'Where are our rights?': church congregation in Riau plead as Sunday service dispersed

'Where are our rights?': church congregation in Riau plead as Sunday service dispersed

The Jakarta Post-News·2019-08-27 18:03

The state of Indonesia’s religious freedom has come into the spotlight once again after local authorities broke up a Sunday service held by the Indonesian Pentecostal Church (GPdI) in Keritang sub-district, Indragiri Hilir regency in Riau. Activists and religious figures have lambasted the forced dispersal, arguing that it violated the constitutional rights of the citizens and their freedom of worship, which should be protected by both regional administrations and the central government. The church service attended by the GPdI Efata congregation in Petalongan village on Sunday was carried out under a make-shift tent near the church’s building, which is also the house of the church’s pastor, Damianus Sinaga. While the service was still ongoing, Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) officers suddenly arrived and attempted to stop the pastor from delivering his sermon. ...

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Religion