Jakarta – Parishioners at GKI Yasmin Church said on Thursday that they appreciated the President's supportive statements toward the beleaguered church but hoped that the talk would be transformed into real action.
The church's spokesperson, Bona Sigalingging, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday that the church's members praised President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's statement that "they [GKI Yasmin] have a right to their church".
News station KBR68H quoted presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha as saying Wednesday that Yudhoyono had repeatedly asked Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto to abide by the Supreme Court ruling that favored the congregation in the dispute over the church. "Those who oppose the existence of the church, either religious groups or the [Bogor] administration, should explain their reasons," Julian said, quoting Yudhoyono.
Speaking before Christians at the national Christmas celebration at the Jakarta Convention Center on Tuesday, the President called on the people to uphold the Constitution and foster tolerance. "Let us build the culture of tolerance and mutual respect," he said. As of today, the church at Taman Yasmin, Bogor, is still sealed and its members cannot conduct any kind of religious activity inside it.
Diani had said that his decision to seal the church was aimed at maintaining peace and stability in the area. He said that residents living near the church had protested the church's existence.
With the mayor's high level of resistance to opening the church, Bona said that his church needed much more than "nice comments from the President".
Bona questioned the effectiveness of the President's order. "The words of the President should be listened to by his subordinates, shouldn't they?" Bona said.
Bona said that Diani's defiance of the order could undermine the President's authority. "If Diani ignores the order and the President does nothing, other regional leaders can do that too in years ahead," he said.
Mayor Diani did not return calls from The Jakarta Post for comment on Thursday.
Discrimination against GKI Yasmin's members highlights the high intensity of religious disputes in Indonesia. Bogor city administration withdrew the church's construction permit in February 2008 and forcefully sealed the church in April 2010.
The church took the case to the Supreme Court and won their legal status in December 2010. The Bogor administration insisted on sealing the church despite the ruling, saying that the church's existence could trigger conflicts with residents living around the site.
On Dec. 25 last year, the church's members were prevented from holding Christmas mass in their own church by a group of hard-liners who protested the celebration. The incident was repeated this year, as hardliners and police officers blockaded access to the church.
"The central government should have been our defender," Bona said. "If we let this discrimination continue, I am afraid that minorities will face a dark future in this country," he added.
The GKI Yasmin saga is one of many episodes of religious tension this year. In February, three members of the Islamic Ahmadiyah sect were killed by locals in Cikeusik, Banten, West Java. A few days later, three churches were destroyed by angry mobs in Temanggung, Central Java.
In October, the local administration in Bekasi, West Java, issued an ordinance banning members of Ahmadiyah from publicly practicing their faith. (lfr)