Jakarta, IO – Human rights advocacy group Setara Institute reports that there were 217 incidents with 329 acts of violation of freedom of religion/belief throughout 2023, 114 of which were carried out by state actors, and 215 acts by non-state actors.
“The findings of the number of events and actions this year show a relatively constant number and are returning to an increase in the number of incidents such as in 2019, when Jokowi began his second term, which recorded a figure of 200 incidents with 327 acts of violation of freedom of religion/belief,” said Setara Institute executive director Halili Hasan, per Detikcom, Mon (24/6).
Meanwhile, of the 114 actions by state actors, the most violations were carried out by regional governments (40 acts), the police (24 acts), Public Order Agency/Satpol PP (10 acts), TNI (8 acts), Regional Leadership Communication Forum/Forkopimda (6 acts), and educational institutions (4 acts).
Meanwhile, violations by non-state actors were mostly committed by citizens (78 acts), individuals (19 acts), the Indonesian Ulema Council/MUI (17 acts), religious mass organizations (eight acts), and foreigners (five acts).
The violations in 2023 also included 65 disturbances to places of worship, namely 40 disturbances in churches, 17 in mosques, five in temples, and three in monasteries.
This finding is fairly numeruous when compared to the disturbances that occurred in places of worship in the past five years, namely 50 in 2023, 44 in 2021, 24 in 2020, 31 in 2019, 20 in 2018, and 16 in 2017.
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“The majority of rejections for establishment of places of worship are based on the non-fulfillment or deviation in the meaning of the requirements for establishing places of worship as regulated in the Joint Ministerial Decree between the Religion Affairs Ministry, Home Ministry and the Attorney General’s Office which require 90 congregants and statements of support from 60 local residents,” he said.
“Meanwhile, in other cases, even though these requirements have been met, resistance from the local community continues to occur, so that places of worship are still not allowed to be built,” he explained. (bp)