TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Several non-governmental organizations (NGOs), led by The Wahid Institute, have supported the efforts of the congregation of the Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) Yasmin in Bogor, West Java, to urge the incoming mayor of the city, Bima Arya Sugiarto, to obey the Supreme Court ruling to reopen the church, as reported by Antara News.
Sinta Nuriyah Wahid, interfaith activist and widow of former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, said that the 1945 Constitution gave every Indonesian the basic right to practice their religion.
"We have seen that GKI Yasmin faced discrimination and persecution, so we urge every leader, including the Bogor mayor [elect], to abide by the law," she said during a press conference at the Wahid Institute in Central Jakarta on Thursday.
Outgoing mayor Diani Budiarto, supported by a group of local people, sealed GKI Yasmin in 2010 and defied a Supreme Court ruling ordering Diani to reopen the church.
The NGOs hoped that the new mayor would be firm in not accommodating intolerant groups, so that his decision could set a positive precedent for similar cases in other regions across the country.
ANTARA
