Yasmin, Filadelfia Church Members Urged To Avoid Provocation

Jakarta, Dec 26 (ANTARA) - The Wahid Institute has appealed to members of the GKI Yasmin and Filadelfia HKBP churches not to be provoked by certain individuals who wish to take a benefit out of their problems. The head of the institute`s advocacy program, M Subhi Azhar, made the appeal here on Tuesday on the sidelines of attending a joint Christmas mass service held by the two churches in front of the presidential Merdeka palace in protest against their ban to conduct service at the location of their churches. He said as a facilitator for the enforcement of the ruling of the Supreme court allowing the construction of the GKI Yasmin and Filadelfia churches that a lot of parties wished to take am advantage out of the problem by making provocations. He declined to name those who had provoked but said he had conveyed the institute`s stance with regard to preventing the church members from being influenced by their provocations and reminding them of the importance of conducting internal confirmation. "Both GKI Yasmin and HKBP Filadelfia churches have had their own spokesman or leaders that could give correct information and the mechanism has gone well so far," he said. He said the two churches in their effort to seek the implementation of the ruling so far had taken peaceful means such as through oration, petition and mediation. "Indeed their efforts have not yet shown results as shown by the fact that the problem has remained although it has gone for three years," he said. The GKI Yasmin had once collected 3,000 signatures in its petition to the president to immediately implement the Supreme Court ruling but until now it has never been given a reply. "We however would continue the peaceful struggle until certainty over the implementation of the court ruling over the church construction is achieved," he said. For GKI Yasmin and HKBP Filadelfia the implementation of the court ruling that revoked the decisions of the Bogor mayor and Bekasi district and allowed the construction the two churches is their final goal. "We hope there would no more discrimination in the future against religious followers to carry out their duties," Subhi said.