INDONESIA – Church attacked in West Java
13/09/07
Six serious problems require immediate attention
Over 100 people marched in with clubs, machetes and brick-sized stones to attack the Batak Protestant Church (HKBP) Rajeg congregation in Tangerang, western part of Java, at noon on Sunday 2 September.
Around 200 members of the congregation were holding a thanksgiving worship service in a courtyard across from where they held church services.
The aggressors forced the congregation to stop the service without giving any explanation.
“Our church was established in 2000 without necessary permits as they were hard to obtain. So we had been holding services from one house to another.
"For this service, however, we secured a permit from local officials,” said congregation leader Pastor Anggiat Hutabarat.
Refusing to talk with church leaders, the crowd threw stones at the congregation and destroyed the meeting tent.
Three police officers tried to protect the Christians, but failed because they were outnumbered.
Pastor Jau Doloksaribu and three other church members were injured in the head.
The crowd consisted of neighbours and outsiders. Their connection to any Islamist organisation remains unknown.
Because of pressure from the families of the three instigators, one of the community leaders of Rajeg admitted his involvement in planning the attack and pressured the church to drop all charges so the attackers would be released.
“Whether legal action should follow or not I leave entirely to the police officers,” said HKBP head of Jakarta and Tangerang district, Pastor Doloksaribu, who was one of the wounded.
“I have already forgiven them even if they did not ask for it.
"The only thing we want is to show the world that religious freedom here is indeed an issue."
Six serious problems
Responding to the rampant church attacks, the largest Christian political party held a public discussion on 7 September. During the gathering, diaconal Executive Secretary of the Indonesian Church Fellowship (PGI) Pastor Gomor Gultom said Indonesia is facing six serious problems that require immediate attention.
“First, we see the government and security officials developing a habit of ignoring church attacks.
"In the worst cases, officials supported the move, stating that a residence was improperly being used as a place of worship,” he explained.
“Second, although our constitution guarantees religious rights, implementers of the law have failed to protect it."
Third, he said, the Indonesian community is very sectarian and radical in religious matters.
Fourth, he continued, people take the law into their own hands by violently punishing those who allegedly break the law – civil or religious.
Fifth, church attacks happened under the pretext of democracy, with the will of the majority prevailing over the minority, as seen in communities where both Muslims and Christians live together.
Lastly, according to Pastor Gultom, those who advocate for church closures believe such attacks are consistent with the law, whether Islamic or civil law.
“It is cause for concern when they think they are within the law in attacking churches,” he said.
A series of church closures had preceded the incident in Tangerang.
Since the beginning of 2007, at least 20 churches and worship centres have been forcibly shut down across West and Central Java.
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