'Discriminatory' religion decree condemned<\/p>\n
Sari P. Setiogi, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Christian organizations have agreed on a plan to file a class
\naction against the government for maintaining a joint decree on
\nthe construction of places of worship.<\/p>\n
They insisted that the decree, issued in 1969 by then
\nreligious affairs minister Mohammad Dahlan and home affairs
\nminister Amir Machmud, went against human rights and principles
\nof religious freedom.<\/p>\n
\"The decree is contrary to Article 29 of the Constitution,
\nwhich guarantees citizens the right to choose their belief and
\nperform their religious duties,\" Indonesian Communion of Churches
\nchairman Nathan Setiabudi said.<\/p>\n
Joint ministerial decree No.1\/BER\/mdn-mag\/1969, on the
\ngovernment's responsibility to regulate in an orderly manner the
\nconstruction of places of worship and religious activities,
\nrequires a religious community to seek approval from the local
\nadministration in the event that a place of worship is built. The
\nlocal authorities can consult leaders of other religious
\ncommunities or organizations before approving the proposal.<\/p>\n
Nathan said the consultation forum was in many cases
\nconsidered compulsory.<\/p>\n
\"Very often, consultation was carried out with the intention
\nof registering objection to the construction of places of
\nworship,\" said Nathan.<\/p>\n
Muslims account for about 85 percent of the country's
\npopulation of 215 million, making Indonesia the world's largest
\nMuslim country.<\/p>\n
A man, who requested anonymity, told The Jakarta Post he had
\nbeen waiting for more than 10 years to build a church in Bandung.<\/p>\n
\"We were told that some 30 people in the neighborhood opposed
\nour plan to build a church, but subsequently we discovered that
\nmore than 300 people had signed a petition demanding the plan be
\nscrapped,\" the man said.<\/p>\n
He later learned that the additional signatories were people
\noutside the neighborhood.<\/p>\n
The lawyer representing Christian organizations,
\nHabiburokhman, said he would file the class action with the
\nCentral Jakarta District Court at the end of this month.<\/p>\n
\"We shall ask the government to revoke the ministerial decree
\nand apologize to affected citizens,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said his clients had dropped their plan to seek help from
\npresidential candidates, saying they were afraid the candidates,
\nif elected, would break their promises.<\/p>\n
Christian groups raised the issue with then President
\nAbdurrahman Wahid; his successor, Megawati Soekarnoputri, has
\nalmost completed her term but the issue remains unaddressed.<\/p>\n
Separately, Masdar Mas'udi, acting chairman of the country's
\nlargest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, said he would study
\nthe joint decree carefully.<\/p>\n
\"If its implementation discriminates against certain religious
\ngroups and fails to uphold justice, the government should
\nwithdraw it,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He suspected discrimination of this type affected Muslim
\ncommunities living in predominantly non-Muslim regions, such as
\nPapua and East Nusa Tenggara.<\/p>\n
He agreed that although the construction of a place of worship
\nneeded to be handled differently to other types of development,
\nthe government's role should be minimal.<\/p>\n
\"A place of worship is a sacred building, but many of the
\nprojects to build have been abused. To build a mosque, a 40-
\nstrong council is required to make 'preparations' for its
\nconstruction.\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/discriminatory-religion-decree-condemned-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}