in Ciketing, Bekasi.
The HKBP church house had been sealed by authorities in June as part of the agreement between Bekasi Mayor Mochtar Muhammad and Murhali Barda, the leader of the Bekasi chapter of the FPI.
Witnesses said the attackers appeared to be FPI members, and the attack comes just a day after Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo drew criticism for attending the hard-line group's anniversary party and asking it to report abuses of religious laws over Ramadan, which begins this week.
Saor Siagian, the church's legal representative, said more than 20 members of the congregation were assaulted on Sunday. "We already reported this to the National Police and I also accompanied them for a medical examination at the Kramat Jati Police hospital," he said.
"[Onlookers] and the police were just watching while they cornered me and the others," said the Rev. Luspida Simanjuntak of the HKBP, who said she was beaten with a stick.
Although the attackers claimed they were neighborhood residents, FPI's Murhali was on hand and locals identified the attackers as outsiders, said Indra Listiantara, a researcher with the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace, who witnessed the violence.
"I checked myself with local residents. They said all the demonstrators were members or affiliates of the FPI who had demonstrated against the churchgoers on previous occasions," Indra said.
Habib Salim, head of the Regional Board of Council of FPI Jakarta, denied the organization had been involved.
Nur Kholis, a member of the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM), said it was monitoring the case and that it was time for the central government to step in.
"The problem has dragged on and on. When the regional government is no longer able to solve the matter, it is time for the governor along with the Religious Affairs Ministry to take over," he said.
Nasaruddin Umar, director general for Islamic affairs at the ministry, voiced his disapproval of the violence and said he would appoint an official from the regional office to follow the matter.
"Any violation of the law has to be acted upon. I am going to request the regional office to make a written explanation before I decide what steps to take," he said.
Setara called on the police to make good on promises of firm action to quash religious violence. "The National Police must halt this mass anarchy and provide full protection to all worshipping activities," program manager Ismail Hasani said in a press release. He said that insufficient police personnel was no excuse.
"President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has to order the National Police chief to act firmly against this attack by a mob that has repeatedly engaged in violence in Bekasi," he said.
Legal expert and former police officer Bambang Widodo Umar agreed that the force should get involved.
"Interreligious affairs are still a sensitive issue in the country. However, judging from previous incidents, the police should know that whenever different religious groups are involved, it means they should bring more enforcement," he said.
Several "Twitter activists" agreed to meet with FPI leader Habib Rizieq today to discuss the increasing violence. "It is time for people to act... We have to do something, and this is the least that I could do," Mira Meulia-Siregar, an architect and mother of two, told the Jakarta Globe. She could not yet say how many people would take part in the visit.
Fauzi came under fire on Sunday for attending the FPI's 12th anniversary bash the day before, along with Jakarta Police Chief Insp. Gen. Timur Pradopo. He was also criticized for asking the group to help make sure that the laws and regulations were respected during Ramadan, including the prohibition on nighttime entertainment.
"Fauzi Bowo not only acknowledges the existence of thuggery, he sanctions it. His attendance there was not correct," said Ulil Abshar Abdalla from Nahdlatul Ulama, the nation's largest Islamic organization.
Rachland Nashidik, from the Democratic Party, was quoted by Vivanews as calling on his party to admonish Fauzi, a party patron, for failure to stand up for the Democrats' drive for pluralism.