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Church told to shut down after arson attack
The Bantul regency administration in Yogyakarta has requested members of an Indonesian Baptist Church (GBI) congregation in Saman hamlet, Sewon district, to temporarily close down their church, which recently survived an arson attack, while the regency reviews the churchâs building permit application
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he Bantul regency administration in Yogyakarta has requested members of an Indonesian Baptist Church (GBI) congregation in Saman hamlet, Sewon district, to temporarily close down their church, which recently survived an arson attack, while the regency reviews the church's building permit application.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Bantul Regent Sri Surya Widati said that the request had been made during a recent joint meeting attended by the regent, Bantul Police chief, Bantul military command (Kodim) chief, members of the local Interfaith Communication Forum (FKUB), GBI Saman church management and activists from the NGO Friends of Freedom of Religion and Association (Sobat KBB). The meeting, according to Sri, was held to respond to protests from local Muslim groups against the presence of the church, which they claimed lacked a proper building permit as a place of worship.
'Church services will be temporarily relocated to one of the houses in the neighborhood,' Sri said.
'We will guarantee the security of members of the congregation in carrying out their religious activities. Please pick the place and we will give them a permit [to perform services].'
In the early morning of Monday, unidentified persons lit a used tire and placed it at the church's front door. The burning tire was quickly extinguished by residents living near the church. The arson attack took place only several days after dozens of members of the Yogyakarta Islamic Jihad Front (FJI) came to the church to inquire about the church's construction permit.
Earlier in the month on July 5, representatives from the Yogyakarta Islamic Congregation Forum (FUI) also met with Muslim residents in Saman hamlet and asked them to stage protests against the establishment of the church.
Sewon district chief Kwintarto Heru Prabowo claimed that local residents had no objection to the presence of the church, which has been operating in the hamlet for 20 years. 'Those who object [to the church's presence] are coming from outside the region,' he said.
The church's reverend, Joni Teguh Hariyadi, said that he welcomed the local authorities' request.
'I think that the solution is fair enough. We are willing to temporarily stop using the church and pull down its signboard while the local government processes our building permit application for the church,' he said.
According to a 2006 joint ministerial decree, a new house of worship must have the support of at least 90 congregation members and 60 local residents of different faiths. The decree also suggests that regents or mayors must facilitate the issuance of permits for houses of worship that were built before 2006.
Separately, Bantul Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Dadiyo said that the police were still investigating the arson attack on the GBI church. He also said that the police had no plan to summon members of the FUI or the FJI in their investigation.
Meanwhile in Semarang, Central Java, the police pledged on Wednesday that they would provide security for churches in the province in response to a recent arson attack on a Javanese Christian Church (GKJ) in Grabag district, Purworejo regency. 'The police force will secure their respective jurisdictions,' Central Java Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Liliek Darmanto said.
Unidentified persons set fire early Monday on to the front door of the church. The attack, however, was immediately extinguished by the church's reverend and sextons.
