Public Order official’s colleagues kick student ministry leader, issue more death threats.
JAKARTA, September 18 (Compass Direct News) – A Public Order official’s colleagues kicked Charles Hutahaean, chairman of the Indonesian Christian Students’ Movement (GMKI) in Jakarta, in the stomach last week and threatened to kill other GMKI staff members.
The Public Order official, Crisman Siregar, threatened to stab Hutahaean with a bayonet in the confrontation between him and his colleagues and the GMKI leader on Sept. 9. Previously Siregar had warned Hutahaean to “be careful with your life.”
Volunteer Public Order officials normally mediate local conflicts, among other community functions, but in this case have sided with a private company in a land dispute with GMKI. Land granted to the church was sold to a business venture, the Kencana Indotama Persada (KIP) Co., without the consent of GMKI, and construction workers have already partly demolished an old GMKI office building on the site.
GMKI now shares a newer office building with its parent ministry, the Alliance of Indonesian Churches (PGI). When KIP construction workers built a wall separating the new building from the old, GMKI students demolished it, sparking two violent attacks by Public Order officials on Aug. 26 and 28.
As GMKI staff members on Sept. 9 gathered to discuss these issues, two carloads of Public Order officials drove up and parked outside. Six men entered the premises and began tearing down banners erected inside the GMKI fence. The banners, which faced onto a busy road, protested the sale of the disputed land and accused Public Order officials of “masterminding” the August attacks.
When Hutahaen and other staff members tried to stop them, Siregar drew out a bayonet and threatened to stab the pastor. Following Siregar’s lead, the other officials threatened to kill GMKI members. They also kicked desks and chairs in the office building, causing minor damage.
GMKI staff members immediately reported the incident to the police, who arrived shortly after the attackers had left. Police officers, however, said it would be difficult to press charges since Siregar had not actually used the bayonet.
It was two weeks earlier, following the attacks on GMKI’s office, that Siregar had warned Hutahaean to “be careful with your life.” (See Compass Direct News, “Land Dispute Leads to Attacks on Christian Hub in Indonesia,” September 3.)
Compass sources said Public Order officials would likely benefit financially from protecting KIP’s business interests.
Mysterious Appropriation
The disputed property is a large piece of land originally granted by the Dutch colonial government to the Vereneging Christian School (VCS) Foundation. The VCS then gave the land to the Christian School Association, which in turn passed it on to a branch of its own association, the Christian Education Foundation (YBPK).
Although occupied by many Christian ministries and associations, including the Christian University of Indonesia and the Indonesia Bible Institute, sources said the land belonged to YBPK.
Under the terms of the land grant, the land could not legally be sold to business entities, according to GMKI lawyer Nikson Lalu. In August 2006, however, a board member of YBPK, acting independently of the board, sold a small plot of land to KIP. An old office belonging to GMKI was still standing on the plot of land, adjacent to a newer building shared by GMKI and PGI.
Compass sources noted that a gas station and business offices had replaced other ministry offices on the granted land. It was not clear, however, how the businesses had appropriated the land from YBPK.
Report from Compass Direct News
Random Thoughts 