ICC Note: Christians from multiple churches gathered in front of Indonesia’s presidential palace on Easter Sunday to hold a special service and protest worsening discrimination across the country. Among the Christians were members of the HKBP Setu church, which was demolished just ten days ago by local authorities in the city of Bekasi. The Indonesian government has largely capitulated to demands by radical Islamic groups that churches abandon their places of worship. Dozens of churches in the Jakarta area alone have been sealed shut by authorities as radical mobs gather outside to protest their existence. 
3/31/2013 Indonesia (Jakarta Globe) – More than 200 Indonesian Christians on Sunday held an Easter service in front of the presidential palace, demanding the government stop church closures in the world’s most populous Muslim country.
Amid hooting cars and other traffic noise, men, women and toddlers sang hymns and said prayers in a two-hour service that also served as a protest against the lack of protection for religious minorities.
The worshipers came from three areas on the outskirts of Jakarta where local government officials shut churches, citing community opposition or the lack of proper building permits.
Rights activists have said local governments are using the permit issue as an excuse to kowtow to religious hard-liners, with churches and Islamic minorities bearing the brunt of attacks.
They say mosque building permits are rarely challenged.
“We are here to show the president and the world that law enforcement, constitutional supremacy and protection of minority groups are not as sweet as the president had claimed,” said Bona Sigalingging, a spokesman for GKI Yasmin church.
“We urge President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to stop staying silent and uncaring of the rampant violations of freedom of religion in Indonesia,” the congregation said in a statement.
Ninety percent of Indonesia’s 240 million people identify themselves as Muslim but the constitution guarantees freedom of religion.
Among those worshiping near the palace Sunday were members of the HKBP Taman Sari church, whose building was pulled down by the Bekasi district administration on March 21.
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