Oppressed Christians In The Street Heat, In Pluralist Indonesia

Just got home, late afternoon, and it’s still hot outdoors.

Every year, every other week, these brave, persecuted Christians have been worshipping on Jakarta’s street, forced to do so because the Government of Indonesia will not enforce a ruling from their own Supreme Court.

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Two weeks ago, the pre-Easter Service, across the street from President Jokowi’s Palace

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The endless torment of these innocent people is an affront to anyone with a sense of justice. But the engrained Islamist intolerance among many here, not most but many, has to be seen and heard to be believed.

Take the ‘moderate’ Mayor of Bogor, where the GKI Yasmin congregation’s sealed church is located.

ooooo

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His predecessor was a frothing fanatic, and when Bima Arya was elected a couple of years ago, a lot of us seriously thought this might herald a new era of religious liberty.

Instead, we had to publish the reality, under this headline.

X-Rated Xmas – Foul-Mouths Bully Christians, As ‘Moderate’Mayor Denies They Exist!’ 

So today, Easter Sunday, off I went to show solidarity on the roadside opposite President Jokowi’s Palace.

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Persecuted Protestants begin worship.

I took these two photos (above and below) myself today- sorry if they’re not high quality.

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The sign records the sadfact that this is the 142nd time they’ve been here on the street, instead of their own church, which was sealed by vicious sectarian bigots

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It’s been the practice of these oppressed Christians to reserve one of their little plastic seats for Jokowi, in case he cares enough to join them.

But, presumably to underline his oft-proclaimed commitment to plurlism and religious liberty, he’s never crossed the street to join them…

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Rizieq, far left, Jokowi with microphone

So Has Indonesia Come To This? Paradise Lost? 

…an interesting contrast with his readiness to appear on the same platform with the blood-thirsty Islamist Habib Rizieq not long ago.

 

 

Cold Christmas for Java Christians – Thanks, ‘Moderate’ Mayor!’

• Persecuted Christians in West Java, briefly hopeful  of deliverance from sectarian oppression,will again be denied access to their church this Christmas!

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  Shamefully, Bogor’s so-called ‘moderate’ Mayor Bima has even warned the Protestant GKI Yasmin congregation not to worship on the street – for several years now, Yasmin and other victimised minorities have worshipped right across the road from the Presidential Palace, in downtown Jakarta, where I sometimes join them.

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   Bima

  Two of a kind?

    Diani

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  So we see ‘moderate’ Mayor Bima’s  no better than his predecessor, the fanatic Mayor Diani, who  sealed the Christian house of worship-  dismal Islamist intolerance exemplified!  

  • Bima said on Thursday he would not carry out the Supreme Court order to reopen the church, citing unspecified “strong reasons” for flouting the verdict from the highest court in the land.

  He said he had asked for the Home Affairs Ministry and Religious Affairs Ministry to weigh in on the issue.  

  http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/room-inn-mayor-tells-locked-christians/

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   Lily Wahid

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  In other words, Bima prefers to pass the buck; he could order local police to confront bigot louts like GARIS, whose leader has declared himself head of ISIS in Indonesia.  GARIS and other jihadist jerk outfits bussed in bigots and mayhem ensued.

  Non Bima-style Muslims, like good old Lily Wahid, who showed up in solidarity with the Christian victims, were abused and threatened by the brutes. The cops, shockingly, refuse to enforce the ruling of the highest court in the land. They have reduced their role to that of umpire between good and evil.

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  • “But so far we have not received any [feedback],” he said.

  “What is clear is that [the congregation] should not [stage a Christmas celebration] on the sidewalk. Sidewalks are not a place for praying. We have provided [alternative venues] like Harmoni or other places,” he said, referring to a local public hall.”

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  What a nerve!

  They’d hardly need alternative venues if Bima had the cojones to end the illegal sealing of the church!

  Is it that he fears to face down those hoodlum ISIS fans? Or is it that, despite his previous protestations of pluralism, he is himself indifferent to religious liberty?

  Time for President Jokowi to step in and kick some jihadist ass!

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