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How a Molehill Grew Into a Mountain of Intolerance Vento Saudale | November 17, 2011 Bogor. It’s been almost a year since he was found guilty of falsifying signatures in a case that led to the troubles of the embattled GKI Yasmin Church, but local resident Munir Karta remains adamant that he is innocent. The Bogor District Court ruled on Jan. 20 that Munir was guilty of falsifying 10 signatures on a letter attesting that residents in Curug Mekar ward had no objections to the construction of the church there. “By God, I have not falsified signatures in that letter. The 10 signatures on that letter are all original,” Munir said, speaking at his residence in Curug Mekar. That court ruling has been used by Bogor municipal authorities to revoke the construction permit for the Yasmin church, leading to the prolonged battle that has played out in the media at home, and occasionally abroad. The Supreme Court has since ruled that Bogor authorities should restore the permit to the church, but the city’s mayor, Diani Budiarto, has refused to do so. The case is one of several cited by activists as signs that intolerance in Indonesia is growing as people become increasingly exposed to fundamentalism. Munir said his signing of a police deposition was made under pressure at the Bogor police station in the presence of several people from a hard-line religious organization, the Indonesia Muslim Communication Forum (Forkami). “I was all alone seated there [at the police station] and was forced to follow what [Forkami] members said, and I now regret that,” he said. Munir said that while initially the 63 families in Curug Mekar were split about the plans to build the church nearby, opposition to the project has since waned. “Now residents do not object to, or feel they are disturbed by, the Yasmin church considering that the distance between the village and the church is quite far, about 1.5 kilometers,” he said. He also said those people who had protested against the construction of the church there were not all local residents and that he did not expect the case became so high-profile. “Not even one of our residents took part in the protests. Whatever the decision, to move or stay there, what is important is that the matter be settled,” he said. Munir also said he regretted being part of the problem afflicting the Yasmin church. He said he never thought giving in to the pressure of the Forkami members would carry such significant consequences. “I regret it, had I known it would come to this,” he said. Munir also denied rumors that accused him of having received money from the church to falsify the signatures. “If I had accepted money, my home would not be as small as this,” he said. For more than a year, members of the GKI Yasmin Church in Bogor have been forced to pray on the street. In an open letter sent to US President Barack Obama on Monday, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom called on Obama to speak out against Indonesia’s growing religious tensions during the upcoming Asean Summit in Bali. New York-based Human Rights Watch also urged Obama to discuss human rights challenges in Indonesia, including attacks on religious minorities, restrictions on freedom of expression, and the lack of accountability of security forces for human rights abuses. “Obama needs to temper his past praise of religious tolerance in Indonesia with some tough talk on religious freedom,” HRW’s Elaine Pearson said. “He should press President [Susilo Bambang] Yudhoyono to end discriminatory laws and actively protect the country’s religious minorities.” [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
