http://www.christianpost.com/article/20090709/church-bible-students-fight-discrimination-in-indonesia/index.html
Church, Bible Students Fight Discrimination in Indonesia
Village church goes to court over loss of permit; SETIA students demonstrate
for new campus.
By Compass Direct News
Thu, Jul. 09 2009 05:23 PM EDT
Christians have stood up for their rights in two key cases the last few weeks
in heavily Muslim Indonesia.
Members of the Huria Kristen Batak Protestan Church (HKBP) in Cinere village,
Depok, West Java appeared in court on June 29 to contest the mayor's revocation
of their building permit in March, while students of the shuttered Arastamar
School of Theology (SETIA) demonstrated in Jakarta on June 15, asking officials
to honor promises to provide them with a new campus.
HKBP church leaders filed suit against the decision in the state court in
Bandung, West Java. Two court sessions have been held so far, on June 2 and
June 29, with Depok Mayor Nur Mahmudi Ismail represented by Syafrizal, the head
of the Depok legal department and who goes by the single name, and political
associate Jhon Sinton Nainggolan.
Mahmudi issued a decree on March 27 cancelling a building permit that was
initially granted to the HKBP church in Cinere on June 13, 1998, allowing it to
establish a place of worship.
The mayor said he had acted in response to complaints from residents. Contrary
to Indonesian law, however, Mahmudi did not consult the church before revoking
the permit.
Nainggolan, arguing for Mahmudi, claimed the revocation was legal because it
was based on a request from local citizens and would encourage religious
harmony in Cinere. But Betty Sitompul, manager of the building project,
strongly disputed this claim.
"Our immediate neighbors have no objection," she told Compass. "A small
minority who don't think this way have influenced people from outside the
immediate neighborhood to make this complaint."
Sitompul added that the church had been meeting in a naval facility located
about five kilometers (nearly three miles) from the church building since the
permit was revoked, causing great inconvenience for church members, many of
whom did not have their own transportation.
According to Kasno, who heads the People's Coalition for National Unity in
Depok and is known only by a single name, the mayor had clearly violated
procedures set forth in a Joint Ministerial Decree, issued in 1969 and revised
in 2006, regulating places of worship.
Legal advocate Junimart Girsang, representing the church, confirmed that under
the revised decree, conflicts must not be solved unilaterally but through
consultation and consensus with the parties involved. He also said it was
against normal practice to revoke a building permit.
Construction of the church building began in 1998, shortly after the permit was
issued, but halted soon afterward due to a lack of funds. When the project
recommenced in 2007, members of a Muslim group from Cinere and neighboring
villages damaged the boundary hedge and posted protest banners on the walls of
the building. Most of the protestors were not local residents, Sitompul said.
By that stage the building was almost completed and church members were using
it for worship services. (See www.compassdirect.org, "Mayor Revokes Church
Permit," May 5.)
SETIA Protest
In Jakarta, hundreds of SETIA students demonstrated in front of the
presidential palace on June 15, calling on officials to honor promises made in
March to provide them with a new campus. (See www.compassdirect.org, "New
Building Site Found for Bible College," May 11.)
At least 1,400 staff and students remain in three separate locations in
sub-standard facilities, causing great disruption to their studies, according
to the students. The original campus in Kampung Pulo, East Jakarta, closed
after neighbors attacked students with machetes in July 2008 and remains
cordoned off by police.
In negotiations with SETIA director Matheus Mangentang in May, Jakarta
officials again promised to assist the school in finding a new site, and
promised to work with neighbors to secure approval for a building permit.
Joko Prabowo, the school's general secretary, said he believes officials have
now reneged on these promises. When school officials recently requested
relocation to Cipayung, East Jakarta, the governor's office rejected their
proposal, citing community resistance.
Deputy Gov. Prijanto, who has only a single name, had initially suggested
Cikarang in West Java as a new location, but SETIA staff rejected this offer,
saying the site was outside Jakarta provincial limits and a move would be
prohibitively expensive
----- Original Message -----
From: Awal Anugerah
To: romanna ana ; Anto ; Atheist Indonesia ; bah...@yahoo.com.sg ; bertaasri
; Anis Bether ; Jenni Christiani ; Christy Hambali ; CIKEAS ; Denny Teguh
Sutandio ; Denny Tewu ; Director Triatma-Mapindo Bali ; Ebenezer Sembiring ;
Erwin Sanggam ; Feifei Fairy ; fairy.fei...@yahoo.co.uk ; Feifeifairy ; fogger
; Gabriella Rantau ; gerejabethanyindone...@yahoogroups.com ; GKPB Bali ;
godblesspds_...@yahoo.com ; Jonathan Gunawan ; Milka Gunawan ; Hafsah Salim ;
Dadang Hamdani ; Leo M. Hando ; Virgo Handoyo ; Inneke Harefa ; Didik Harianto
Cc: Harry Sanoza ; Budianto Hendradjaja ; Henry Hen ; b...@gmail Herlambang ;
Mastapa Garden Hotel ; PDS-PUSAT-Dr Ruyandi Hutasoit ; Ibu Methy di Yongin ;
i...@centrin.net.id ; dhyaan icha ; CCF de Jakarta ; Jeevkulkarni ; jereweh ;
Yulia Jioe ; johnnyseti...@hotmail.com ; Joan Kariso ; Kusetyo Gani ; Ki Young
Lee ; lengkeyp...@yahoo.com ; Lince Lince ; Everyday Mandarin ; Matheus Ester
Mangentang ; Tian Marpaung ; I Wayan Mastra ; maulisiah...@yahoo.com ; Mey Lan
; Milis i-kan-untuk-reformed ; Rudy Muthe ; nyoman suwitra ; PDS-Riginoto ;
Pelayan Tuhan
Sent: Friday, July 10, 2009 4:27 AM
Subject: [GerejaBethanyIndonesia] Sekarang sudah jelas bukan???
Sekarang jelas bukan? PARTAI DAMAI SEJAHTERA itu memang hebat sekali,
memilih yang amat sesuai untuk aktifitas seluruh bangsa INDONESIA yang majemuk
dan sesuai dengan BHINNEKA TUNGGAL IKA serta berpedoman pada PANCASILA.
Jadi teman teman jangan hanya berpedoman pada 2,5 % saja, memang PDS
itu sifatnya pendiam, tidak sombong dan tidak mau berpropaganda ke mana mana,
tapi apa yang dilakukan oleh PARTAI DAMAI SEJAHTERA itulah jalan, kebenaran dan
kehidupan untuk seluruh BANGSA INDONESIA, tidak ada yang lain.
Kita saat ini jangan terlalu tekebur, itulah nasehat saya, karena pihak
lain itu selalu menghalalkan semua cara untuk merebut kemenangan, bahkan pakai
cara lebih cepat lebih baik, walaupun bisa lebih cepat masuk ke jurang yang
hasilnya lebih baik masuk ke neraka.
Tanpa penelitian yang akurat, kita tidak boleh terlalu gegabah, itulah
yang ditulis di ALKITAB (ALLAH KITA TETAP AMAT BERKUASA) atau di BIBLE (BASIC
INFORMATION BEFORE LEAVING EARTH).
FirmanMU itu pelita bagi kakiku dan terang bagi jalanku. Aku telah
bersumpah dan aku akan menepatinya, untuk berpegang pada hukum hukumMU yang
adil (Mazmur 119:105 -106)
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. I have taken an
oath and confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws (Psalm 119: 105 -
106)
