Demolition of mosque, five churches dismays members

Demolition of mosque, five churches dismays members

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Turning a blind to appeals from local people, officials in Curug,
Tangerang, demolished five churches and one mosque on Wednesday
on Jl. Danau Sentani Biru, Curug, in Tangerang.

The authorities argued that the places of worship were located
on land owned by the State Secretariat.

The five churches were the Indonesian Protestant Church, the
Indonesian Pentecostal Church, the HKBP Church, the Indonesian
Halleluja Pentecostal Church and the Bethel Church of Indonesia.

Hundreds of public order officers from Tangerang regency
arrived in Curug early Wednesday morning ready to demolish the
churches, while dozens of congregation members stood guard in
front of their respective houses of worship.

At around 11 a.m., the officers moved in to demolish the
church buildings, while the outnumbered congregation members
watched in disbelief.

Hendri Manalu, a spokesman for the Indonesian Protestant
Church, said the churches should not have been demolished as they
had been in existence for five years.

He said that the churches had never interfered with people
living in nearby residential complexes or state buildings.

"At least, we would like them to delay the demolitions until
after Christmas," Hendri said.

He said he suspected that the demolitions were connected with
a proposal by a developer to build a housing complex in the area.

"In September, a developers had talks with us. They said they
wanted to build a luxury housing complex on the land. They also
said that they were from the State Secretariat," Hendri said.

A public order officer, however, denied that the demolitions
had anything to do with a plan to construct a housing complex.

"We warned the churches several times to vacate the land. The
longer they stay here the more difficult it is for us to evict
them. So, we have to force them to leave as soon as possible," he
said.