Indonesian Bishops ask president for respect for religious freedom
Jakarta (AsiaNews) - The Bishops' Conference of Indonesia (KWI) has criticized President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and asked him to show more courage in defence of religious freedom. Bishop Martinus Dogma Situmorang, chairman of the Kwi, and Mgr. Johannes Pujasumarta, KWI Secretary General, signed the letter to the President on August 16.
In their letter the bishops strongly invoke the intervention of President Yudhoyono to stop the wave of extremism affecting religious minorities: "We are concerned because the state appears unable to ensure protection of religious minorities ... when they are under pressure from the majority religious groups”.
The bishops refer to incidents in recent weeks in Bekasi and Bogor against Christians of the Protestant Church of Batak (Hkbp) and those of the Church of Yasmin. The faithful of both communities have been forced to pray outdoors because town officials have sealed their places of worship. Moreover, their religious functions are disturbed and interrupted by crowds of Muslim extremists.
"We - the Bishops' letter continues - we are very concerned that many of our Christian brothers and sisters ... are forcibly pressured to abandon their religion and stop professing their faith. Mr. President, we have long awaited for you to show courage and notify any extremist group that all citizens are equal before the law”.
"We look forward to hearing from you, Mr. President, that Indonesia will certainly not allow the majority to put pressure on the minority." In their letter the bishops have also criticized widespread corruption, especially in politics. Until now, Yudhoyono has done nothing to stop rampant extremism in the country. Only last August 15 he stated that religious freedom is protected by the Constitution and this only after the newspapers attacked his weakness.
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