Rival HKBP upset by synod in N. Sumatra

Rival HKBP upset by synod in N. Sumatra

JAKARTA (JP): A group of followers of the Toba Batak
Protestant Church is protesting to the government for allowing
their rivals to hold a grand synod in North Sumatra, saying that
the decision has fanned conflicts within the church.

Six members who are opposing the leadership of Bishop P.W.T.
Simanjuntak were in Jakarta visiting a number of government
agencies and the offices of local newspapers to vent their anger
at the decision to hold the synod in Tarutung, about 225
kilometers southeast of Medan.

They said that the grand meeting, which got underway on
Monday, violates a tacit agreement for the opposing camps to cool
down after months of heated and often violent conflicts.

The church's followers, estimated at more than two million
people, have been split into two camps. One supports the
leadership of Bishop Simanjuntak who also appears to have the
support of the government. Another camp groups people who oppose
Simanjuntak and they have rallied their support behind Bishop
S.A.E. Nababan who was ousted from the HKBP leadership by
Simanjuntak.

"Giving the license to hold the synod won't solve the conflict
in HKBP," Rev. Eire Hutapea of the HKBP 8th Java District told
The Jakarta Post on Monday.

The gathering will simply widen the gap between opposing
groups and make reconciliation even more difficult, Eire said.

Rev. Wilson Napitupulu added that the Tarutung synod hampers
the mediation efforts by the Communion of Indonesian Churches
(PGI). The two camps met early this month under the aegis of PGI
and they agreed to solve the dispute in a "religious way", he
said.

He said the government's decision to grant the permit to hold
the synod reflected yet further interference which is in
violation of its own pledge to remain neutral. (02)