T

he government must guarantee the rights of religious minorities to worship in and build their places of worship, the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) said in a statement.

DPD Chairman Irman Gusman said that such a guarantee was essential especially now that attacks on religious minorities and their places of worship had intensified.

Irman said that such an assault was a serious infringement on the rights of minority groups and in violation of the amended 1945 Constitution which guaranteed freedom of religion.

“Citizens, especially minority groups have the basic right to practice their faiths and the executive branch of the government must protect their constitutional rights and facilitate them in worshiping and constructing their places of worship,” he said.

Irman also called on the authorities to get tough on radical groups.

“The police force in particular must take action against any persons or groups launching assaults on churches, mosques or temples and bring them to justice before the courts, otherwise the government will lose its legitimacy and we will turn into a failed state,” Irman said.

Irman specifically singled out Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarjo for his intransigence in refusing to reopen the Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) Taman Yasmin.

He also condemned the attack on a church in Temanggung and the destruction of a Catholic shrine in Surakarta, both in Central Java, saying the two incidents indicated increasing intolerance among people of different faiths.

He also said that such acts of vandalism tarnished the image of Indonesia as a multicultural country.

Irman, a regional representative from West Sumatra also criticized the Muslim majority and elements of radical groups who condone, if not launch, attacks on religious minorities and sects, including the Ahmadiyah group, saying that they had tarnished the image of the peace-loving religion.

“The way the Muslim people have mistreated the Ahmadiyah followers is against Islamic teaching. If the sect is heretic and deemed to be straying from the mainstream, Muslims should not make their own judgement and restrain themselves from taking action against them,” he said.

According to Irman, the police should also take action against anybody who launched attacks on people based on their religion.

He called on the Religious Affairs Ministry to better handle religious issues.

“If it is unable to do so, the government should just dissolve the Religious Affairs Ministry and should no longer interfere in the issue of religion,” he said.