TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - House of Representative (DPR RI) legislator from Bali’s electoral district, I Wayan Sudirta, condemns the ban and forced dispersal of a traditional ritual in Bantul, Yogyakarta. The ritual in question commemorates the death of Ki Ageng Mangir.

Sudirta says that the forced dispersal is not only disrespectful but also goes against the country’s Constitution. “The state constitution guarantees the freedom to worship,” he said in a written statement on Wednesday, November 13.

According to Sudirta, police personnel should have provided protection to those participating in the ritual rather than caving-in on the pressure of certain groups, which he says has rejected the ritual from taking place in a manner that is “unconstitutional and has caused minority groups to remain as minorities.”

The senior advocate gave an example of Bali as a region that time-to-time has shown acts of actualizing the philosophy of Pancasila (five state ideologies) in daily socio-political interactions.

“They do not disband [certain group gatherings] but instead protect each other. However, if Hindu people hold events that attack the Pancasila or spreads hatred, forced disbandment would be acceptable. But what these people planned to do were to worship to God in a peaceful way, this should have been protected,” I Wayan Sudirta asserts.

He then called for Yogyakarta’s Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X to take notice of such an act of intolerance as not to tarnish the city’s symbol of pluralism.

Earlier, an interfaith ancestral rite was held for Ki Ageng Mangir at Mangir Lor in Bantul, Yogyakarta. However, the ceremony was forcefully disbanded by dozens of police personnel together with local residents on Tuesday, November 12.

HALIDA BUNGA