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embers of the presidential advisory council on law and human rights met with newly installed Bogor Mayor Bima Arya Sugiarto on Thursday to discuss what the council called a '€œhistorically significant issue'€: The ongoing GKI Yasmin Church issue.

The church in Bogor, West Java, was sealed by the Bogor municipality and remains so, despite the church winning a Supreme Court ruling against its unlawful closure.

During the now six-year ordeal, parishioners resorted to conducting mass in front of the sealed church and have been targets of harassment by hardliners and the previous administration.

'€œWe hope that Bima resolves the case as soon as possible; because it was one of the first promises he made when he took office,'€ advisory council member Albert Hasibuan said Thursday.

Hasibuan added that the council was optimistic of Bima'€™s attitude. '€œI feel that with young Bima as mayor the ongoing GKI Yasmin problem will be solved with a progressive mind set,'€ he added.

Commenting on the advisory council'€™s comments, Bima said his commitment to the resolution of the issue was based on the virtues of pluralism and religious harmony.

'€œMy commitment to the people of Bogor is to rid this city from having any hotspots of religious conflict, for the benefit of the country'€™s future,'€ Bima said.

Bima revealed that on his first day as mayor, he had asked the legal sector to prepare the GKI Yasmin case documents.

'€œResolving this case requires dialogue and a steady mediation process [which involves] all involved parties, whether they be parishioners, residents, experts or Islamic religious figures, because a lot of perspectives must be considered when you intend to build religious harmony,'€ he said.

According to Bima, he had already instigated initial dialogue between several of those mentioned.

He added that he was willing to meet with hard-line groups to consider their point of views as well.

Meanwhile, on Friday, parishioners held their Good Friday service in the pouring rain, in front of the Presidential Palace in Central Jakarta. This is the second year in a row that they have held Good Friday mass in front of the Presidential Palace.

The congregation was joined by the congregation of the HKBP Philadelphia Church in Bekasi, West Java, which had its building permit annulled and doors sealed by the Bekasi administration in 2011, despite a court ruling that deemed the closure illegal. (dyl)