"It's shameful" is the reaction of Bona Sigalingging, spokesperson for the GKI Yasmin church, following a closed meeting between the Indonesian Interior Minister, the leaders of the city of Bogor in West Java and the leaders of an extremist Islamic movement. The meeting resulted in the congregation being evicted from their buildings despite having all the required permits and a ruling from the Constitutional Court. In response, the Christian leaders have filed a complaint against the local authorities and the mayor, Diani Budiarto.
The meeting was held on September 8th and was attended by the Indonesian Minister of the Interior, Gamawan Fauzi, the leader of the Islamic extremist group Forkami, Iman Ahmad and the Mayor of Bogo, Diani Budiarto. The minister's decision has caused confusion in the Christian community. Not only have they been excluded from the negotiating table, they have also had to passively submit to the two parties: the local authorities and the extremist movement Forkami, which has persecuted religious minorities more than anyone else in recent months.
In an interview with AsiaNews, Bona Sigalingging, spokesperson for the Yasmin church, describes the decision to invite the leader of Forkami as "shameful". It is a well-known "radical Islamist group", he adds, "who have increased tensions" and who in turn "have succeeded in forcibly removing us from our church". The spokesperson points out that the decision to close the church is in direct contradiction to rulings from both the Constitutional Court and the Ombudsman and that they have sent a complaint to the police. This appeal to the courts is supported by the Synod of Indian Churches and the Working Group on Human Rights who speak of the government's "double standards" when it comes to religious freedom.
Building a church in Indonesia is a complicated process and it takes five to ten years to obtain all the permits required by law. The procedure is governed by the so-called Izin Mendirikan Bangunan, a written protocol that gives permission to start construction and is issued by the local authorities. It gets more complicated if it's a Christian church building: permission must be obtained from a number of local residents and the local interfaith dialog group. And even if permission is obtained, there may still be "unspecified reasons" why the authorities choose to block construction. This is often due to pressure from the Muslim community or radical Islamist movements.
In late May, the believers of Yasmin Church celebrated Pentecost in Jakarta in front of the Presidential Palace. The Christians gathered near the residence of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono because they had been robbed of their church. For three years they have not been able to attend church because it has been sealed off by order of the local authorities and Mayor Budiarto.
