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SBY urges religious tolerance, scolds intimidators in speech at church

Jakarta Globe - December 5, 2011

Bayu Marhaenjati – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono stressed on Sunday the importance of preserving religious harmony in Indonesia and condemned religious groups' intimidation of others.

Yudhoyono was speaking at an event held by the Batak Christian Protestant Church (HKBP), which will celebrate its 150th anniversary this month during an event at Gelora Bung Karno. "Hopefully the HKBP can keep growing and actively participate in the name of God to preserve religious harmony," Yudhoyono said.

The HKBP is the largest Protestant denomination in Indonesia with more than 4.5 million members. The church was founded in 1861 by German missionaries who converted the predominantly animistic Batak community in North Sumatra.

"I know the Batak community, particularly the Batak Protestants, have participated in the nation's struggle ever since the [Dutch] colonial era," the president said.

"For example, [military leader] T.B. Simatupang. He fought the Dutch colonialists while being a prominent church figure, and there are many more Batak figures."

"Every religion teaches fundamental ideals of good and togetherness. Our nation's diversity is a strength, a gift from God which we must preserve," Yudhoyono continued. "Therefore, we must not force our will onto or intimidate our brothers in performing their religious duties. Tolerance is non-negotiable."

The speech came amid an uptick in incidents of intimidation committed against religious minorities in Indonesia.

For more than a year, congregation members of the Indonesian Christian Church in Taman Yasmin, Bogor have had to pray on the streets after the Bogor city government unilaterally revoked the church's building permit. The Supreme Court had ruled against the foreclosure of the church, but the Bogor administration defiantly refused to obey the ruling.

The HKBP itself was subject to a similar foreclosure case by the government of Bekasi. The organization, however, stopped campaigning to build the new church after an HKBP elder was stabbed and a female priest was beaten in 2009.