R

eligious intolerance is still rife in Yogyakarta, with three cases reported in the first three months of this year in a city once regarded as a paragon of tolerance.

'€œOn average, a case occurs each month. This is a high figure. Human rights cases cannot be ignored,'€ Yogyakarta National Alliance of Unity in Diversity (ANBTI) coordinator Agnes Dwi Rusjiati told The Jakarta Post recently.

The three cases of intolerance were the refusal by the Sleman regency administration to issue a building permit (IMB) for the Pos Palagan Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) in Sleman, the prevention by mass organizations of a lecture about Shia Islam held at the Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University (UIN) and the closure of the Al Fatah transgender pesantren (Islamic school) in Kotagede, which was initiated by mass organizations and had been approved by the government.

Last year, ANBTI Yogyakarta also noted that at least 12 cases of religious intolerance had occurred in the city, one of the Indonesia'€™s cultural melting pots. One such case involved the attempted burning down of the allegedly unlicensed Indonesian Baptist Church (GBI) building in Sewon, Bantul regency.

Yogyakarta used to be known as a pluralistic city and has been categorized as a miniature Indonesia. Lately, however, it has become a city rife with instances of intolerance. In 2014, the Wahid Institute described Yogyakarta as the second-most intolerant city in Indonesia, while in 2015 the Setara Institute ranked Yogyakarta fifth with 10 reported cases of intolerance.

The Yogyakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH) issued a Freedom of Religion and Belief statement listing 13 complaints of intolerance it received between 2011 and 2015. The cases ranged from preventing the establishment of houses of worship to attacks on minorities, hate speech expressed in public places and the prevention of celebrations of religious holidays.

'€œCivil society groups must accompany the victims intensively from the start to minimize the number of intolerance cases,'€ said Agnes.

She added that if the civil society groups stuck to the old way of just overseeing a case when it took place, it would not lead to positive results. '€œWe believe intolerant groups always approach government officials and the police. We must also do the same thing by approaching policy makers,'€ she added.

Meanwhile, National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) member Siti Noor Laila expressed concern over the ongoing acts of intolerance in Yogyakarta.

'€œIntolerance in Yogyakarta is not only in religious life but has entered institutions of higher learning. This is very alarming because there should be freedom of thought and expression in an academic environment,'€ she said.

Siti criticized state institutions, such as the Yogyakarta municipality and police, which were weak in the face of intolerant groups who did not reflect teachings from the Pancasila state ideology.

'€œThe state authorities and police should defend Pancasila, not side with the intolerant groups,'€ she said.

Separately, a transgender student of Al Fatah, Yuni Sara, expressed the hope that intolerance could be eradicated in Yogyakarta. Yuni said she was saddened when her pesantren was closed by the village administration last month following protests from the Islamic Jihad Front (FJI).

'€œWhy do members of the community in Yogyakarta, who are mostly Muslim, repress us? Whereas in, fact, we just wish to learn the Koran and perform joint prayers at the pesantren,'€ said Yuni.