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Christmas services banned by Satpol PP
Jakarta Post - December 26, 2014
Bogor Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) officers dispersed the GKI Yasmin congregation who tried to conduct a Christmas service in front of their church building, citing the disputed status of the building as the reason behind the move.
"The building was still sealed so there should be no activities [in the area]," Bogor Public Order Agency head Eko Prabowo said in Bogor, West Java, on Thursday as quoted by tempo.co.
Members of the GKI Yasmin congregation gathered in front of the church at 8 a.m., asking the Satpol PP officers to allow them to enter the building to hold Christmas service, but to no avail.
The congregation later moved the service to the front of the State Palace, joining the Filadelfia Batak Church congregation, which also faced a similar issue at its building in Bekasi, and they held their services jointly.
GKI Yasmin spokesman Bona Sigalingging called on the Bogor administration to comply with the Supreme Court's ruling, which rejected a request from the Bogor City Planning and Parks Agency to revoke a building permit the congregation was issued in 2008.
Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation director Febionesta lamented what happened, saying that, "The incident was a result of synchronized moves by the Satpol PP and intolerant groups."
Muhammad Subhi of the Wahid Institute also regretted the government's failure in taking action against the intolerant groups.
Meanwhile in Jakarta, local churches saw a substantial increase in their attendance numbers during Christmas services, which ran smoothly under tight supervision by police officers and local residents.
Evelyn Huang, spokesperson of the Jakarta Cathedral in Gambir, Central Jakarta, said Wednesday evening that the Catholic cathedral, which on normal days was visited by hundreds of people, had to provide more than 5,000 seats for churchgoers.
"There were people who did not get seats, but they were still solemnly engaged in prayer," Evelyn told The Jakarta Post.
During this year's Christmas, the cathedral held eight Christmas masses, three on Wednesday and five on Thursday, one of which was led by Jakarta Archbishop Mgr. Ignatius Suharyo.
The Christmas theme for this year in the cathedral was "Meet with God through Family", highlighting the role of a loving family as a way to get closer to God.
The Jakarta Police had deployed 200 police officers around the cathedral to safeguard the annual event, during which the congregation read scripture, sang Christmas songs and lit candles inside the cathedral.
During calls to prayer broadcast by the Istiqlal Mosque, located just across from the cathedral, the singing voices went silent.
Members of Banser, the youth wing of Indonesia's largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama, also participated in securing the Christmas celebration at the cathedral.
Sukanta, a member of Banser's Gambir chapter, said that his organization regularly sent six people to the cathedral to ensure smooth and peaceful religious activities, including during Christmas.
"This is Indonesia, where people must be able to live peacefully regardless of their differences," Sukanta said while keeping his eye on the street.
In between Christmas masses, a number of politicians, including Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo and Deputy Jakarta Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat, separately paid visits to a number of churches, including the Jakarta Cathedral and the Theresia Church in Menteng, Central Jakarta, and conveyed their Christmas wishes to the churchgoers.
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/12/26/christmas-services-banned-satpol-pp.html.
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