International Christian Concern 2020 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, #941 Washington, DC 20006 301-585-5915 ♦ icc@persecution.org
PETITION CALLING FOR AN END TO FORCED CHURCH CLOSURES IN INDONESIA
His Excellency Ambassador Dino Patti Djalal Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia 2020 Massachusetts Ave. N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036 April 1, 2013, Dear Ambassador Djalal, It is with great concern that we petition your government to immediately halt the forced closure of Christian churches across Indonesia. Reports from the last year indicate that more than a dozen Christian churches have been sealed shut by local officials in the provinces of Aceh and West Java. These closures and the subsequent trauma they cause are not only based on a law that is easily manipulated and often abused but does not serve the principles of Pancasila so highly valued by your government and Indonesian citizens. As recently as March 21st hundreds of Indonesia Christians gathered in the streets of Bekasi to stop the destruction of the Huria Kristen Batak Protestant (HKBP) church in Setu. Their cries were ignored as Bekasi officials used heavy construction equipment to tear down the walls of the church in a matter of minutes. Perhaps worse still were the cheers and applause of members of the Islamic Defenders Front (Front Pembala Islam or FPI) and other Muslim residents as the church was destroyed. How can such an incident possibly conform to the international reputation Indonesia has painstakingly earned as society tolerant of religious diversity? Yet the demolition of the HKBP Setu church is only the most recent incident in a long history of churches being targets of discrimination and forced closure. Christian leaders interviewed by ICC in October of 2012 reported facing incidents of blatant discrimination and pressure to abandon their church buildings as far back as 1998. The situation grew even worse after 2006 when the Indonesian Minister of Religious Affairs issued the “Joint Decree on Houses of Worship.” This decree set conditions for obtaining a building permit on places of worship that has been egregiously abused by radical religious and political groups to halt the construction of Christian churches. ICC has collected multiple reports of churches fruitlessly spending large sums of money and several years attempting to obtain a building permit, only to be rejected or ignored. In some cases, such as that of GKI Yasmin, authorities decided to seal the church despite the possession of a legal building permit. In that case even the ruling of Indonesia’s Supreme Court that the sealing of the church was in error has failed to convince local authorities to reopen the premises. Ambassador Djalal, the signers of this petition urge you to take immediate steps to halt these appalling violations of religious freedom. It is becoming abundantly clear to the international community that intolerance of religious minorities is rising in Indonesia and that action must be taken at the highest levels to curtail further damage. The abuse of the Join Decree on Houses of Worship and the subsequent forced closures of Christian churches in Aceh and West Java are emblematic of this rising intolerance and the inability or unwillingness of the federal government to step in and protect the right to worship that should be granted to every single Indonesian citizen, regardless of their religious beliefs. Sincerely, International Christian Concern (and attached) CC: Secretary of State John Kerry Senator Robert Menendez, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Senator Bob Corker, Ranking Republican Member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Congressman Ed Royce, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Congresswoman Elliot Engel, Ranking Democratic Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs
PETITION CALLING FOR AN END TO FORCED CHURCH CLOSURES IN INDONESIA (Please Print, Do Not Sign)
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