Govt urged to commit to handling cases involving religious minorities
A group of activists has urged the government to make a firm commitment to dealing with cases concerning Indonesia’s religious minorities.“We are urging the President to take over cases of discrimination and intimidation against religious minorities,” said activists grouped under the Bhineka Tunggal Ika forum, who staged a rally in front of the State Palace on Sunday.
They also said the government should never allow people to take the law into their own hands by disbanding religious services.
“Groups that don’t approve [of religious services] can take legal actions such as contesting the building permit of houses of worship to courts and the like. But if the Supreme Court has issued its verdict on [a case], it should be heeded,” protesters said.
Members of the GKI Taman Yasmin in Bogor, West Java, are still facing difficulty conducting services at their church despite a Supreme Court ruling that rejected the Bogor administration’s request to uphold the decision to shut down their church.
