T

he Indonesian Ombudsman has declared as baseless the claim to a false petition used by Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto to keep the GKI Taman Yasmin Church sealed, and has thus reported the mayor to the President and the House of Representatives on Thursday for defiance in not reopening the church.

Allegations of fraud surrounded the collection of signatures on a required petition for the building permit, which was used by Diani to keep the church closed with the issuance of the March 11 decree.

Ombudsman member Budi Santoso said that there was no connection between the mayor’s claim and the church building permit.

“In 2002, GKI Yasmin had gained hundreds of local residents’ signatures on a petition for the church’s construction,” said Budi during a press conference on Friday.

“On Jan. 12, 2006, another petition was issued, this time initiated by the Bogor municipality. Then, strangely, a third petition was issued just three days later. This last petition was the one claimed by the mayor as being a forgery,” he added.

The legal battle between the Bogor administration and the church began after the city revoked the church’s building permit on Feb. 14, 2008, two years after it had been issued.

The administration cited complaints from local residents about the church’s construction, saying the church would become a hub for proselytizing in the Muslim-majority community. The Bandung administrative court later overturned the administration’s decision

The Supreme Court also rejected on Jan. 13 the administration’s request to uphold its decision in closing the church.

Despite the ruling, members of the congregation have not been able to enter the church since; it remains cordoned off by the Bogor Police.

Early in July, the Ombudsman released three recommendations regarding the case: namely, annul Diani’s decision on banning the GKI Yasmin Church; demand the West Java governor and the Bogor mayor reinstate GKI Yasmin’s rights; and have the home minister closely monitor whether the governor and mayor had complied with the first and second recommendations.

“Based on the regulation, all of our recommendations should have been executed within 60 days,” Budi said.

Clause no. 39 within the Ombudsman Law says that officials who fail to comply with an ombudsman’s recommendation will receive administrative sanctions. The sanctions, according to the Public Service Law, range from written warnings to a permanent discharge.

However, instead of pushing Bogor’s mayor to support the supremacy of the law, West Java’s administration together with the Religious Affairs Minister made statements that GKI Yasmin should comply with the regulation on building permits.

The church congregation continue to face harassment and violence every Sunday while conducting their religious services on the sidewalk in front of their church.

The GKI Yasmin case has even attracted international attention.

Earlier this week, the moderator of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Walter Altman, visited the church and called on the Bogor administration to immediately comply with the Supreme Court ruling.

Amnesty International and the UN’s Human Rights Council have also been paying close attention to the case.