Another church sealed off after 22 years of peaceful coexistence

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Sat June 01 2013,


A protestant church in Cipinang Muara, East Jakarta, was sealed off by the Building Supervision and Regulation Agency (P2B) on Monday for not having a renovation permit.

“The church was built in 1991, there have been no protests from local residents. So why did [the administration] tell [us] there have been residents protesting this church amid it being renovated,”
said A Sinaga, a church official, on Friday, as quoted by tempo.co.

Jatinegara district head Sofian Taher confirmed the closure. “It [the church] has been sealed off because [the building] doesn’t have a building permit (IMB),” said Sofian.

According to Sofian, a church official said that its permit was being processed. “If they obtain a permit, we will lift the seal and allow them to continue with renovations,” he said.