Restrictions on religious freedom still rampant in Indonesia<\/p>\n
Several churches in Jakarta and West Java were closed down by
\nforce recently, prompting practitioners to conduct their prayers
\noutside their church. This issue has also gained attention from
\nthe United States, which mentioned the restrictions on religious
\nfreedom in the State Department's 2005 International Religious
\nFreedom Report released on Wednesday. Chairman of the Indonesian
\nCommunion of Churches (PGI) Rev. Andreas Yewangoe spoke to The
\nJakarta Post's Ridwan Max Sijabat on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Question (Q): What is your comment on the U.S. State
\nDepartment's report?<\/p>\n
Answer (A): With or without the report, restrictions and abuse
\nof religious freedom are still rampant in certain areas in the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
Several churches of denominations grouped under the PGI were
\nclosed by force by a certain extreme group, a series of attacks
\nwere launched on Ahmadiyah-owned mosques and properties, and a
\nCatholic education center in Tangerang was closed because it was
\nused as a house of worship. A number of church ministers in the
\ncountry's eastern region have been arrested for unspecified
\nreasons.<\/p>\n
A stranger thing is that the state fails to enforce the law
\nwhen facing these restrictions. In certain areas, security
\npersonnel just stood by (doing nothing) when churches were closed
\nby force by certain unauthorized groups, and those who
\nperpetrated these wrongdoings have never been brought to justice.<\/p>\n
Thus, the core problem is that religious freedom is still
\nrestricted, despite the Constitution that guarantees all
\ncitizens' right to worship in accordance with their own faith.<\/p>\n
Has the PGI filed a complaint on the closure of churches to
\nthe government?<\/p>\n
Yes, we have. We brought the issue to our meeting with Vice
\nPresident Jusuf Kalla at the latter's Jl. Merdeka Selatan office
\nthree weeks ago to be handled properly and immediately, but so
\nfar, no measures have been taken.<\/p>\n
Will you explain the core problems behind the church closures?<\/p>\n
Numerous reasons have been aired by perpetrators to justify
\ntheir actions. Some said the churches had no official permit from
\nthe relevant authorities and had caused disturbances to the
\nsurrounding areas, while others said houses and school buildings
\ncould not be used as houses of worship. Many have also aired
\nallegations that the establishment of churches in predominantly
\nMuslim districts was aimed at proselytizing non-Christian locals.<\/p>\n
Will you comment on the specified reasons?<\/p>\n
We have to be extra-alert on this sensitive issue.<\/p>\n
First of all, all citizens have the right to adhere to the
\nreligion they choose, and to build their houses of worship in
\nplaces permitted by the relevant authorities.<\/p>\n
Second, many churches may have made noise and caused traffic
\njams, but these problems could be solved amicably and religions
\nshould not be seen as the culprits behind them. It is extremely
\nunfair to sow hatred of a certain religion only because church
\nservices were noisy or because churchgoers caused a traffic jam.<\/p>\n
Regarding the permit issue, if the churches have no official
\npermit as is required by regulations, then they should be closed
\nby the government, and not by militiamen. All sides, including
\nhard-line groups, should respect the rule of law and let law
\nenforcers handle all kinds of legal violations.<\/p>\n
Do you think the regulation on the establishment of houses of
\nworship is restrictive?<\/p>\n
Very restrictive. Because, despite the new revision, the joint
\nministerial decree requires irrational administrative
\nrequirements to obtain official permits from local
\nadministrations for the establishment of a church in a certain
\ndistrict.<\/p>\n
The problem is that the government has always claimed to have
\nstayed out of religions' internal affairs, but, in reality, they
\nhave made many rulings dealing with religions. Administratively,
\nthe government should regulate the establishment of churches,
\nmosques and temples in accordance with regional spatial zoning
\nand it should not need approval from locals where houses of
\nworship are established.<\/p>\n
Many Christian communities have performed their Sunday prayers
\nin houses and other properties because of difficulties in
\nobtaining official permits to establish their churches from
\nauthorities. In the meantime, many mosques are built without any
\nofficial permits.<\/p>\n
How do you prevent the government from interfering in the
\ninternal affairs of religions?<\/p>\n
Despite the Constitution and the Pancasila state ideology
\nthat stipulates the belief in Almighty God, the state must be
\nprincipally separated from religions because both have their own
\nauthority. The state (and the government) is tolerated to
\nregulate certain matters on religious affairs in general. In
\nIndonesia, state-religion relations are quite intricate and have
\nbeen frequently complicated because of the absence of a national
\ncommitment to upholding the pluralism-based state pendulum.<\/p>\n
What should the government do?<\/p>\n
The government should comply with the Constitution that
\nguarantees religious freedom and stay out of the internal affairs
\nof religions. And it should give equal treatment to all citizens
\nto practice their beliefs.<\/p>\n
All discriminative and restrictive regulations, rulings,
\ndecrees and bylaws that go against the Constitution should be
\nannulled. These restrictive rulings or edicts have encouraged
\ncertain sides to use violence on other religions' adherents and
\ncertain sects deemed deviant.<\/p>\n
Authorities must stand neutral and take action against those
\nabusing religious freedom in order to uphold the government's
\nsovereignty.<\/p>",
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