Tolerance in Indonesia has been put to the test once again with at least 19 cross-shaped grave markers wrecked in three cemeteries in Magelang, Central Java, along with the graves of three Muslims.

Some of the wooden crosses were damaged and partially pulled out of the ground, while some marble gravestones were smashed to pieces.

Mulyono, 42, a guard at the Giriloyo Public Cemetery, one of the three graveyards affected, said this was the first such incident in the area.

“This cross was kicked by someone until it came out of the ground,” Mulyono said, pointing at a wooden grave marker that has since been returned to its place.

Magelang Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Kristanto Yoga Darmawan said the Magelang administration would repair all of the damaged graves. He suspected that the unidentified perpetrators were not residents of Magelang.

“We want to hear other possible explanations related to this act of vandalism,” Kristanto said.

In December, residents of Purbayan in Yogyakarta cut off the top of a cross on the grave of Albertus Slamet Sugihardi shortly after his death at the age of 63. The grave marker now looks like the letter “T”, while the cut-off part bearing the wish “RIP” has been placed beside it.

Paulus Christian Siswantoko of the Indonesian Bishops Conference said the incidents in both Purbayan and Magelang should serve as a warning for the government about the need to protect the country’s religious minorities against growing intolerance and violence.

He added that, with the country facing national elections this year, any issue could be deliberately used to disrupt the democratic process.

“The government must constantly remain vigilant about this issue. This is a yellow alert for them to pay attention to even the slightest social phenomenon. If this situation is not handled now, similar incidents will occur nationwide. The law must be upheld,” Paulus urged.

Indonesian Communion of Churches spokesperson Jeirry Sumampow said the police should immediately investigate the incidents.

He added that he believed the incidents in Purbayan and Magelang were perpetrated by people deliberately seeking to exploit the intolerance issue ahead of the 2019 presidential election.

“These events were unusual. The police should investigate them to reduce public anxiety,” Jeirry said.

FX Endra Wijayanta, chair of the Semarang Archdiocesan Justice and Peace Commission, which is looking into the Magelang incident, said the diocese would rely on the police investigation while hoping that parties related to public cemeteries would uphold tolerance, so that such incidents could be prevented.

He added that, at least for now, the families of the deceased considered the incidents acts of vandalism.

“They do not want to appear bias, because this could play into the hands of certain political interests. They don’t think it would be beneficial to look for motives behind the damage,” Endra said.

Jakarta-based Human Rights Watch researcher Andreas Harsono said one of the problems behind the religious intolerance and violence in Indonesia was that government officials and security forces often facilitated harassment and intimidation of religious minorities.

That includes making blatantly discriminatory statements, refusing to issue building permits for religious minorities’ houses of worship and pressuring congregations to relocate.

“There are two problems, discriminatory regulations, for example the Blasphemy Law, and state institutions that facilitate discrimination, for example the Ulema Council and the Interfaith Communication Forum,” he said.

Andreas added that Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s presidency was not much different to the tenure of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the previous president, who had failed to use powers at his disposal to defend religious minority communities and did not effectively discipline Cabinet members when they encouraged abuse.

“Both the SBY and Jokowi governments did not undo existing discriminatory structures,” he said. (ggq)

— Suherdjoko in Semarang contributed to this story.

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