Buddhist body expels two denominations

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)