Theresia Sufa and Lutfi Rakhmawati, Bogor – Hopes for significant progress in the protracted dispute over the sealed Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) Yasmin appeared to be fading again on Monday, as the mediator in the case said that his latest visit to Bogor was merely to "stay in touch" with religious figures.
Lt. Gen. (ret) Junianto Haroen, secretary-general with the National Resilience Council (Wantannas), said that his visit to Bogor had nothing to do with GKI Yasmin's long-standing dispute with the Bogor city administration, but was instead to meet with KH Mustofa, the leader of Al Ghazaly Islamic boarding house.
"I want to send my son here [to the boarding house]," he told reporters after the meeting.
Junianto, who was appointed as one of the mediators in the standoff, said that he did not talk about the Yasmin issue with Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto even though he was seen at the city hall in the day.
"I did not meet the mayor. Maybe the member of the President's Advisory Council [Watimpres] did," he said, referring to another mediator in the case.
The two councils have been appointed by the central government to intervene in the dispute and find a peaceful settlement.
Earlier on Monday, a text message was circulating among journalists saying that Junianto was slated to meet with Diani to break the impasse regarding the sealed church. Diani denied the meeting ever took place, saying there was no discussion about the GKI Yasmin saga with any parties on Monday.
Albert Hasibuan, a member of the Watimpres, did not return calls from The Jakarta Post for comments.
The Wantannas recently brokered a month-long negotiation between GKI Yasmin and the Bogor municipality administration during which it offered a construction of a mosque nearby the church as a symbol of religious tolerance. Junianto claimed that Diani had sent him an official letter stating that he would accept the mosque solution to the saga.
However, his claim was dismissed by the Bogor administration which said that the letter sent by Diani was "misinterpreted". The administration insisted that relocation was the only possible solution to ending the dispute.
Churchgoers refused the relocation plan and demanded that the city administration abide by the law and open the church for services. "We are against the relocation plan offered by the Bogor administration because it contravenes the law," church spokesman Bona Sigalingging said.
Diani ignored the 2010 Supreme Court ruling ordering the reopening of the church and a recommendation from the National Ombudsman Commission saying that members of the GKI Yasmin congregation should be allowed to perform religious practices in their own church.
In February this year, the House of Representatives also ignored the Supreme Court's ruling and told the churchgoers to try to resolve the dispute with the local administration. The House also mandated the central government to step in and provide room for mediation of the dispute.
Commenting on Junianto's visit to Bogor, Bona said that his church was now facing an uncertain future. "I thought we had made some positive improvements, but I was wrong," he said.