From: Theophilus Bela
Sent: Thursday, March 28, 2013 5:50 AM
To: Mathias Hariyadi ; Andreas Harsono SSK ; Andreas Pareira Dr. ; Dr.Andreas
Pareira ; Pdt. Dr. Andreas A. Yewangoe ; Pdt. Gomar Gultom PGI ; Pdt. Jeirry
Sumampouw PGI ; Pdt.Ir. Suyapto Tandyawasesa GBI ; Link TCI SSK ; Dr.Iman
Santoso INTERLINK ; Pdt. M. Ferry H. Kakiay STh GBI ; Pdt. Nurjadi Purnama GBI
Kairos ; Pdt.Syaiful Hamzah S.Th GBI Priok ; Pdt.Syaiful Hamzah S.Th GBI Priok
; [email protected]
Subject: Gereja2 Terancam saat Jumat Agung dan Minggu Paska
Dear all,
berikut ini kami ingin melaporkan gereja2 yang terancam saat mengadakan
kebaktian di gereja selama Pekan Suci ini
1. Gereja HKBP Setu akan mengadakan Kebaktian Jumat Agung besok pagi pukul 9.30
didepan
gerejanya yang telah dirobohkan Pemda Bekasi hari Kamis tanggal 21 Maret
lalu dan pada
Hari Minggu Paska tanggal 31 Maret kebaktian akan diadakan pukul 8.00 pagi
ditempat
yang sama .
Alamat gereja tersebut di Jalan MT Haryono Gang Wirjo Rt 05/02 Desa Taman
Sari,
Kecamatan Setu, Kabupaten Bekasi (dari jalan tol Cawang menuju Bekasi
terus saja
dan supaya keluar gerbang tol Cikarang lalu belok kiri dan lurus terus
melewati
Sekolah Tinggi Angkutan Darat dan terus saja arah ke Cileungsi dan kalau
melihat
ada pengawalan polisi maka disitulah letak gereja yang telah dirobohkan
Pemda tsb.
Kami khawatir pihak massa radikal akan mengganggu gereja tersebut saat
kebaktian
tersebut diatas ,
Anda bisa menghubungi kedua Bapak Pendeta dari gereja HKBP Setu yaitu
Pdt. Advent Leonard Nababan 08128 566 942 dan Pdt. Torang Parulian
Simanjuntak
dengan Hp 0853 6021 3739
2. Gereja Kristen Indonesia (GKI) Gembrong, Pos Jatibening, Rt 07 Rw 04
Kelurahan
Jatibening Baru, Kecamatan Pondok Gede, Kota Bekasi
Ini merupakan kasus baru karena kami baru saja mendapat info kemarin bahwa
pada
hari Minggu yang lalu tanggal 24 Maret gereja tersebut telah diganggu oleh
massa
radikal sebanyak 30 orang yang berjubah putih . Ada kesan bahwa massa
radikal
sudah berhasil mempengaruhi pihak Camat Pondok Gede, Bp Khairul Anwar,
S.Sos,
Msi (dengan Hp 08129 142 122 ) yang mendesak agar gereja tersebut ditutup
saja .
Memang ini dampak negatip berantai dari ulah Pemda Kabupaten Bekasi yang
telah
merobohkan Gereja HKBP Setu yang kami sebut dinomor 1 diatas .
Gereja merencanakan untuk mengadakan Kebaktian Jumat Agung besok pukul 10
pagi
digereja mereka yang telah berada dilokasi sejak tahun 1994 dengan jumlah
jemaat
saat ini sebanyak 300 jiwa . Informasi lebih lanjut dapat diperoleh pada
Penatua gereja,
Bapak Marihot Samosir dengan Hp 08121 367 485 Kebaktian Hari Minggu Paska
juga akan diadakan pukul 10 pagi ditempat yang sama .
Memang sejak bulan Januari lalu kami mencatat sudah banyak gereja yang mendapat
gangguan dari massa radikal atau dari Pemda setempat . Juga kita mencatat
adanya 6 buah
gereja Kristen di Makassar yang dilempari bom molotov dalam bulan Februari yang
lalu .
Bagi mereka yang belum melihat video pembongkaran gereja HKBP Setu Bekasi
silahkan lihat video dibawah ini .
Terima kasih banyak untuk perhatian dan kerjasama yang baik dari Anda semua dan
bagi yang melakukan ibadahnya saya ucapkan Selamat Mengikuti Kebaktian Pekan
Suci
salam hormat
Theophilus Bela
Ketua Umum Forum Komunikasi Kristiani Jakarta (FKKJ)
Sekjen Indonesian Committee of Religions for Peace (IComRP)
Dikirim: Minggu, 24 Maret 2013 19:34
Dear friends,
please kindly read the following report on the demolishing of a Christian
church in Bekasi, a suburb of the capital city of Jakarta on last Thursday,
March 21st, 2013 . You could also view a video about it .
Now the attacks on Christian churches happen very often in our country . Only
yesterday a Catholic parish church in West Jakarta was under attack again by
radical Muslims and the threat is not over because maybe tomorrow, Monday,
March 25th the church might be under threat again .
Also on last Thursday, March 21st an Advent Church in a city called Tasikmalaya
in the West Java province was attacked and ransacked by radical Muslims
Please kindly pray for us Christians in Indonesia
Thank you very much for your kind attention and prayers
sincerely yours
Theophilus Bela
Dikirim: Sabtu, 23 Mar
Dear Mr Bela,
I don’t know if you have seen the following items:
www.abc.net.au/news/search/?query=Batak+Church+&x=36&y=12
includes:
www.abc.net.au/news/2013-03-22/christian-church-torn-down-in-indonesia/4589812
www.abc.net.au/news/2013-03-22/an-indonesia-christian-church-pulled-down/4589332
www.abc.net.au/news/2013-03-22/indonesian-muslims-rally-against-church/4588990
Vivienne
please kindly read also the following report
thank you very much
Dear friends,
please kindly pray for these crying Christian ladies
The Christian Church was demolished by Bekasi Government yesterday at 2 h pm in
front of many journalists from Indonesian and International ones . The crew of
German TV ARD/Bayerische Rundfunk was also there and they will broadcast a
Television show on April 7th at 19.30 h German time with the title "Jesu Junge
aus der Fluch" or "Christen Verfolgung Weltweit" (persecution of Christians
world wide) .
This sad event still happens 15 years after our country practices democracy
since 1998 after the fall the military rule of General Suharto . Our present
directly elected president General Yudhoyono seems not to be able to bring
religious tolerance to our society . He is also a very weak person . Yesterday
afternoon his presidential palace in Jakarta was put under big fire . Rumors
about a potential take over of power were loud among those who understands
politics .
please kindly open also the websites of The Jakarta Post
www.thejakartapost.com and also ABC Australian Broadcasting Corporation
www.australianetwork.com and also www.thejakartaglobe.com to read more about
the destruction of the Christian church .
Other pictures about the demolishing of the church could be seen in my
facebook Theophilus Bela
thank you very much for your kind prayers and good attention
best regards
Theophilus Bela
president of Human Rights NGO for Religious Freedom Christian Forum
secretary General of Indonesian Committee of Religions for Peace (an NGO for
interfaith dialogue)
Executive Member of Asian Conference of Religions for Peace, Seoul, Korea
----- Pesan yang Diteruskan -----
Dari: Sunny <[email protected]>
Kepada: [email protected]
Dikirim: Jumat, 22 Maret 2013 4:31
Judul: Batak Church Demolished by Bekasi Government
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/batak-church-demolished-by-bekasi-government/581255
Batak Church Demolished by Bekasi Government
Camelia Pasandaran, Jonathan G. Vit & Sandra Siagian | March 21, 2013
Luspida (L) prays as a congregation member of the Taman Sari Batak Christian
Protestant Church (R) cries as they watch the church being demolished in Bekasi
on the outskirts of Jakarta on March 21, 2013. A local government in Indonesia
demolish a church in front of its weeping congregation on March 21 as Muslim
protesters branded them \'infidels.\' (AFP Photo/Adek Berry)The congregation of
Bekasi’s beleaguered HKBP Taman Sari church huddled close, forming a barrier
between their church and the idling bulldozer sent to demolish their house of
worship on Thursday.
They sang tearful Batak hymns in the afternoon heat, wailing between the
verses, as church member Megarenta Sihite shouted at the officers from the
Bekasi District Public Order Agency (Satpol PP).
“What is our sin, sir?” she screamed. “Is it a sin to pray? Show us where our
mistake is. I thought this is a democratic country. Please, Mr. President, we
were born here in this country with five religions. We never did anything bad
to their houses of worship. Why are they doing this to us?”
The Bekasi district administration issued an order to demolish the church on
Wednesday, arguing that it was built in violation of a local bylaw requiring
all houses of worship to secure a building permit before construction.
Church leaders said they had gathered 89 signatures of approval from local
residents needed to acquire a permit, but were derailed when the urban ward
chief refused to sign the document, claiming that most of the signatures were
faked.
The congregation pushed back on Thursday in an hours-long standoff between
churchgoers and Satpol PP officers. The dispute peaked as pastors and an
attorney from the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation presented Dikdik Astra, the
Satpol PP chief, with documents claiming the demolition order had violated
Indonesian law.
Dikdik dismissed the argument.
“We received orders from the district chief [Neneng Hasanah Yasin],” he said.
“We only want to obey what the district chief said. Whether it is legal or not,
that is her business.”
The church was demolished amid cheers of “Allahu Akbar” (“God is great”) from
members of the hard-line Taman Sari Islamic People’s Forum (FUIT) who had
gathered outside the building.
Pastor Adven Leonard Nababan accused the Satpol PP of caving to pressure from
hard-line groups.
Dikdik denied the allegation.
Hard-liner support, police inaction
The road leading to HKBP Taman Sari was flanked by members of local Islamic
hard-line groups Thursday morning.
Men dressed in white robes flew flag bearing the names of the Islamic Defenders
Front (FPI) as they shouted demands into megaphones a half-kilometer from the
church.
“It’s not a church,” Zuhri, of the FUIT, said. “It’s an illegal building. So
don’t mistake this as a religious conflict. It’s not a war between Christians
and Muslims. It is not a church at all. It is just an ordinary illegal
building.”
The church has held regular services in a small bamboo structure since 1999,
Pastor Adven said. But as the congregation ballooned to more than 600 people,
Sunday services spilled out into the church’s wooded lot.
“The church could not accommodate all of them,” Adven said.
“We were afraid that the building would collapse, so we planned to build a new
building to worship comfortably.”
Their troubles began when the church broke ground on the expansion. Islamic
hard-liners rallied against the construction, holding a large demonstration in
January demanding that the government shutter the church.
“The opposition from the hard-line groups started on January 15 with a rally of
some 750 people,” Adven said.
“After that, the process to get the building permit was not continued.”
District chief Neneng ordered the Satpol PP to close the church on March 7. The
congregation was told to demolish the partially constructed building themselves.
The church refused.
Thursday’s demolition was in violation of Indonesian law, said Yunita, a lawyer
with the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation.
She presented a copy of the law to Dikdik and to Adj. Comr. Sumarwoto, the Setu
subprecinct police chief, arguing that the demolition order had failed to
follow national protocol.
“Dismantling this building will be illegal,” she said.
“You should have letter from the district chief to dismantle the building and a
long investigation process as stipulated by the law. Do you have the letter?”
Dikdik claimed he had the necessary documentation, but the letter he had was an
order to seal off the building listed under the name of Markus Sihite, and not
an order to dismantle the church.
“See, you have no rights to do this,” Yunita said.
“This is a church, not a building owned by Markus Sihite. If you want to knock
it down, at least get the right letter.”
Sumarwoto, for his part, washed his hands of the case, telling the churchgoers
that his officers were only on location to prevent a brawl between Islamic
hard-liners and churchgoers.
“It’s not my business,” he said.
“It’s the Bekasi district government and Satpol PP. I am only here to secure
the place and prevent a clash between residents and church members.”
A community pulls together
The HKBP Taman Sari congregation is the latest Christian group in West Java to
face opposition from locals over their presence in largely Muslim communities.
The GKI Yasmin congregation in Bogor has been locked out of its church since
2008 by the municipal authorities, in direct violation of two Supreme Court
rulings and an order by the Indonesian Ombudsman to allow it back in.
Bogor officials’ initial pretext for revoking the church’s permit was that the
signatures required to obtain it were fake. It now says that its refusal to
abide by the rulings of the highest court in the land is based on residents’
opposition to the church.
The HKBP Filadelfia congregation is the victim of a similar injustice. Since
2007, its members have been forced to worship on the street outside the church
in Bekasi as district authorities continue to deny the church a permit.
The Home Affairs Ministry, which exercises authority over regional heads, has
repeatedly claimed that regional autonomy renders the central government
powerless to force the Bogor and Bekasi administrations to comply with the
Supreme Court rulings.
The two congregations now hold joint services every Sunday on the street
outside the State Palace in Jakarta, to draw the president’s attention to their
plight.
Back at the site of the HKBP Taman Sari church, two young girls wept as the
dust began to settle on the collapsed walls.
“Why are they so mean?” one girl cried. “Why did they have to demolish it?
Where will we go for Sunday school?”
Women wailed and collapsed in fits while a single woman stood atop a pile of
rubble, collecting bricks one by one to reset the Indonesian flag. She placed a
tin sign bearing the church’s name alongside the Merah Putih before walking off.
Adven, the church’s pastor, addressed the crowd.
“Don’t cry,” he told them. “Your tears will turn to victory. Remember, this is
a test of your faith.”
Adven said he would continue leading the congregation members in worship at the
same location, because of the lack of nearby churches. The nearest HKBP church
is 15 kilometers away, in Jakarta.
“We will still keep worshiping in this place,” he said. “It has been two weeks
that we’ve held services outside the church after they sealed off the building.”
“Time flies, and soon we’ll celebrate Good Friday,” said Markus Simamora, a
member of the congregation. “No matter how many times they demolish the church,
we’ll rebuild it.”
Adven led the congregation in a prayer thanking Satpol PP and the Islamic
hard-liners for their actions.
“Satpol PP officers and members of the Islamic group, we thank you for what you
have done. May God bless you abundantly,” he said.
“Amen,” the crowd responded.
Nia Pandiangan, a congregation member, accused the central and local
governments of being unable to protect their right to worship.
“But we won’t hate them,” she said. “As children of God, we were told to love,
not to hate. So we’ll pray that God will soften their hearts.”
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
