Residents burn down church in Purwakarta

Ketika membaca situs koran Jakarta Post, saya membaca berita yg sgt menyedihkan. Sengaja saya meng-copy-paste kesini, agar kita semua bisa mengambil hikmah dari segala yang terjadi. Apakah ketidak setujuan akan suatu agama harus berakhir dengan pembakaran tempat ibadah agama tsb? Apakah ketika seseorang memutuskan untuk memeluk suatu agama, maka agama yang kemudian dianut orang tersebut harus dimusuhi? Bukankah memilih agama yang dianut merupakan Hak Asasi setiap orang yang dijamin oleh UUD 1945.

Police in West Java are questioning four people in connection with an arson attack on a church in Citeko village, Plered, Purwakarta.

The incident took place at about 11 p.m. on Tuesday. The church, run by the Abdi Karya Foundation (Yadika), occupies a building which used to be a tile factory.

Ten Yadika employees were placed in protective police custody.

Plered Police chief Adj. Comr. Asep Supriadi said the attack was carried out by a mob of hundreds of locals angered by the conversion of the tile factory to a church.

“It’s just a reaction by disgruntled residents who had lodged complaints which went unheeded,” Asep said in a phone interview Wednesday.

Citeko village chief Andri Yani said residents had voiced opposition to the church because the building was initially slated to be renovated as a school.

“Residents became suspicious after noticing many people from outside the area visiting the building a few months into the construction phase. They voiced their objections about using the building as a church, but construction continued,” Andri said.

Police have yet to name a suspect in the case and are still questioning witnesses and Yadika employees. The scene of the attack is under heavy police and military security.

“We are securing the site to prevent the possibility of further incidents,” Asep said.