Papua Governor Barnabas Suebu offers international community seven million hectares of tropical forests to reduce CO2 emissions. Indonesia is currently destroying 51 km2 of forests every day or 1.8 million hectares per year.
Christ’s Peace Church has been active since 1968 now local Muslims are contesting the use of the buildings for religious purposes. With the backing of police and local politicians the extremists have won their battle: the parish does not have the legal permit and therefore must close down. For years the church had sought to obtain the permit without success, gaining only a staunch refusal from the government.
The latest violence against the so-called “illegal churches” in Bandung. The owner of the house explains: it’s true we have no official permit, but the law does not forbid us to use “provisional” domestic-churches while we wait.
Some Muslim hardliners come in for harsh criticism for creating a false and violent image of Islam. Police is also strongly condemned for not intervening decisively. Carmelite spokeswoman says she and her sisters are not worrying; they are trying to play down the controversy.
The Lembah Karmel Cikanyere had applied for a police permit, but the real reason for protests against it lies in a desire to shut it down after local Muslims claimed it had “caused controversies among people.”
Located in Cikanyere Hill, the centre is well known among Catholics living in the Jakarta and West Java area. A Muslim magazine publishes incendiary article about it and today a protest takes place against its mere existence.
Christians from a protestant organization await the commencement date for their trial. According to police, they stand accused of producing a video which offends the Koran.
They are charged with making a videotape in which the Qur’an is treated as the cause of all of Indonesia’s ills. Another 60 people are wanted. Christian group confirms the tape’s existence but does not endorse it. Muslim leaders try to appease emotions to avoid violent reactions.
West Java Authorities accuse the Pasudan Christian Church of illegal proselitysim; a second meeting between the two parties to shed light on issue will take place in the presence of police who have “proof in hand” of the charges.
In West Java yesterday, a crowd of local residents and Islamic activists broke into the home of a Christian that was being used as a church. The owner ceded to their requests and stopped the religious service. The revision of a Decree on places of worship has proved to be insufficient to guarantee Indonesian Christians the right to worship
They are leaders of a group linked to Jemaah Islamiah, responsible for many violent attacks on Christians, including the murder of a female pastor and two Christian students in 2005.
A police crackdown on terrorism provokes a wave of attacks and clashes between law enforcement and Islamic extremists. One policeman and nine civilians are killed. Provincial police chief warns his men will open fire on civilians if armed.
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