Catholic school parents consider police report

Catholic school parents consider police report

Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The parents of children attending the Sang Timur Catholic School
in Ciledug, Tangerang, are considering filing a complaint with
the police following the almost complete sealing off the school
for more than two weeks by a zealot group.

"We are still trying to resolve the matter amicably. Should
this fail, we may report the case to the police as a last
resort," parents' forum chairman Hillon Goa said on Wednesday.

He said that should no amicable solution be possible, the
parents would lodge a complaint with the Tangerang Police on
Thursday, although he was not yet sure precisely what the
contents of the complaint would be.

"Our legal advisors are still working out the specific
details," he said. "Obviously, we will be requesting that the
government ensure that the basic, constitutional right of our
children to an education is fulfilled."

Hillon explained that although the children had returned to
school, they would still be afraid and insecure -- which would
affect their studies -- as long as the problem persisted.

A group calling itself the Karang Tengah Islamic Communication
Forum held a rally at the school on Oct. 3, protesting that
Catholic religious services were being held there.

The rally ended with the group sealing the school's front
entrance gate with a two-meter-high concrete wall, which forced
the school to postpone the return to school of its 2,417 students
-- including 137 autistic and mentally retarded children -- for a
week.

As the back entrance to the school is inconvenient for the
children, the school decided to open a new entrance on its
eastern side to provide easier access for them.

However, on Wednesday morning the same group stopped all
vehicles dropping off students at the new gate.

Upon learning of the new incident, dozens of parents
immediately came to the school to pick up their children.

Ibu Mega, one of the parents, said she had decided to come to
the school in person as she was worried that her 11-year-old
daughter, who is in fifth grade, would be further traumatized.

"She recently lost her father. With this trouble at the
school, I've noticed that her grades have been dropping," she
said. "I have been thinking of taking her to a psychiatrist."

Parents have also reported their dilemma to the executive
board of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the country's largest and most
influential Muslim organization.

Following a meeting on Tuesday night with the chairman of the
NU's advisory board, Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, Hillon said Gus
Dur had expressed a willingness to help settle the case, while
making clear that the NU would not tolerate one-sided actions
that violated the law.

Separately, the Indonesian Catholic Community Forum has
reported the case to the National Commission on Human Rights
(Komnas HAM). Officials from commission visited the school last
week to collect information of the case.