Buddhist body expels two denominations
JAKARTA (JP): The government is backing the decision by the executive board of the Buddhist Council (Walubi) to expel two of its nine denominations.
Siti Hartarti Murdaya, head of Walubi's honors board, said Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher gave his approval on Wednesday during a meeting with council leaders.
The two denominations, Majelis Buddhayana Indonesia (MBI) and Sangha Agung Indonesia (Sagin) "apply a different faith than most other Buddhists", she said.
The expulsion, done in October, but not made public until this week, is the climax of a long tug of war between the two denominations and the other seven denominations. The conflict dates back to the time that Walubi was founded in 1978 to bring together all the Buddhist sects in the country under one forum.
Hartarti told The Jakarta Post by phone yesterday that MBI and Sagin have continually attempted to dominate the council.
At Walubi's national congress in December 1992, MBI and Sagin refused to endorse the council's newly drafted statutes and the line-up of its new board of executives.
Hartarti blamed the leaders of the two denominations. She said that the followers of the two denominations are welcome to join the other seven and become part of Walubi.
Neither MBI nor Sagin representatives were available for comment yesterday.
Hartarti accused the two denominations of causing the rift in Walubi, by "spreading false and inaccurate stories" and creating "confusing rumors" to disgrace Walubi leaders and lead the public to think that they were incapable of managing the organization.
"We served them with three warnings, but they paid no attention," she said. "So last October we decided to expel them from Walubi."
She said MBI and Sagin rejected the decision. "But we told them they were now under the government's responsibility and no longer had any connections with Walubi."
She said that the two groups could no longer call themselves Buddhist religious organizations overseen by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. They are mass organizations which should be registered with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Attorney General's Office.
The council's internal dispute even reached the National Commission on Human Rights as the opposing camps traded accusations of human rights violations.
In September, a group of Buddhist monks and lay persons from MBI and Sagin complained to the commission about alleged brutality by their opponents in the council.
A few days later, council leaders visited the commission's headquarters to deny the allegations.
Hartarti said the stories were made up. "After asking here and there, I found out that they were untrue." (pwn)