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Church sealed in surprise raid
The congregation at a place of worship in Pondok Rangon, East Jakarta, claimed they were attacked by a group, while attending a service to commemorate Indonesia's 63rd anniversary on Sunday
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The congregation at a place of worship in Pondok Rangon, East Jakarta, claimed they were attacked by a group, while attending a service to commemorate Indonesia's 63rd anniversary on Sunday.
The priest of the Pentecostal church, Christof Ambesa, said people broke down the church door and damaged chairs.
"We had verbal permission from Pondok Rangon subdistrict to hold the service on Sunday. Some of the congregation came to the subdistrict office on Friday and met the secretary, who verbally gave us permission," Christof said on Monday.
"Churchgoers and I were praying when people broke into the church at about 9:30 a.m. They forced us to leave.
"We don't understand why they did it. We were just praying for our country. The place of worship has been there for about 12 years. I also have a written permit from the nearby neighborhood community head to have a place of worship," he said.
He said people in the neighboring area had urged him not to use the house as a place of worship.
"It used to be my house, but since 12 years ago I renovated it and turned it into a place of worship. If they opposed the setting up of the church, they should have rejected it from the start," said Christoff.
He said the place of worship was actually inactive since May. Previously, it held services four times a week.
Christof said that a neighborhood community head told him that the house was not supposed to be a place of worship.
"I later reported it to Cipayung Police, but they told me to cool down and to temporarily stop our religious activities," he said.
"I decided to hold a service on August 17 because it is Indonesia's independence day and I wanted to pray for the country. Now, we feel as though we are being colonized by our own country," he said.
Meanwhile, the Pondok Rangon subdistrict head Ali Murtado could not be reached for comment since the office was closed on Monday.
But a staffer at the office, Erwin, confirmed that a place of worship in the area was sealed.
"Some officials of the subdistrict office also came to the church and neighboring area in anticipation and to counter any incident," said Erwin, declining to give any detailed information about Sunday's incident.
Such conflicts often happen in Greater Jakarta.
In June 2008, South Tambun (Bekasi) officials accompanied by police officers and public order officers sealed a building that housed three churches in a housing complex.
The officials tore down the doors, windows and some parts of the roof, but left the walls standing.
The dispute began in 2005 when Bekasi Regent Saleh Manaf banned religious activity in the building due to lack of permits. Churchgoers then held services on the street for eight weeks.
In March 2006, hundreds of residents of Griya Bukit Jaya housing complex in Bogor, West Java, blocked access to a church when some 190 Christians began a regular Sunday service.
The incident occurred after the revision of a joint ministerial decree on new houses of worship in the same year.
In 2006, the government issued a two-minister regulation stipulating a church permit should require at least 90 churchgoers, have support from 60 local residents, be legalized by the local authorities and receive a recommendation from the head of the municipality's religious office as well as from the Interfaith Communication Forum.
