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Indonesian Ombudsman asks HKBP Filadelfia to accept church relocation plan
Fearing conflicts with locals, the Bekasi regency administration has chose not to reopen the HKBP Filadelfia church.
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Members of the embattled GKI Yasmin and HKBP Filadelfia churches make a Christmas tree from dried wooden sticks to celebrate Christmas in front of the State Palace in Central Jakarta. (The Jakarta Post/Wendra Ajistyatama)
M
embers of the Filadelfia Congregation of Batak Protestant Churches (HKBP Filadelfia) in Bekasi regency, West Java, have been seeking access to their church and government protection from those they say are intolerant since 2009.
However, the government’s only response to date has been to ask them to accept a plan to relocate the HKBP Filadelfia church, which was sealed off a decade ago after protests and cases of alleged assault against its members, to a multipurpose building.
The beleaguered members of the Tambun church do not have access to their own half-built property, even though the government ruled in favor of the congregants’ worship rights.
According to a press release from the Indonesian Ombudsman, the church is allowed to hold service and worship in a multipurpose building located elsewhere in Kampung Pulo, Sumber Jaya village, South Tambun.
Indonesian Ombudsman commissioners assistant Ahmad Sobirin said his side wanted to address the congregants’ problems, but it had yet to persuade the Bekasi regency administration to reopen the church building.
On Dec. 31, 2009, the administration issued a regental decree that ordered for HKBP Filadelfia’s church building in Jejalen Raya, North Tambun, Bekasi, to be sealed off, following protests from parties claiming to be locals.
However, the decree was overturned by the Bandung and Jakarta state administrative courts, which ruled in favor of HKBP Filadelfia. Despite this, the administration has yet to reopen the site.
