No Sunday service for Filadelfia churchgoers

The Jakarta Post, Bekasi Sun, 05/13/2012


There was no Sunday service again this week for the congregants of HKBP Filadelfia in Tambun, Bekasi, West Java, after local residents blockaded a road leading to the church

Locals have been protesting the congregation’s Sunday service for many months; the last Sunday service was held in December, a few days prior to Christmas.

Approximately 300 officers from the Bekasi Police and Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) tried to provide security on Sunday.

"Watch out for people not wearing a hijab. Don't let them pass. If necessary, chase them!" a local resident said into a megaphone.

Around 200 men, women and children of Jejalen Jaya formed a human wall across the road, preventing churchgoers from passing.

The abuse shouted by locals caused some congregants to cry.

"We just want to worship. There are five legally recognized religions in Indonesia, so why aren't we allowed to perform our prayers?" Rita Simanulang, a congregant, said.

"Our rights are guaranteed by Constitution. So why are you asking us to leave? You should be the one who protects us," she said to a public order officer.

Under a 2006 joint ministerial decree, a place of worship can only be built if it has secured the approval of 90 worshipers and 60 local residents from different faiths.

The dispute has been ongoing for years; however, HKBP Filadelfia’s Rev. Palti Panjaitan said that the church had already obtained the necessary legal paperwork, claiming that the Bekasi administration’s decision to close the church in 2010 was overturned at the State Administrative Court in Bandung, West Java, in 2011.

Saduddin, the regent of Tambun, has not implemented the ruling.

There is some hope for the church’s congregants, with the blockade occurring just one day prior to the inauguration of Neneng Yasmin as Tambun regent, officially replacing Saduddin, a politician from the Justice Prosperous Party (PKS), on Monday.

Palti said that he hoped the blockade would be the last, saying that compared to her predecessor, Neneng might be more tolerant of minority groups.

According to Palti, Saduddin is known for his close ties with Islamic hard-line groups, previously promising during his election campaign for Tambun regency that "not a single church would be built under his watch"


(for how much longer is this travesty of freedom of religion going on? siK's musing)

May 17, 2012


A mob of Islamic hard-liners threw stones and bags of urine at the HKBP Filadelphia congreagation of the Batak Christian Protestant Church in Bekasi, on the outskirts of Jakarta, at an Ascension Day service on Thursday. Police tried to stop the mob of some 300 people, but were also attacked, according to reports.

“They assaulted the congregation members,” Rev. Palti Panjaitan told the Jakarta Globe on Thursday. “Police tried to talk to them, but the mob passed through police and showered us with urine and dirty water. Others threw stones at us.”

The mob reportedly attacked the congregation as the service started, and also shouted profanity and threats.

“Even after the service, which lasted one-and-a-half hours, the mob chased after us,” Rev. Palti said. “Thank God the police escorted us to a safe area.

HKBP Filadelphia submitted an application for a building permit in 2007, but church leaders say that despite meeting all the requirements, including the agreement of their neighbors, a permit was never issued.

On Dec. 31, 2009, the Bekasi district head issued a letter banning the members of the congregation from worshiping on the land, forcing the 560 members to hold services along the side of the road fronting the property.

In July 2011, the Supreme Court overruled the Bekasi administration’s decision, saying the church was eligible for a building permit. The court ordered Bekasi to issue one — but the district government ignored the ruling.

Members of the congregation say that Islamic hard-liners have been intimidating and threatening them at their services since January.


(according to the JG)

Police admit weak effort in Filadelfia church fiasco: Spokesman,


The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Fri, 05/18/2012


Jakarta Police admit that they had done little to prevent the disruption of the Congregation of Batak Protestant Churches (HKBP) Filadelfia branch at their house of worship in Tambun, Bekasi, West Java.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto was quoted by tempo.co late on Thursday as saying that the police did not try to disperse the mob who threw water on the church’s followers.

“We were just trying to avoid the riots,” he said, responding to questions over the police’s action handling of a group of people who harassed the Filadelfia church’s congregation as they tried to reach their place of worship to commemorate Ascension Day on Thursday morning.

HKBP Filadelfia’s Rev. Palti Panjaitan told The Jakarta Post that that the crowd had been throwing “urine, sewage and frogs” at the worshippers, all of which also hit the policemen who separated them from the mob.

The church has been involved in a dispute over a building permit with local residents for years.

Palti said that the church had already obtained the necessary legal paperwork, claiming that the Bekasi administration’s decision to close the church in 2010 was overturned by the Bandung State Administrative Court in West Java in 2011


( They said the mob threw just water, air kencing is not just water according to me, and that goes for stones also! siK.)