Indonesia can solve its religious-based issues: EU official

Visiting European Union (EU) delegate Werner Langen says that Indonesia’s President together with the government can solve the problems related to religious divisions in the country.

Indonesia has recently experienced a surge in religion-based problems. Two violent incidents, the lynching of Ahmadis in Cikeusik and the destruction of churches in Temanggung, rocked the nation earlier this month.

“We have full trust in the government and President Susilo Bambang Yudoyhono,” Werner said Tuesday.

He, along with nine other EU delegates, will be in Indonesia for 5 days to discuss the country’s diversity, democracy and development.

They are here to learn about Indonesia's democratization and forge ties with Indonesia and several other Southeast Asian countries.

“Freedom of worship is a basic human right much like freedom of speech and freedom of expression. We encourage religious freedom and tolerance toward people practicing their beliefs," Werner said.

He added that they supported inter-faith dialogues to help resolve the issues.

"The clash between religious sects is something which has to be resolved internally. We will be conducting an inter-faith dialogue to learn more about the situation and we are interested to see how things will develop," he said.