Jakarta – Worshippers from the Filadelfia Batak Protestant Union (HKBP) church in Bekasi regency, West Java, again were stopped from performing Sunday services by a mob of local residents.

Some 150 members of the Filadelfia HKBP congregation who had arrived at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday found several hundred protesters had blocked all roads leading to the church in Jejalen Jaya village, North Tambun district.

Despite the presence of eight trucks' worth of Bekasi Public Order Agency officers stationed around the church to maintain security, HKBP leaders said they had to cancel services due to the tense conditions.

This follows a trend of the congregation constantly being blocked from accessing the church grounds. On April 22, about 500 protesters cordoned off the church's entryways. A lawyer for the church, Saor Siagian, blamed local leaders for creating conditions that allowed the protests to take place.

"These local residents are taking advantage of the Bekasi regency administration's stance over our right to worship," Saor said on Sunday, referring to the way that local leaders had halted construction for the church in 2010.

Saor also criticized protesters for taking their anger out on worshipers. "If local residents have a problem with our church, they should complain to the government. They shouldn't mob us or prevent us from worshiping," Saor told The Jakarta Post.

Filadelfia HKBP pastor Palti Panjaitan said his flock would continue to fight for their right to worship. "Asking that we move out of the area and worship somewhere else won't solve the problem," Palti said.

"If we appease the people who disagree with us being here, it is logically no different from having President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono step down in order to appease people who don't like his presidency."

Palti said that they will conduct next week's Sunday services in front of the Presidential Palace. They will be joined by churchgoers from the Yasmin Indonesian Christian Church (GKI), another church congregation that has similarly been barred from worshipping and building a church.

Construction for Yasmin GKI church in Bogor was halted by the Bogor city administration in 2008, despite the fact that the church had secured a building permit. (png/cor)