Authorities in Indonesia Refuse to Back Church Construction

Samarinda, capital of East Borneo Province, Indonesia. (MR Halal, Creative Commons)

SURABAYA, Indonesia (Morning Star News) – Local officials in East Borneo Province, Indonesia refused to approve construction of a church building even though the congregation had met all requirements for a permit, sources said.

In Samarinda, capital of East Borneo Province, the Samarinda Ministry of Religious Affairs Office refused to provide a letter of recommendation for Toraja Christian Church in Sungai Keledang, Samarinda Seberang Sub-District, even though the church completed all administrative requirements for a license permit, according to the Indonesian Movement for All (Pergerakan Indonesia untuk Semua, PIS). The church has sought the permit for 10 years.

“Oh my God…How can people worship when we make it difficult?” PIS stated on its website. “What other reason does the Ministry of Religious Affairs office have for refusing to provide a letter of recommendation? Sounds cowardly, isn’t it? This injustice should not be tolerated.”

The congregation has spent 10 years on the application, obtaining names and ID cards of 90 people approved by local officials, approval of 60 local people and village heads and last Septembert winning recommendations of the local Interfaith Forum, according to PIS.

Hendra Kusuma, chairman of the East Kalimantan Alliance for Advocacy for Freedom of Religion and Belief, accused the government of fearing Muslim groups that are religiously intolerant rather than enforcing rules, PIS stated.

“They are more afraid of a handful of people who reject the church’s existence, even though the state guarantees freedom of religion and worship,” Hendra told kaltimtoday.com.

Hendra said officials were shifting responsibility, as happens in many areas in Indonesia.

“We have visited all related parties, even the Ministry of Religious Affairs, but they still let the sub-district head decide,” Hendra said. “Not a single party is brave and firm enough to resolve the problem.”

The church also has received a letter of recommendation for construction from the Samarinda Branch of the Interfaith Forum (Forum Kerja Sama Umat Beragama, or FKUB), a mandatary interfaith ad-hoc body, to issue a recommendation for the construction, Hendra said.

A congregation member who goes by a single name of Elizabeth said she regretted that the church’s rights had been violated.

“We just want to build a church for worship,” Elizabeth told viva.co.id. “We all have the right to embrace our respective religions and worship in our respective places of worship. Our rights should still be given according to the law.”

An official of the Samarinda Ministry of Religious Affairs office who goes by the single name of Rahmi said that a handful of people are blocking construction of the church building especially as officials wish to avoid conflict during Ramadan, according to Kaltimviva.co.id

“We don’t want there to be any problems,” Rahami reportedly said. “Especially in the month of Ramadan, it is feared that it can trigger unwanted things, but it doesn’t mean we don’t want to issue it.”

Hendra, while visiting the Samarinda Ministry of Religion Office on March 5, told radar.samarinda.com that he his group was disappointed and that, after the issuing of the FKUB recommendation letter, the Ministry of Religion must issue a recommendation letter within 30 days.

The East Kalimantan Alliance for Advocacy for Freedom of Religion and Belief then appealed to the Samarinda municipal government with the deputy of the Samarinda mayor, according to Kaltimtoday.com.

Besides promising to approach relevant officials at all levels, including those blocking construction, the idea of relocating the worship building to another location surfaced – which the Christians rejected.

“There was a discourse to relocate the church – we reject the discourse even if it happens,” Hendra said. “The [current] lot for the would-be church has a certificate of ownership of the Toraja Church.”

Peter Selestinus, a Jakarta-based attorney, said the state and/or Samarinda officials are not providing equal guarantees to all religious communities in this case.

“It is against Article 29 of the 1945 Constitution that says the state guarantees the freedom of each resident to embrace their respective religions and to worship according to their religion and beliefs,” Selestinus told Morning Star News in a text.

On one a legal team of one of Indonesia’s biggest parties, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (Partai Demokrasi Indonesia Perjuangan, or PDI-P), Selestinus said freedom to embrace religion and worship must be upheld.

“However, it is unfortunate that our country still adopts a discriminatory attitude in making real the provisions of our Constitution that guarantees each resident the right to to embrace a religion,” Selestinus said. “People need a place to hold worship, but it is made difficult. Here the state, the Samarinda City Government in particular, is not honest with its residents, and this is unjustified because it violates the constitution and human rights.”

Indonesian society has adopted a more conservative Islamic character, and churches involved in evangelistic outreach are at risk of being targeted by Islamic extremist groups, according to Christian support group Open Doors.

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