The GKPS congregation and three other area churches – the Indonesia Christian United Church (Huria Kristen Indonesia, or HKI), Batak Karo Protestant Church (Gereja Batak Karo Protestan, or GBKP) and the Indonesia Christian United Church (Huria Kristen Indonesia, or HKI – have no church buildings, the letter states.
Those churches, the letter states, have submitted applications for building permits in the past three decades, spending much time and money, to no avail.
“Some churches in Purwakarta have applied for permits to build houses of worship for decades but obtained no permits,” the letter states. “Churches such as the Indonesian Christian United Church (HKI) and the Batak Karo Protestant Church (GBKP), as well as the New Testament Christian Church too, suffer the same fate.”
The Joint Ministerial Decree of 2006 allows the local government to provide a temporary permit for churches to meet while applications are pending, the letter states.
Houses of worship are a real need in the community, and the local government should foster inter-religious harmony in Purwakarta by facilitating their establishment, the PGI letter states.
“We express a strong protest and ask the president of the Republic of Indonesia, through the Minister of Home Affairs and the Minister of Religion of the Republic of Indonesia, to give a strong reprimand to the Regent of Purwakarta Anne Ratna Mustika and urge the Regent of Purwakarta to issue a temporary permit while immediately finding a solution for GKPS members and the other churches in Purwakarta so they can carry out their worship safely and comfortably,” the letter states.
Many Indonesian politicians are under political pressure ahead of local and national elections in 2024. As head of the Purwakerta local Golkar Party Branch, Anne on March 21 expressed her readiness to run for re-election, news outlet Sinarjabar.com reported.
Indonesia ranked 33rd on Christian support organization Open Doors’ 2023 World Watch List of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian. Indonesian society has adopted a more conservative Islamic character, and churches involved in evangelistic outreach are at risk of being targeted by Islamic extremist groups, according to Open Doors’ WWL report.
“If a church is seen to be preaching and spreading the gospel, they soon run into opposition from Islamic extremist groups, especially in rural areas,” the report noted. “In some regions of Indonesia, non-traditional churches struggle to get permission for church buildings, with the authorities often ignoring their paperwork.”
This article originally appeared here.
