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Millions celebrate Easter peacefully in Indonesia
Eggciting: A girl looks at decorated Easter eggs during an event at Santo Yoseph Parish’s Yesus Gembala yang Baik Church in Denpasar, Bali, on Sunday
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ggciting: A girl looks at decorated Easter eggs during an event at Santo Yoseph Parish’s Yesus Gembala yang Baik Church in Denpasar, Bali, on Sunday. The egg decorating competition, which coincided with the Easter celebration, aimed to grow children’s sense of art and creativity.(JP/Zul Trio Anggono)
With the country still reeling from the contentious presidential and legislative elections last week, millions of people across the archipelago gathered solemnly together to peacefully observe and celebrate Easter on Sunday.
Messages of peace and tolerance were broadcast across the country amid a string of political controversies surrounding last week’s simultaneous elections.
Christians account for about 10 percent of the population of 265 million.
In Kupang, Timor Evangelical Church leader Rev. Mery Kolimon said Easter Day represented a worthwhile opportunity for Christians to provide support and contributions to the public, regardless of religious and ethnic differences.
“Easter encourages us to support one another, no matter what tribe, race or religion we come from,” she said in an official church letter as quoted by Antara news agency.
“True compassion does not demand anything in return; instead, it heals those who are suffering.”
Meanwhile, residents of Madiun in East Java celebrated Easter while acknowledging the feminist spirit of RA Kartini, since this year’s Easter Sunday coincided with Kartini Day, which is associated with International Women’s Day.
Father Boedi Prasetijo of St. Cornelius Church encouraged the public to find religious value in Kartini’s non-violent struggle for empowerment.
“We are born into this world bearing God’s light in the form of love and compassion to counteract suffering and wars,” Boedi said.
The Madiun Police dispatched on Saturday officers to secure and guard the church in an effort to ensure safety and order for those who celebrated Easter.
Themes of religious tolerance observed despite political differences were echoed in the capital city of Jakarta.
Jakarta Archbishop Ignatius Hardjoatmoko called on the public to embrace the true meaning of Easter and not give credence to misinformation and hateful accusations, particularly those hurled at the country’s minority groups.
“[Misinformation] is meant to instill fear among the public. If some people still believe the hateful rhetoric, it means that they have not fully embraced Easter, which essentially means freedom from fear,” Ignatius said on Sunday.
He said he was optimistic that the country would soon heal its divisions and reunite as one. Obstacles were to be expected since the country comprised hundreds of millions of people, he said.
“Unity takes patience. We must live harmoniously with each other to progress toward the status of a developed country,” Ignatius said.
The Jakarta Police dispatched about 5,500 of its personnel to safeguard Easter celebrations across Jakarta amid the volatile political climate following last week’s elections.
In addition to the police, personnel from GP Ansor, the youth wing of Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, also helped secure several churches in Jakarta.
Meanwhile, unaffected by the political situation, dozens of children aged between 5 and 15 years competed in an Easter doodle art competition held by the Doodle Art Indonesia community.
The competition is held to explore children’s sense of art and to introduce them to the festivals of other religions.
Meri, a parent of a participant, said she used the opportunity to not only support her son’s hobby of doodling and painting, but also to teach him to tolerate the celebrations of other religions.
“I told him that Easter is something that the Christians celebrate. He was quite curious, but I myself don’t know that much,” the woman, who was wearing a silver hijab, said with a laugh.
According to the community’s founder, Azalia “Anya” Paramatatya, the competition was open to anyone, even if they do not celebrate Easter.
In Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, some Christians visited the graveyards of their family members on Saturday night. Antara news agency reported that thousands flocked to a Christian cemetery on Jl. Tjilik Riwut. The cemetery, which is usually dark, was bright with candles because some of them stayed the whole night there.
Hendric, a resident, said he spent a night at the cemetery as part of his personal reflections.
“There is tension with this political situation. I’m doing this to remind myself that nothing is eternal in this world so what we do has to be useful for others,” he said.
About 1,400 pilgrims attended the Semana Santa Good Friday celebration in Larantuka in East Flores regency, East Nusa Tenggara, despite soaring ticket prices.
Father Fransiskus Suar, a member of the Society of the Divine Word and a Catholic priest from the Larantuka diocese, said Semana Santa celebrated people’s faith and convictions, as well as their participation in last week’s herculean exercise of democracy.
“It is important that we honor both religion and democracy,” Fransiskus said on Friday. (rfa)
Hengky Ola Sura and Vela Andapita contributed to this report from Larantuka and Jakarta.
