[Kabar-indonesia] Indo News - 11/1/05

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3 High School Girls Beheaded in Indonesia
Oct 29, 7:52 AM EDT
Jakarta, Indonesia (AP)

Unidentified assailants attacked a group of high school girls on Saturday
in Indonesia's tense province of Central Sulawesi, beheading three and
seriously wounding a fourth, police said.

The students from a private Christian high school were ambushed while
walking through a cocoa plantation in Poso Kota subdistrict on their way
to class, police Maj. Riky Naldo said. The rural area is close to the
provincial capital of Poso, about 1,000 miles northeast of the Indonesian
capital Jakarta.

He said the heads of the three dead girls were found several miles from
their bodies.

Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation. But Central Sulawesi
has a roughly equal number of Muslims and Christians. The province on
Sulawesi island was the scene of a bloody sectarian war in 2001-2002 that
killed around 1,000 people from both communities.

At the time, beheadings, burnings and other atrocities were common.

A government-mediated truce ended the conflict in early 2002 but since
then, there have been a series of bomb attacks and assassinations
targeting Christians. A market attack in the predominantly Christian town
of Poso killed 22 people in May.

Christian leaders have repeatedly criticized the authorities in Jakarta
for allegedly not doing enough to find the perpetrators and bring them to
justice.

The Christian-Muslim conflict in Sulawesi was an extension of a wider
sectarian war in nearby Maluku archipelago in which up to 9,000 people
died between 1999 and 2002.

Soon after it erupted in 1999, the Maluku conflict intensified with the
arrival of volunteers belonging to Laskar Jihad, a newly created militia
from Indonesia's main island of Java that was supported by hardline
elements in the security forces.

Analysts and diplomats accused senior army commanders of funding and
training the militia, which was hurriedly disbanded following the
terrorist attacks on the tourist island of Bali in 2002 that killed more
than 200 people - including 88 foreigners. Some former militiamen are
believed to have moved to Poso.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
Latest News
10/29/2005 2:08:26 PM
Three Christian schoolgirls beheaded in C. Sulawesi
Jakarta (Agencies)

Three Christian teenage girls were beheaded Saturday in the latest attack
against non-Muslims in the troubled Indonesian province of Central
Sulawesi, police said.

The three high school students were found with their heads severed early
Saturday in the sectarian-divided town of Poso, said provincial police
spokesman Rais Adam.

The girls were believed to have been murdered while they were walking to
school, Adam said.

He said two of the victims' heads were found near a police post while the
third was discovered outside a local Christian church in Poso.

"We are still waiting for results from investigation in the field. We are
still trying to determine whether this case is religiously-motivated or
not," he told AFP.

A policewoman on duty in Poso confirmed to AFP that the triple murder had
taken place and that the killings were being investigated.

Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation, but Central Sulawesi
has a roughly equal number of Muslims and Christians. The province was the
scene of a bloody sectarian war in 2001-2002 that killed around 1,000
people from both communities.

A government-mediated truce succeeded in ending the conflict in early
2002, but there have since been a series of bomb attacks and
assassinations of Christians. These included a blast at a market in Poso,
a predominantly Christian town, that killed 22people in May.

Christian leaders have repeatedly accused the authorities in Jakarta of
not doing enough to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Townhall.com
Beheading of Christian Schoolgirls Sparks Concerns About Religious Strife
By Patrick Goodenough
Nov 1, 2005

(CNSNews.com) - Indonesian security forces remained on high alert and
religious leaders appealed for calm in the nation's Central Sulawesi
province following the beheading of three Christian schoolgirls at the
weekend.

Community leaders sought to downplay religion as a motivating factor in
the crime, although observers noted that the severed head of one of the
girls had been found several miles from the scene of the attack, outside a
church.

The timing of the attack may also be significant, coming just days before
the end of Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month. Numerous previous attacks on
Christians in Indonesia have occurred during Ramadan.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono himself suggested that some elements in
the Sulawesi city of Poso were bent on "maintain[ing] the hostility and
conflict" of the past.

In Sulawesi and another province, Maluku, thousands of people died in
clashes between Muslims and Christians between 1999 and 2002. (A minor
dispute in Maluku at the end of Ramadan triggered the violence in 1999.)
The two regions have sizeable Christian populations in what is otherwise a
predominantly Muslim nation.

Government-sponsored peace agreements eventually were signed in a bid to
end the violence, which was characterized by some as "sectarian" and by
others as part of an orchestrated anti-Christian "jihad" by Islamist
fighters shipped in from Indonesia's most populous island, Java.

Despite the peace deals, violence has occasionally flared since then in
Sulawesi, where 22 people were killed in a market place bombing last May.
Religious harmony has also been strained by the forced closure of scores
of churches elsewhere in the country, and the jailing of several
Christians.

Just last week a group called Indonesian Churches Together sent out an
"SOS" message urging Christians around the world to pray for those in
Indonesia facing an "escalation of terrorism, intimidation and
persecution," the Assist news service reported.

Saturday's grisly murders happened as a group of teenaged girls were
walking through a cocoa plantation to their Christian high school near
Poso.

Men armed with machetes attacked them, hacking off the heads of three of
them and severely wounding a fourth. The survivor, identified as
14-year-old Noviana Malewa, is in hospital.

Local reports cite unnamed police officers as saying the surviving witness
said there had been six attackers, wearing black clothing and masks.

The chairman of the Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI), the Rev.
Andreas Yewangoe, urged the government to track down the perpetrators and
discover their motives.

He said PGI officials were to visit Poso to appeal for calm, amid fears
some Christians may be planning retaliatory attacks as Muslims prepare to
end Ramadan with the holiday of Eid al-Fitr on Thursday.

Leading Muslim figures condemned the killings which Din Syamsuddin,
chairman of the huge Islamic organization Muhammadiyah, sought to distance
from religious rivalry, blaming them on a "third party."

Jakarta earlier sent in hundreds of extra paramilitary police and stepped
up security patrols. Yudhoyono also dispatched senior security officials
to Poso.

"Some Indonesian Christians are doubtful about how much will be achieved,
given the security forces' record of reluctance to protect Christians or
to bring their attackers to justice," reported the Barnabas Fund, a
Christian organization which works closely with Christians in Indonesia
and other Muslim countries.

It said the Rev. Rinaldy Damanik, a local Christian leader, served two
years' imprisonment until his release a year ago after being indicted "on
a trumped up charge, simply for trying to publicize the anti-Christian
violence in Central Sulawesi."

Damanik, who denied the charges of owning weapons without permission, is
currently touring Britain speaking on religious persecution in his
homeland.

Another campaign group, International Christian Concern, argued that
behind the violence in Indonesia lay the funding of radical mosques, imams
and religious schools by Saudi Arabia.

"Although [Indonesian] Muslims and Christians had good relations for
hundreds of years, since the advent of Saudi influence in Indonesian Islam
there has been wave after wave of death and destruction," it said in a
statement.

In an editorial published Tuesday, the Jakarta Post warned against what it
called "acts of provocation to reignite conflict between Muslims and
Christians."

It expressed concern that should violence erupt anew, it may not be
restricted to Sulawesi and Maluku but spread to other parts of the world's
most populous Muslim country.

"Already, we are seeing signs of uneasiness among non-Muslims because of
the government's seemingly constant failure to protect them. And we are
seeing signs of growing religious radicalism and even intolerance between
religious communities."

The paper said recent developments had raised questions about the
commitment and ability of the government "to protect the rights of
religious minorities and to enable them to freely practice their faith."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Christianity Today - Week of October 31
Christian Teens Beheaded in Indonesia
Attacks only the latest in effort to "exterminate the Christian community"
in the Poso area.
by Deann Alford
posted 11/01/2005 10:00 a.m.

In what one Indonesian human rights activist describes as the latest
attack in an ongoing terror campaign against Christians of Central
Sulawesi, Indonesia, three teenage girls en route to school through a
cocoa plantation were beheaded Saturday morning, apparently by Muslims.

Theresia Murangke, 14, and Ida Lambuaga and Alfina Yarni Sambue, both 15,
were attacked one mile from Sayo village near the town of Poso, reports
Indonesian Christian journalist Ibrahim Buaya, who formerly lived in this
volatile region of Indonesia. A fourth girl, Noviana Malewa, 14, escaped
from her attackers with machete wounds to her face. Buaya reported that
she is in Poso General Hospital under heavy guard. The Associated Press
reported that Noviana told police the six attackers wore black shirts.

Two of the girls' heads were found near a police station five miles from
the village of Poso. The head of the third was left in front of Kasiguncu
village's Pentecostal Church of Indonesia (GPdI), eight miles from where
the bodies were found in the cocoa plantation.

Christian human rights attorney Ann Buwalda, director of Jubilee Campaign
USA¸ describes Central Sulawesi as "crawling with Laskar Jihad terrorist
training camps." The Indonesian Muslim militant group, whose name means
"Holy War Warriors," has killed thousands since 2000 in its attacks on
Christian populations on the islands of Moluccas and Sulawesi.

Laskar Jihad is "determined to exterminate the Christian community in this
region," Buaya said.

Anti-Christian violence began in Central Sulawesi in December 1998,
including assassinations, forced closure of churches, bus and market
bombings, and the torching of more than 20 Christian villages. On June 19,
2000, Muslim militants massacred 211 worshipers, among them 45 children,
in the Evangelical Christian Church in Halmahera (GMIH) in the Central
Sulawesi village of Duma. In August 2003, a drive-by motorcycle shooter
fired at six children in front of Poso Presbyterian Church; two children
were hit, but survived.

Central Sulawesi province is located some 1,000 miles northeast of
Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, which is the world's most populous
Muslim nation. Each of its 6,000 inhabited islands, however, has a
distinct culture and religious atmosphere. Buwalda noted that some areas
of Indonesia, such as North Sulawesi, are nearly 100 percent Christian and
free of violence.

Compass Direct reported in June that congresses in Jakarta in 2004 and
Sulawesi in March 2005 recommended that Shari'ah principles be introduced
through a revision of Indonesia's criminal law. In addition, provincial
councils are including more Shari'ah principles in local bylaws. Some
provinces have restricted Christians' freedom of worship.

The BBC cites analysts' reports that militants have targeted Central
Sulawesi and believe it could be turned into the cornerstone of an Islamic
state. Before a December 2001 peace accord that ended two years of
conflict in Central Sulawesi, the area was half Christian and half Muslim.
Buwalda estimates that during the peace accord, the Christian population
began to plummet from the town of Poso, where Christian neighborhoods
remain mostly empty as their homes were razed during the conflict. Poso
district still has a population of Christians.

The Associated Press describes the Sulawesi strife as an extension of a
"wider sectarian war" in nearby Maluku where up to 9,000 died between 1999
and 2002.

Buwalda, who has visited Central Sulawesi three times, disputes widespread
media reports that the violence is a "sectarian war." In reality, she
said, it's "Laskar Jihad who has tried to expunge the area of Christians."
Weapon bans leave Christians unarmed, virtually sitting ducks for Muslim
attacks. "This is all being done to them. They are completely victimized,"
said Buwalda, who in 2003 met the number-three leader of Poso's Laskar
Jihad organization. The leader claimed that the attacks were in response
to Christians' plotting against Muslims, a charge that Buwalda refutes. Of
the most recent violence, Buwalda said, "I don't think the three little
Christian girls were plotting to do in the Muslim community. None of the
arguments as to why this violence is happening is making any sense."

Buwalda says the numbers of Christian casualties—approximately 90 percent
of all deaths in the ongoing violence—is evidence that Central Sulawesi
Christians have not taken up arms against the Muslim aggressors. "They
would not have suffered the number of dead in the conflict, in the
massacres, had they actually been able to defend themselves," she said.

Christians continue fleeing to neighboring villages, notably Tentena, an
almost entirely Christian community where in May, Muslim militants bombed
the village market, killing 22 Christians.

In March 2003, Buwalda met with Indonesia's vice president Jusuf Kalla,
who told Buwalda in regard to destruction of Christian villages that "the
Christians should just get over it and move on. 
 We can't let them sit
around as refugees."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
Headline News
November 01, 2005
Poso parents mourn, urge police to find daughters' murderers
Ruslan Sangadji, The Jakarta Post, Palu

Lying helplessly in hospital, the stab wound on her face covered with
antiseptics and gauze, the girl cries out in pain.

Noviana Malewa, 15, was one of four high school girls attacked by
unidentified assailants on Saturday morning in Poso Sulawesi. The three
other girls, who were also Noviana's cousins, were beheaded.

Noviana, a student of a Christian school in Poso escaped the ambush.

She has not been told about the beheadings.

"I only told her that her three cousins had been admitted to Tentena
Hospital," Noviana's mother Nur Malewa told The Jakarta Post on Monday at
the Central Sulawesi Police hospital, Bhayangkara.

A moment later, she broke down in tears.

"What did my daughter do to deserve this?" Nur said.

She recalled how the four girls -- Noviana, Theresia Morangke, 15, Alfita
Poliwo, 17, and Yarni Sambue, 15 -- had traveled to and from school
together.

The fathers of the three dead girls described them as spirited, active and
popular young women who had done well at school.

Theresia's father Hendrius Morangke said his daughter had been obedient
and pious, rarely missing church.

"I will never forget -- she always made me coffee, every single morning.
Now that she's gone, I can only cry," he said.

Markus Sambue said it was agony to know that he could never again hear the
angelic voice of his girl, Yarni, who had been a member of the church
choir.

"I really loved her voice. Lord in Heaven, please accept her by your
side," he said.

The mourning parents said they were not seeking to avenge the killings.
Nor were they suspicious of any one group, meaning Muslims in particular.

"We're certain the perpetrators wanted to bring violence to Poso. We will
never again be provoked," Nur said.

She said she only hoped her daughter would get better and the assailants
would be brought to justice.

"We are not asking for much. The police shouldn't be idle -- they have to
arrest the perpetrators, we have suffered enough."

Minister Renaldy Damanik, who heads the synod of the Central Sulawesi
Christian Church, said the assailants were not Muslims from Poso, where
some 2,000 people were killed in a bloody sectarian war a few years ago.

He said the killers had been acting on the instructions of a certain group
who wanted to refuel hatred between Muslims and Christians.

Noted local Muslim cleric Adnan Arsal voiced the same concern, saying the
police should not be quick to blame Muslim communities.

Central Sulawesi Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Rais D. Adam said that
police had questioned six witnesses, including Noviana, a mother and her
10-year-old child.

Rais, however, added that the results of the investigation could not yet
be made public.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
Headline News
November 01, 2005
Govt criticized for Poso security failures
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Palu

With the police still in the dark over the identities of the killers of
three Christian schoolgirls in Poso, Central Sulawesi, on Saturday, the
security authorities came in for harsh criticism on Monday for failing to
secure the small town of about 6,000 residents.

Critics questioned the authorities' failure to stop a series of attacks in
Poso despite the deployment of more than 3,500 police and soldiers as part
of a security operation in the area.

The Sintuwu Maroso security operation has been extended seven times since
2002 as sporadic violence has continued in Poso despite the signing of a
peace deal a year earlier by local Muslim and Christian leaders.

"It is ironic. Poso is smaller than a subdistrict in Jakarta, but the huge
number of police and military personnel have been unable to capture any of
the attackers," said Rendy Lamadjido, a member of the House of
Representatives' special committee on Poso.

"That shows the security forces are not serious about dealing with Poso,"
added the legislator from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle
(PDI-P).

Similar criticism was voiced by House Speaker Agung Laksono, who blamed
the police and intelligence agencies for a series of attacks in Poso,
including Saturday's beheadings of the three schoolgirls.

This latest tragedy raises serious questions about how the security
authorities are carrying out their duties, he said.

"We have heard about the poor performance of our security forces, and this
latest incident in Poso, which took place during Ramadhan, has provided
further proof," Agung said.

Otto Syamsuddin Ishak of rights watchdog Imparsial accused the security
authorities, including intelligence agents, of neglecting the persistent
violence in Poso.

The government must launch counterintelligence operations to prevent
further attacks there, he said.

"And a close examination of intelligence officers is required to determine
whether or not they have carried out their duties properly."

National Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras)
coordinator Usman Hamid called for an investigation into the circulation
of explosives and weapons in Poso since the deployment of police and
soldiers to the area in 2002.

According to data from Imparsial and Kontras, there were at least 19
shooting incidents in Poso in 2002. There were 10 incidents in 2003, seven
in 2004 and four so far this year.

The rights groups also recorded at least 11 murders in Poso between 2002
and 2005, and 33 bombings in the town over the same period.

In the majority of these incidents no suspects have ever been arrested.

Rendy said his House special committee had recommended that the government
take stern action against state officials implicated in the continued
violence in Poso.

The committee also asked the government to do more to prevent violence,
and to outline mechanisms to boost coordination between the police and
military in Poso.

However, these recommendations have been ignored, Rendy said.

Two days after the murders of the three schoolgirls, police said they had
questioned at least six witnesses but still had no leads on the murderers.

The six witnesses included a survivor of the attack, Noviana Malewa, and a
local woman and her 10-year-old child who were near the scene of the
murders.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Aryanto Boediharjo called the
beheadings a "well-planned crime", but could not say if the attackers had
"military-style training".

National Police chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Makbul Padmanegara said the
killers must have come from outside Poso.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
Headline News
October 29, 2005
Central Sulawesi Police hunt for minivan bomber
Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The police are currently focusing their search on a suspicious passenger
who alighted from a minibus minutes before a bomb went off in Parigi,
Central Sulawesi, on Thursday seriously injuring one man.

The explosion that detonated in the bus near Toboli village on Thursday
was small, although it seriously injured one person sitting next to it. A
54-year-old man, Murdani, is currently receiving medical treatment at the
Parigi Hospital for first and second-degree burns all over his body.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Aryanto Boedihardjo said on Friday
that other passengers in the bus suspected a man who got off just before
the explosion was the bomber.

"We have questioned the witnesses, who are mostly passengers of the bus,
and they all suspected a man with curly hair wearing a jacket to be the
bomber since he sat on a seat where the bomb went off after he got off,"
Aryanto said.

"The witnesses said that the man sat on the seat and got off the bus just
before the explosion shook the bus so it was possible for him to put the
bomb under the seat," Aryanto said.

He said that the suspicious passenger got in the bus from Mamboro bus
terminal and got off somewhere in Toboli village. Eleven people were on
the bus that was traveling from the predominantly Muslim provincial
capital of Palu to the largely Christian town in Tentena.

Police said their investigations revealed the bomb was a low-explosive
home-made device using black powder -- a mixture of sodium nitrate,
charcoal and sulphur -- and ball-bearings. The police also found
detonators, a fuse and nine-volt battery on the bus.

Nine volt batteries were also used in previous larger-scale explosions
such as in Bali in early October as well as other bomb attacks in Jakarta.
According to convicted 2002 Bali bomber, Ali Imron, the nine-volt battery
was one of Azahari's bomb trademarks.

Azahari bin Husin and Noordin Mohd. Top are the country's two most-wanted
terrorists, believed to be the masterminds behind a series of explosions
in the country.

However, the police refused to link the recent explosion in Central
Sulawesi to others that have occurred in other parts of the archipelago,
saying it was too early to make any conclusions.

"We will try to track down this man first, since we already knew when he
got off from the bus and where he started and we also learned about his
characteristics. Hopefully this would help us to find him," he said.

Poso has been a flash-point of sectarian clashes between Muslims and
Christians that left more than 1,000 people dead in two years of bloodshed
up to 2001.

Until August this year, at least four bombs -- two of them in Poso city --
have exploded. The bombings at Tentena market in May this year that killed
21 people were the second deadliest in Indonesia since the Bali bombings
of 2002 that killed 202 people and the recent Bali bombs that killed 23
and injured more than 150.

In May, two bombs ripped through a crowded market in the predominantly
Christian area of Tentena, killing 21 civilians and injuring 70 others.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Crisis Centre Diocese Of Amboina
Jalan Pattimura 32 - Ambon 97124 - Indonesia
Tel 0062 (0)911 342195   Fax 0062 (0)911 355337
E-mail crisiscentre01 at hotmail.com

Ambon, October 25, 2005
The Situation In Ambon / Moluccas – Report No. 490

1. Funds For Rehabilitation Of Houses Of Worship – Cabinet Minister for
Religious Affairs, Muh. Maftuh Basyuni, was in Ambon and attended the
opening ceremony of the 35th GPM Synod on 23 October. During an
interreligious dialogue, which was held in the Maranatha Church, Ambon,
the Minister said that funds would be made available to rebuild or restore
144 Houses of Worship that have been destroyed in the Moluccas during the
conflict in the Moluccas from 1999 to 2003.

On this occasion Governor Karel Albert Ralahalu confirmed that during
2005, 60 Houses of Worship have been rehabilitated, namely 26 churches, 24
mosques and 10 Pura and Klenteng, which were burned or destroyed during
the conflict. He also said that at several sites the respective religious
communities wanted the church or mosque to be rebuilt at another location,
since the whole community has moved away from the original site. The
government complied to such requests.

2. “Maluku Back To Normal” – On 22 October, the Muslim community in Ambon
held a Nuzulul Quran (Revelation of the Koran) celebration at the Al Fatah
mosque, which was also attended by Religious Affairs Minister Maftuh
Basuni. The Governor of the Province of the Moluccas, Karel Albert
Ralahalu, too, was present. After the celebration the Governor declared:
"The Moluccas has fully returned to normalcy and I believe its people can
no longer be provoked. However, there are still many things left to do.
The economic sector is developing and reconstruction of houses of worship,
administration offices and other facilities are still underway," he said.

Meanwhile, in his speech, Minister Maftuh Basyuni asked the people of the
Moluccas to continue developing the social relations concept of "Pela
Gandong" that had existed in the province for a long time. "It depends on
our will whether or not Pela Gandong is still able to build harmony," he
said. Thus was reported by Antara Newsagency.

C.J. Böhm msc
Crisis Centre Diocese of Amboina
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
Headline News
October 29, 2005
Tension runs high in Bekasi over Sunday services
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Tensions are running high in the Jati Mulya housing complex in Bekasi,
West Java, with some 1,500 Christians demanding their places of worship be
reopened with local Muslims insisting they are shut down for good.

Secretary of the Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI) for Bekasi area
Hotman Hutasoit said on Friday the Christians -- coming from three
churches the HKBP, Gekindo and GPDI -- had decided to hold Sunday services
on the streets if local residents keep blocking roads to their three
places of worship.

"Holding a Sunday service is our basic need just like eating and drinking.
We can't just stop doing it. We will conduct the Sunday services even if
several residents here threaten us," he told The Jakarta Post.

A clash almost broke out last Sunday between members of the three
congregations and local Muslim residents, several of whom claimed to be
members of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), when Christians held services
on the streets inside the housing complex.

There was brief pushing and pulling between the two groups but no violence
occurred as around 100 police officers were deployed to the housing
complex.

Hotman said that their efforts, including discussions with authorities and
a dialog with local residents, had failed to resolve the dispute.

The dispute began in September, when a group of Muslims blocked all roads
leading to the HKBP, Gekindo and GPDI places of worship.

After several days of discussion, local Muslims insisted that the 13-year
old churches had to be closed down as they had not obtained building
permits.

Local authorities said they were still trying to find other locations for
Christians to hold their Sunday services.

Jati Mulya village chief Sulaiman said local residents wanted the three
places of worship to be closed permanently.

"Local residents want the Christians to hold their services outside Jati
Mulya village and the Bekasi regent has recently issued a decree
prohibiting the buildings being used for Sunday services. The regent,
police, church representatives and myself have discussed alternative
locations for them," he told Post.

Secretary of Bekasi Regency Herry Koesaeri confirmed Friday that they were
looking for places where the three congregations could build churches.

Many churches in Bandung and the Greater Jakarta area have been forcefully
shut down by hard-line Muslim groups, including the FPI and the
Anti-Apostasy Movement Alliance (AGAP).

PGI leader Andreas A. Yewangoe complained to President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono earlier about the closure of 23 churches in Bandung by hard-line
groups since September 2004.

Christians have long considered a 1969 joint ministerial decree as the
root of the problem.

The decree requires that congregations wishing to build a house of worship
to secure approval from the head of local administration and seek
permission from local residents.

With Indonesia being predominantly Muslims, minority Christians often have
difficulties in building churches, and instead use houses, shop-houses or
hotels to hold services.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
Headline News
November 01, 2005
Church row in Bekasi resolved amicably
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Tension between Muslims and Christians at Jati Mulya housing complex in
Bekasi, West Java, has come to a peaceful end, at least for the time
being, with the latter agreeing to conduct their Sunday services at the
nearby Social Affairs Agency office.

Bekasi Regental Secretary Herry Koesaeri said on Monday that the agreement
was reached at a meeting between leaders of Muslims and Christians on
Sunday, witnessed by Jakarta Police chief Ins. Gen. Firman Gani, House of
Representatives member Effendi Simbolon and a representative of the Bekasi
administration.

"We hope that the agreement will resolve differences among residents in
the Jati Mulya housing complex," Ferry told The Jakarta Post.

Some 500 Christians from the HKBP Church scuffled with 200 Muslims at the
housing complex on Sunday morning after they held a 30-minute service on
the street leading to their place of worship, which has been blocked by
Muslims since September.

There was no violence as police quickly separated the two groups.

According to Ferry, Christians would now conduct their religious services
at the Social Affairs Agency office on Jl. Joyo Martono, about a kilometer
away from the closed church on Jl. Melati Raya Ujung, for the next two
months, while local authorities and religious leaders find a place for the
Christians to build a church.

The Christians also agreed not to conduct religious activities in a church
on Jl. Melati Raya Ujung, while local Muslims agreed not to destroy the
church that has been used as place of worship since 1993.

Protestant Minister Maruli Tobing said on Monday that Christians in Jati
Mulya would abide by the agreement in order to avoid bloody conflict among
adherents of the two religions.

"I see there are good intentions from the Bekasi regental administration
in allowing us to conduct religious services in a building owned by the
Social Affairs Agency," he told the Post.

He expressed the hope that the administration and religious leaders would
soon find a place for Christians there to build a church.

Ferry said the Bekasi regental administration had in 1993 rejected a
request by Christians to officially recognize the house on Jl. Melati Raya
Ujung as a place of worship, on the grounds that local residents rejected
its presence in the area.

A joint ministerial decree issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the
Ministry of Religious Affairs in 1969 requires adherents of any religious
domination to secure permission from surrounding residents if they want to
build a place of worship, be it a mosque, a church or a Buddhist temple.

With Christians being in the minority in a country of 220 million people,
the decree has made it difficult for Christians to build churches. This
has caused Christians to use houses, shop-houses and even hotels for their
religious activities.

Recently, however, certain Muslim hard-liners have taken the law into
their own hands, closing down churches in West Java, East Java and Greater
Jakarta on the grounds that they do not have building permits. Police have
taken no action against the vigilantes.

Christians, supported by a number of public figures including former
president Abdurrahman Wahid, have called on the government to revise the
decree as the ruling was unfair towards adherents of minority religions.