Religious Minorities Band Together for Tolerance

The Jakarta Globe:
So often the victims of intolerance in Indonesia, Christians, Ahmadiyah and Shia Muslims on Monday marched together in Central Jakarta to urge the government to take a stand against religiously motivated violence and discrimination.

The 300 protesters held a shared prayer service before singing the national anthem as the marched along Jalan Gerag Pemuda toward the gates of the House of Representatives.

Pastor Torang Simanjuntak, from the HKBP Taman Sari church in Bekasi, which was demolished after an order from the regional government on March 21, was among the demonstrators.

The pastor said he was there to send a message to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
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Clerics take to street for religious freedom
The Jakarta Post
Around 200 clerics in Greater Jakarta took to the street on Monday to vent their criticism against the government’s negligence over the ongoing cases on religious intolerance.

The clerics in their cassocks along with the representatives of Shiites, Ahmadis and practitioners of indigenous faiths marched from the Bung Karno Stadium to the House of Representatives’ compound in Senayan, Central Jakarta, calling for the government to heed the 1945 Constitution that guarantees religious freedom for
the minorities.

Tanah Abang Precinct Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Suyudi Ario Seto said that police dispatched 375 personnel to safeguard the rally, with an additional 26 members from Nahdlatul Ulama’s youth wing, Banser.

They eventually met with People’s Consultative Assembly speaker Taufiq Kiemas and the deputy speakers for discussion.

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Indonesian minorities protest growing religious intolerance

The Straits Time:
JAKARTA (AFP) – Around 200 Christian, Muslim Shiite and Ahmadiyah leaders protested in the Indonesian capital Jakarta on Monday against growing religious intolerance in the Sunni Muslim-majority country.
The rally of minority groups followed the demolition of a church and the closure of an Ahmadi mosque, both in Bekasi, east of Jakarta, in recent weeks after pressure from Muslim hardliners.

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