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I’m worshipping here in front of our presidential palace because the GKI Yasmin church in Bogor cannot worship [in its own building] on Sundays,” said Adhi Nugroho Chandra, a member of the church, which was sealed off in 2008.
The GKI Yasmin church has been meeting outside the president’s office in Jakarta since 2012. This month, it will hold its 100th worship service on the street. It holds them every two weeks at 1 p.m., come searing heat or torrential downpour: the two or three other Sundays it meets in a variety of places. Its building in Bogor city, in Jakarta’s suburbs, remains sealed in defiance of a Supreme Court order. The mayor of Bogor is under pressure from Islamist groups to restrict the congregation from using their place of worship.
“It’s very hard to be a minority in Indonesia, and we have to fight for our rights,” said Dwiati Novita Rini, a lay leader of the church. “It’s not easy but it will not affect my faith.”
While they are holding on to their faith in God, church members are now beginning to lose their confidence in the influence of President Jokowi, who will complete one year in office in October.
“I think the problem remains because the president did not dare to take action,” Chandra Juliar, the pastor of the church, said. “The leader should have the courage to take action and enforce the law. We can’t afford, as a nation, to let this problem remain if we want peace in Indonesia.”
President Jokowi was expected not to repeat the mistakes of his predecessor, Susilo Bambang Yodhoyono, who was criticised for being indecisive and weak before Islamist extremists. Jokowi appears to have the will to enforce the court order, but that involves taking a political risk. To function as president, he needs cooperation from parliament, which is dominated by opposition parties, including Islamist groups. Going against the Bogor mayor could have political repercussions.
“The mayor, who, I think, is the key person who can decide what happens in Bogor, still has people around him who are intolerant,” explained Rini.
Christians acknowledge that President Jokowi has brought at least some change in the religious atmosphere of the country. For example, extremist groups like FPI and GARIS now appear to be less active.
“In Bogor, the leader of the group GARIS, which protested against our church, is in jail, and the protests against us are now getting lower and lower,” Rini said.
The GKI Yasmin church says it will continue to hold as many worship services on the street as it takes to regain their right to use their church building.
“We are often asked how long we will struggle,” said Pastor Juliar. “We have to carry on until we get justice. Yes, we are very tired and our hope at times starts to fade, but as believers, we won’t give up. Our struggle is not only for our needs, but also for others who deserve peace. So we will achieve our goal to build our beloved Indonesia to be a peaceful country.”
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