Vento Saudale – The continued blockade of the GKI Yasmin church in Bogor by the local administration and hard-line Muslims has drawn the ire of the World Council of Churches, which warned of rising intolerance in the country against minority groups.

The Rev. Soritua Nababan, a president of the WCC and a former head of the Protestant Christian Batak Church (HKBP), the biggest Protestant church in Indonesia, attempted to visit the site on Sunday but was prevented from doing so by public order officers (Satpol PP) and a mob of 500 hard-liners.

He said the continued closure of the church in direct violation of a Supreme Court ruling was a major cause for concern.

"This sets a very poor precedent whereby the freedom to worship and supremacy of law have been ignored," Soritua said. "It also highlights the intolerance faced by minority groups in Indonesia."

He added the GKI Yasmin case represented the wider struggle by members of minority religions across the country to practice their faith in peace. "This is a struggle for people of all faiths in Indonesia and is about our future," Soritua said.

He blasted the administration of Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto for flouting the court ruling and the central government for failing to address the issue. "It's been more than four years and yet the central government is still sleeping on the case without ensuring any certainty," he said.

Soritua added he had come to see the situation for himself, and not to provoke anyone, but had been blocked from getting anywhere near the church.

Bona Sigalingging, a spokesman for the beleaguered congregation, said it was not just the mob of hard-liners blocking off the road to the church who had turned the WCC president away.

"He was adamant that he wanted to go and see the church up close, but he was strictly reprimanded by the head of the public order agency [Bambang Budiarto] and warned that he wasn't allowed to," Bona said.

The church has been illegally sealed off by the city administration on the pretext that the congregation doctored a petition needed to obtain a building permit. The congregation has since 2008 been forced to hold Sunday services on the sidewalk outside the church.

In recent months, however, Muslim hard-liners led by the Indonesian Muslim Communication Forum (Forkami) have taken to blocking off the area.

Forkami members were out in force on Sunday, along with hard-liners from the Muslim Solidarity Front. Facing off against them, however, were protesters from the West Bogor Community Forum for Peace, which has expressed its frustration with the lack of a resolution and continued intimidation of the congregation.

There was also a heavy security presence on hand to prevent a clash, comprising 600 police and military personnel and Satpol PP.