Tag: Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

Indonesia ‘to guarantee rights of religious minorities’

August 4, 2017 Indonesia Ahok, Hizb ut-Tahrir, Indonesia, Nahdlatul Ulama, Religious freedom, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

Wreaths displayed to honor those killed in the suicide bomb attack in the Kampung Melayu bus terminal, East Jakarta on May 24 2017. Indonesia's image of a secular nation is under treat as it faces increased influence of extremist Islamist groups. (Photo: Open Doors International)

Indonesia is drafting a law that will guarantee the rights of religious minorities in the country, according to the head of the country’s Ministry of Religion’s Interfaith Harmony Forum. “The government [currently] only recognises six religions, while more than four million people who follow religions outside of those six are . . . Read More

Indonesia President blames democracy for ills

March 2, 2017 Indonesia Churches, Indonesia, Joko Widodo, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

Indonesia’s President has blamed rising religious intolerance in the country on democracy. Joko Widodo said democracy has “gone too far” and that “political freedom paved the way for extreme political practices”. Human Rights Watch’s Deputy Director for the Asia region, Phelim Kine, wrote that while Indonesia “unquestionably has a problem . . . Read More

VIDEO: Amidst hopes of Jokowi, Indonesian Christians remain concerned

January 12, 2015 Indonesia GKI Yasmin, Indonesia, Jakarta, Joko Widodo, Southeast Asia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

In Indonesia, home to the world’s largest Muslim population, the number of cases of religious intolerance doubled during 2014 – to 67, according to a recent report from the Southeast Asian nation’s National Commission on Human Rights. About 30 of these cases were about the closure or vandalism of churches, . . . Read More

Indonesia presidential elections ‘vote for Jokowi’

July 7, 2014 Indonesia Indonesia, Joko Widodo, Religious freedom, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

Religious freedom and human rights liberties are at stake in Indonesia’s Presidential elections tomorrow, July 9, as its two leading contenders are at polar opposites when it comes to their reputations regarding human rights. Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is well known for his stance against corruption, being pro religious pluralism and . . . Read More

Indonesia’s religious freedom ‘in peril’

February 26, 2014 Indonesia Aceh, Java, Religious freedom, Sumatra, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

The Batak Protestant Church near Jakarta was torn down in March 2013, just after being built.World Watch Monitor A new report paints a bleak picture of religious freedom in Indonesia. Indonesia: Pluralism in Peril, which was launched at the UK Parliament yesterday (Feb. 25), says that in the world’s most . . . Read More

Another thumbs-down for SBY ‘statesman’ award

May 14, 2013 Indonesia Banten, Indonesia, Jakarta, Java, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

Add another human-rights watchdog group to the list disapproving of the decision by the Appeal of Conscience Foundation to bestow its 2013 “World Statesman Award” to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, widely known as SBY. The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network, or ETAN, has launched an online petition urging the . . . Read More

Indonesian clerics dispute president’s ‘world statesman’ award

May 10, 2013 Indonesia Aceh, Banten, Bekasi, Bogor, GKI Yasmin, HKBP Filadelfia, Jakarta, Java, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

According to the Appeal of Conscience Foundation, Indonesia President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is a world statesman who promotes religious tolerance. According to the Clergy Forum of Jakarta, Banten and West Java in Indonesia, Yudhoyono turns a blind eye to oppression of minority religions in his own country. The forum on . . . Read More

President sidesteps church controversy

February 23, 2012 Indonesia Bogor, Churches, GKI Yasmin, Indonesia, Java, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

In a defeat for the rule of law in Indonesia, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has declined to enforce a Supreme Court ruling that a local government allow a West Java church to worship in its building. The Bogor city government revoked the building permit of the Christian Church of Indonesia . . . Read More

Indonesia: anti-Christian incidents nearly doubled in 2011

January 4, 2012 Indonesia Banten, Bogor, Churches, GKI Yasmin, Indonesia, Jakarta, Java, Nahdlatul Ulama, Pentecostals, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

Acts of violence and intolerance against Christians in Indonesia almost doubled in 2011, with an Islamist campaign to close down churches symbolizing the plight of the religious minority. The Indonesian Protestant Church Union, locally known as PGI, counted 54 acts of violence and other violations against Christians in 2011, up . . . Read More

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