The Jakarta Post:
After years of struggle to obtain a building permit for their house of worship, the congregation of the Batak Protestant Church (HKBP) in Taman Sari, Setu district in Bekasi regency, watched the local administration demolish their unfinished church building.
“It’s over. The church building was demolished at around 2:45 p.m.,” Rev. Torang Parulian Simanjuntak told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
The HKBP Taman Sari congregation went to the church on Thursday morning in an attempt to block the demolition of the church as public order officers (Satpol PP) arrived at the location. They held a prayer service, hoping that the demolition would not happen.
A bulldozer arrived at the location at noon. Members of the church’s congregation began to cry and wail while some tried to prevent the bulldozer from moving closer to the church. Many broke down when the machinery began to tear down the walls of the church — located on Jl. MT Haryono — they could be heard pleading with the Satpol PP officers to stop the demolition.