Sri Lankan asylum seeker Daxchan Selvarajah in custody over Macquarie University sex assault

Sri Lankan asylum seeker Daxchan Selvarajah in custody over Macquarie University sex assault

Peter Bodkin 
The Daily Telegraph
February 27, 2013 10:54AM

A SRI Lankan asylum seeker accused of indecently assaulting a young university student will remain in custody until at least next month after his first appearance in a Sydney court this morning.

Daxchan Selvarajah, 21, didn't apply for bail in Central Local Court after his arrest at Central Station yesterday morning over the assault on a sleeping female student at Macquarie University.

He was charged with aggravated breaking and entering, and indecent assault after allegedly forcing his way into the university's student accommodation about 3.20am.

The 20-year-old woman woke during the incident and her attacker fled.
Outside the court, Selvarajah's lawyer Ken Robinson said his client was "doing well", although he was "feeling the strains a little bit" in custody.

He would not say whether the Sri Lankan national intended to fight the charges.

Immigration officials yesterday confirmed the 21-year-old was on a bridging visa, but he was not staying in the university housing - where 55 asylum seekers are living.
Selvarajah was believed to be visiting other asylum seekers at the facility.

It has been revealed a security guard arrived within minutes of the alleged attack but failed to call police at the time, with authorities not notified until 9.56am according to official records.

Selvarajah is due to appear in Parramatta Local Court next month.

Suspect arrested despite Macquarie Uni. Sex Assault attempted cover up?..........

Macquarie University Sexual assault: Labor HIDES Illegal's throughout Australian community

Asylum Seeker Attack :The Union/ GetUp funded Federal Labor Green Loon Independent minority Co Party Government has placed 80 illegal immigrant males next door to teenage female students. WHY?

Sydney Australia, Labor's Malmo in the Pacific?

Fire Fighting Malmo Sweeden

MUSLIM IMMIGRATION = RAPE JIHAD. Coming soon, to a young white girl near you. Yes, YOU!

Offensive Muslim Swine appeal dismissed

High Court dismisses appeal in 'offensive' letters case

Bianca Hall is immigration correspondent

SMH

February 27, 2013 - 11:18AM

A self-styled Muslim cleric accused of sending offensive letters to the families of dead diggers has had his appeal against the charge dismissed by the High Court.

Man Haron Monis, also known as Sheik Haron, and his co-appellant, Amirah Droudis, are accused of sending letters to the widows and family members of several soldiers, referring to the dead men in what one judge described as ''a denigrating and derogatory fashion''.

Commando Pte.Luke Worsley parents told by Islamic swine "can't be proud" of his son who "died for nothing"

Their pre-trial application to have the charge that it was a crime to use a postal or similar service in a way that reasonable persons would regard as offensive was dismissed.

The men's lawyers had argued that the material was ''purely political'' in nature, and were therefore protected as political speech.

The High Court decision, published on Wednesday morning, said the co-accused had allegedly sent letters (and in one case a recorded message) to the relatives of Australian soldiers killed in action in Afghanistan and to the mother of an Austrade official killed in Indonesia.

''The communications criticised Australia's military involvement in Afghanistan. They opened with expressions of sympathy for the grieving relatives but then proceeded to criticise and condemn the deceased person,'' the decision read.

The High Court was divided 50-50 on whether the Constitution prohibits the postal service being used to deliver ''seriously offensive material''.

Under the Judiciary Act, when the High Court is equally divided, the decision that is being appealed is upheld.

The High Court was told in October that the letters, which were also sent to various politicians including the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader, contained ''expressions of sympathy'' for the soldiers' families.

But they also included passages including: ''The Australian government represents the Australian nation. The Australian nation has approved the oppressive behaviour of its own government. How? By its silence. Insane people and children are exceptions.''

High Court Judge Dyson Heydon questioned whether passages expressing sympathy could add to the offensiveness of the letters.

''You cannot offer condolences for the loss of someone's son and speak of the dirty body of a pig or say that Hitler was not inferior to them in moral merit,'' he said.

Barrister David Bennett, who appeared for Mr Droudis, told the court in October the letters were ''purely political'' and should therefore be protected as free speech.

''It is putting an extreme view,'' Mr Bennett said. ''It is putting what is no doubt very much a minority view, but it is purely political and it requires considerable imagination to see how that can be regarded as offensive in any way. That, of course, does not matter. If it is offensive it is offensive because the views are offensive, which is exactly what the freedom is designed to protect.''

Chief Justice Robert French in October suggested the letters could be offensive because of their context and the fact they were addressed to military families and relatives of a victim of terrorism.

But Mr Bennett insisted wounding a person's feelings should not invoke a criminal offence.

An unqualified prohibition against being ''offensive'' was not compatible with the implied freedom of political communication, he said.

In its draft anti-discrimination legislation, the federal government had previously proposed changing the definition of discrimination to include treating someone else unfavourably by ''harassing the other person'', or ''other conduct that offends, insults or intimidates the other person''.

Last Thursday parliament's legal and constitutional affairs committee recommended that definition be dumped from the revised legislation.

UPDATE Macquarie Uni. Sexual assault : POLICE charged a Sri Lankan asylum seeker yesterday over the alleged indecent assault of a university student

Asylum seeker charged over alleged sex assault at Macquarie University

Gemma Jones 
The Daily Telegraph
February 27, 2013 12:00AM

POLICE charged a Sri Lankan asylum seeker yesterday over the alleged indecent assault of a university student, as it emerged the federal government has given the Red Cross $265 million for asylum seekers.

The 21-year-old was on a bridging visa, immigration officials confirmed after he was arrested near Central Station at 10.15am. He was later charged with aggravated break and enter and aggravated indecent assault.

It was revealed yesterday that police were not called by Macquarie University after a 20-year-old student was allegedly attacked in campus accommodation last Thursday.

There were 55 asylum seekers living in the student accommodation at the time of the attack. Asylum seekers have also been placed at 

the University of Western Sydney by the Red Cross, but those at Macquarie will leave by the end of next month, it was announced yesterday.

The charged man was believed to be visiting other asylum seekers at the campus but did not live there.

A security guard arrived at the housing block within minutes of the 3.20am incident but failed to call police, with the company which manages the accommodation declining to answer questions about the specific time police were called.

A university spokeswoman said "security protocol was not followed in the initial reporting of this incident to police."

Macquarie University claimed police were called by accommodation provider Campus Living at 7.40am, however police records show the call was not made until 9.56am.

Suspect arrested despite Macquarie Uni. Sex Assault attempted cover up?..........

Macquarie University Sexual assault: Labor HIDES Illegal's throughout Australian community

Asylum Seeker Attack :The Union/ GetUp funded Federal Labor Green Loon Independent minority Co Party Government has placed 80 illegal immigrant males next door to teenage female students. WHY?

Sydney Australia, Labor's Malmo in the Pacific?

Fire Fighting Malmo Sweeden

MUSLIM IMMIGRATION = RAPE JIHAD. Coming soon, to a young white girl near you. Yes, YOU!

Suspect arrested despite Macquarie Uni. Sex Assault attempted cover up?..........

Macquarie University 'failed' to call police after sex assault, 2GB's Ray Hadley revealed

GEMMA JONES 
The Daily Telegraph
February 26, 2013 4:17PM

A YOUNG Sri Lankan man arrested over the sexual assault of a female student at Macquarie University in Sydney's northwest is an asylum seeker, immigration officials have confirmed.

However, the accused man was not living in student accommodation at Macquarie University at the time of the attack, an immigration department spokeswoman said this afternoon.

Police say the 20-year-old student was asleep in a student accommodation building at the uni when a man broke into her room and indecently assaulted her about 3.20am last Thursday.

The woman woke up during the attack and the man fled.

Police say they arrested a 21-year-old Sri Lankan national at Railway Square in Sydney's CBD on Tuesday morning and took him to Surry Hills police station for questioning.

Macquarie University provides services for asylum seekers, including temporary accommodation, under a 2012 agreement with the Red Cross Asylum Seeker Assistance Scheme (ASAS).

It was claimed earlier today, the university failed to call police immediately after security was told of the indecent assault.
The victim waited almost eight hours for help, 2GB's Ray Hadley revealed this morning.

He said a security guard came to the girl's unit about 10 minutes after the indecent assault and that he may have touched parts of the crime scene.

The victim and her flatmates assumed police had been called after the 3.20am attack but uniformed officers and detectives only came after the young women called them around 11am.

When Too Many Illegal Entrants are barely enough

there is never a shortage of replacements, Thanks ACTU, GetUp, Labor Green Loons and Independents

Asylum seekers intercepted near Ashmore Islands on 25th boat of 2013

Alice Coote 
The Daily Telegraph
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/asylum-seekers-intercepted-near-ashmore-islands-on-25th-boat-of-2013/story-e6freuy9-1226585445130 
February 26, 2013 12:00AM

A BOAT carrying 68 people was intercepted off the north-west coast on the weekend.

The vessel was discovered to the north-east of Ashmore Islands on Saturday night and HMAS Maitland, under the control of the Border Protection Command was called to assist.

It is the 25th boat arrival for the year with more than 3000 people arriving by boat since December 1.

As a result of safety concerns due to poor weather conditions the 68 asylum seekers were embarked in HMAS Maitland under the coordination of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority's Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC Australia).

A statement from the office of the Minister for Home Affairs Jason Clare said the people would be transferred to Darwin to undergo initial health, security and identity checks.

The vessel was first detected by a Customs and Border Protection Dash-8 surveillance aircraft.

Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Scott Morrison and Shadow Minister for Justice, Customs and Border Protection, Michael Keenan said it was an "all time record summer of illegal boat arrivals", with more than 1000 extra people arriving this summer than last summer.

"Disturbingly not even the treacherous conditions of the monsoon season, with reports of a cyclone continuing to develop off our north-west coast this evening, are dissuading people smugglers," Mr Morrison said.

"Labor's border protection crisis is reaching new levels of failure and still they have no answer to stopping the boats."

Australia 2013 Who would have thought?

Free speech stoned to death

Miranda Devine 
The Sunday Telegraph
February 24, 2013 12:00AM

IF you needed proof that free speech in Australia is on the run, look at what happened when Dutch anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders came to town.

With 10 per cent of the vote in Holland, Wilders is a mainstream politician, leading the third largest political party in one of the most tolerant liberal democracies in the world. Yet in Australia he is treated like a pariah, denied a visa for months, and unable to secure a venue for his speaking tour in Perth.

Geert Wilders: Another Pignoramus from the Seven Network "Interviews" Geert Wilders

Geert Wilders and the Pig Ignorant David Koch of Seven Networks Sunrise program

Australia: Geert Wilders, Attack on female Uni student by Illegal Entrant.

Instead of a "welcome to country" before he spoke to audiences in Sydney and Melbourne last week, organisers had to read aloud a statement of Victoria's racial and religious tolerant act.

As much as anything, this curious legal requirement adhered to by the Melbourne-based Q society which hosted Wilders, explains why Australians are open to his message of creeping Islamisation.

That and the enormous security needed to guard him from assassins 24-hours-a-day.

It is shameful that of all the Western democracies Geert Wilders has visited it turns out, Australia is the most repressive.

Not only did more than 30 venues refuse to host him or cancel at the last minute, politicians denounced him and in Melbourne protesters tried to block the entrance of the function hall where he was speaking and pushed at least one attendee to the ground in violent clashes.

This of course is great publicity for Wilders. When you meet him in person, he is much more normal than his image would suggest. The shock of hair isn't quite so yellow and he presents as a tall, well-dressed, quietly spoken, articulate politician with perfect English.

"I have no problem with Muslims," he said reasonably on a balcony in an undisclosed location on Sydney harbour, with yachts clinking nearby, and an armed bodyguard even nearer.

"The majority of them are not extremist. But there is no such thing as moderate Islam."

As proof he spoke of of gays being beaten up by Muslims in Amsterdam "once the most tolerant city in Europe", of high crime statistics for Moroccan youth in Holland, the over-representation of Somalis on welfare, of suburbs looking like Mecca. In Europe he says "it is almost too late, but Australia can learn from the mistakes."

He says although he is not religious, he feels a sense of "mission" which he loves, although he has had to sacrifice his freedom, living with his Hungarian-born wife Krisztina for nine years like a prisoner, surrounded by bodyguards, moving from safe house to safe house.

He is strongest on his attacks on cultural relativism which he calls "the biggest political disease which says that all cultures are equal.

"They are not. I'm proud to say our Judeo Christian humanist culture is much better than the barbaric Islamic culture."

It was a message that struck a chord in Sydney, on Friday night, at speeches hosted by the Q society, which is named after the Melbourne suburb of Kew where its first meeting was held, and is dedicated to "preserving western values and making the discussion of Islam a respectable topic of debate," says member Marshall Ahern, a Lidcombe businessman. Unlike in Melbourne, the unionists and student socialist groups protesting outside the Liverpool function hall on Friday night were fairly quiet.

"I don't think he should be able to come here and say disgusting racist ideas," said Amy Thomas, 26, a UTS arts student.

Inside, Wilders said he just wants the right to state his views without being killed or put on trial as he was in Holland. The threat of an assassin is real. Two weeks ago his friend, Lars Hedegaard, a 70-year-old Danish journalist and a critic of Islam, was shot at.

Wilders invited the audience to "make up your own mind on who I am and what I really stand for."

Then he claimed Sydney was the Australian city "where Islamisation has progressed the worst.

"This city needs to hear the truth about the dangerous ideology of Islam ."

He complained that he had to wait five weeks for a visa to Australia.

But a radical sheik who calls Jews "rats, apes and monkeys or the scum of the human race" and will be visiting Sydney in a few weeks, "gets a visa within a day".

He said he wanted to warn Australia about Islam which he claims is "predominantly a totalitarian ideology striving for world dominance.

"I believe Islam and freedom are incompatible.

"The more Islamic a society becomes the less free and tolerant it will be even when the majority of Muslims are tolerant."

He cited suburbs in Holland, France and in Europe which have become no go zones for non-Muslims, where gays are attacked, alcohol confiscated, non-Muslim women forced to cover up, polygamy and female genital mutilation practised and the police dare not enter. Do you want all this to happen in Australia," he asked.

"No" shouted the audience.

He claimed Australia is heading down the same path.

"Your country too is facing stealth Jihad, and Islamic attempts to introduce Sharia law bit by bit.

He pointed to a proposed "Muslim enclave in Riverstone" , a Sydney sheik "who performs female genital mutilation, women walk around in hijabs, banks offer financial services compliant with Sharia law, separate segregated swimming hours for Muslim women, universities cater to Sharia demands for students but at the same time refuse to allow me to speak at their premises."

There was applause when he explained his platform: "No Sharia ... No more mosques. No more immigration from Islamic countries." But he received his loudest applause when he slammed as "most dangerous of all are the attempts of governments all over our Western societies to draft bills that restrict our freedom of speech under the pretext of discrimination or hate speech.

"I say we have to let the law protect us against Islam instead of selling us out to it."

The second loudest applause came when he praised Israel.

Much of what he says about the difficulties of Muslim integration in Europe is true.

But I couldn't help but wonder how it would feel for the decent law-abiding Australian Muslims I know to sit in that room.

What is wrong with a Muslim women wearing a headscarf?

What is wrong with painting an arrow on the floor of a jail cell pointing to Mecca?

What is wrong with Muslims building a mosque to pray in?

And why keep calling Muhammed a paedophile?

Some of what Wilders says is calculated to cause offence, and so if he is snubbed, he can blame himself.

But you don't have to agree with everything he says to acknowledge that he has the right to say it.

And as one audience member on Friday night said: "If he's a far right extremist, he's the first one I've heard who supports Jews and gays."

Alia Bak El Hassan and Ghazwa El Hassan GUILTY

The Shire stars Sophie Kalantzis and Vernesa Toroman in witness stand over street brawl

PETER BODKIN 
The Daily Telegraph
February 25, 2013 5:44PM

IT started as a spat over Facebook comments, but for two larger-than-life reality TV performers a confrontation quickly degenerated into public hair-pulling, wrestling and knives allegedly being waved across a cafe table.

I have to say that I find it abhorrent to think that anyone would want to harm either of these two precious gifts to mankind and full marks to the Magistrate in dispatching, in my opinion justice  correctly.

See the SHOCKING attack above VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED

Close Up with Vernesa Toroman and Sophie Kalantzis

KKKKKCAT FIGHT!!!!!!! Alia Bak El Hassan and Ghazwa El Hassan,accused of assaulting Sophie Kalantzis and Vernesa Toroman

Surgically-enhanced The Shire stars Sophie Kalantzis and Vernesa Toroman this afternoon took the witness box as two sisters who attacked them faced Burwood Court.

The pneumatic pair said Alia Bak El Hassan and Ghazwa El Hassan came from nowhere and started screaming insults - calling them "Shire sluts" and "whores" - as they were about to have breakfast at a Rhodes cafe in August.

Kalantzis said she put her hair up and prepared to defend herself after Alia El Hassan came at her yelling: "We put your numbers on Facebook, sucked in you sluts."

"I pay $1000 for my hair ... I'm not going to let girls stand there and bash me," Kalantzis said.

Toroman admitted grabbing a butter knife and a glass from the table - but only after Alia El Hassan started waving what appeared to be a blade.

A brawl then broke out between the four women in an incident which was caught on several bystanders' mobile phones.

Magistrate Brian Maloney said the El Hassan sisters had clearly been the aggressors and he found Ghazwa El Hassan guilty of assault and affray, handing her an 18-month, good-behaviour bond.

"People don't want to see four girls fighting in the street, it debases women - all women," he said.

Alia El Hassan pleaded guilty to affray and will be sentenced next month.

Racism Down Under: Sri Lankan Dr Aron Kondasinghe Sudath, banned for two years

The CRAP Australian Governments allow to live here

Disgraced doctor banned for two years

Peter Bodkin 
The Daily Telegraph
 February 25, 2013 1:22PM

A DISGRACED doctor convicted of raping his wife has been banned from practicing for at least two years after a tribunal found he was still more worried about his own fall from grace than any harm he had done to the victim.

Dr Aron Kondasinghe Sudath, who previously practiced at Bega Hospital among other locations, was stripped of his medical license after a failed attempt to have his suspension lifted.

He was previously jailed for nearly four years for raping and assaulting his ex-wife, and was only released on parole in November 2011.

At a Medical Tribunal hearing last week, the former GP and surgeon claimed he believed his traditional, Sri Lankan marriage entitled him to "unconditional consent" for sex with his wife.

He also blamed the victim for initiating intercourse with him then suddenly stopping before he forced himself on her - a version which a judge and jury didn't buy.

In its judgement, the tribunal said Dr Sudath's versions of both the rape and a later assault - which the doctor completed denied - were "unreliable and implausible".

And while it accepted there may have been some "cultural element" to the doctor's crime, the tribunal was "unimpressed" with his belief an Australian woman deserved greater consideration than his Sri Lankan bride.

This SAYS it ALL, Bear in mind this MORON said the following in his DEFENCE

Dr Sudath told the tribunal he didn't believe he had the right to have non-consensual sex with a previous wife because he had "full respect for her".

"She was a nice blonde, blue-eyed girl from Port Lincoln, Australia - not a Sri Lankan girl," he said.

The tribunal also found Dr Sudath's declarations of remorse for having hurt his wife in the rape were insincere and "more an expression of regret of his own downfall" than concern for the victim.

"There was also an overwhelming impression that the respondent was concerned to tell the tribunal what he perceived it wished to hear in order to enhance his chances of remaining a medical practitioner," it said.

Dr Sudath argued he should be able to keep practicing with conditions because he had a lot to offer the community as a doctor.

But the tribunal rejected the submission and instead cancelled his registration, banning him from re-applying for two years.

Macquarie University Sexual assault: Labor HIDES Illegal's throughout Australian community

Asylum seekers' secret homes in community

GEMMA JONES and CLEMENTINE CUNEO 
The Daily Telegraph
February 26, 2013 12:00AM

MANY of the 9000 asylum seekers living in the community have been found sleeping in garages, on couches and in boarding houses.

Asylum Seeker Attack :The Union/ GetUp funded Federal Labor Green Loon Independent minority Co Party Government has placed 80 illegal immigrant males next door to teenage female students. WHY?

Sydney Australia, Labor's Malmo in the Pacific?

Fire Fighting Malmo Sweeden

MUSLIM IMMIGRATION = RAPE JIHAD. Coming soon, to a young white girl near you. Yes, YOU!

A group that houses some of those on bridging visas said asylum seekers were in inappropriate accommodation.Paul Bottrill, of House of Welcome in Carramar, said: "We have, in the last quarter, had 55 referrals - many were staying in backpacker hostels, sleeping on couches or in garages."

About 55 refugees have also been housed at the Macquarie University campus where a student was sexually assaulted in her room last week.

Police have confirmed they are investigating whether an asylum seeker was involved.

The victim's housemates revealed yesterday that before the attack they had begged for the accommodation operator, Campus Living Villages, to reconsider housing middle-aged male asylum seekers near young female students.

Last night the company said it had since offered to move "affected residents" but none wanted to go.

The refugees are staying at the campus under a program driven by the Red Cross, which has been contracted by the federal government to provide initial accommodation for asylum seekers.

Under that same program, Sydney lodges and hotels are taking asylum seekers for as little as $20 a night.

Dulwich Hill Lodge owner Frank Bilotta said he had asylum seekers sleeping up to eight to a dorm for stretches of between four and six weeks.

"The Red Cross book them in and then they bring them," he said.

"They could pay me more but unfortunately that is the way it is at the moment."

Rooms at Ryde's AMG Motel and Serviced Apartments cost between $120 and $180 per night but a staff member said it was full with asylum seekers.

"We are full up right now with the immigration people. They are fine, no trouble to us at all," the staff member said.

Campus Living Villages said last night the number of asylum seekers staying on Macquarie University campus had fallen from 55 to 45 as students began arriving for the academic year.

Security had been bolstered since the sexual assault, it said.

But student Daisy Stone, who was in the house last Thursday when her friend was attacked at 3.30am, said the victim and her housemates wanted the men moved."It is so inappropriate to have a house full of 19- and 20-year-old girls, living in the middle of all these middle-aged men," she said.

"Only us and the townhouse next door are women, the rest are all refugees. We aren't racist, we just don't think it's right to house us in the middle of them.

"It should never have come to this, but something really has to be done so this doesn't happen to someone else.A BOAT with 68 asylum seekers was intercepted off Ashmore Island on Saturday.

Geert Wilders: Another Pignoramus from the Seven Network "Interviews" Geert Wilders

Pt. 1

Pt. 2

Geert Wilders and the Pig Ignorant David Koch of Seven Networks Sunrise program

Andrew O'Keefe  HE IS Not a Fool Perhaps Just a .......useful Idiot?
My Father knew members of his family,among them his Father and his famous Uncle Johnny   Six O'Clock Rock

Australia: Geert Wilders, Attack on female Uni student by Illegal Entrant.

Geert Wilders and the Pig Ignorant David Koch of Seven Networks Sunrise program

Below are some references to how "Kochies" new best friends in Indonesia REALLY treat Christians in Indonesia. I have not included any references to Bali Bombings 1 & 2 because he probably has a very short attention span and probably cannot remember those two events of mass slaughter of Australians and many many other foreign nationals. But hey remember he is in the ENTERTAINMENT Industry where the concepts of  facts, right and wrong and morals simply get in the way of what he thinks passes for ENTERTAINMENT and for the "Beautiful Progressive People" that's all that counts Indonesia Indonesia – Supreme Court ‘pro’ ruling ignored by City authority, so church resists    Published in 2012 Jakarta, October 30 (World Watch Monitor) — Bogor City, 60 kilometres south of the Indonesian capital Jakarta, is reported to be one of the world’s most densely populated areas. And, although not an Islamic state, Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation, with 86.1% of .... Uptick in Church Closures, Attacks in Indonesia    Published in 2012 JAKARTA, Indonesia, June 5 (World Watch Monitor) — The number of violations of Christians’ religious rights in Indonesia reached 40 in the first five months of the year, nearly two-thirds the amount of anti-Christian actions in all of last year, according to the Jakarta Christian Communication .... Islamist Mob Throws Urine on Church in Indonesia    Published in 2012 NEW DELHI, May 23 (World Watch Monitor) — No arrests have been made since 600 Islamists hurled bags filled with urine and ditchwater at about 100 members of a church last week and threatened to kill its pastor. Police looked on as the mob attacked the Philadelphia Batak Christian .... Harsh Era Looms in Aceh, Indonesia    Published in 2012 JAKARTA, Indonesia, May 16 (World Watch Monitor) — The election of a hard-line Islamic governor in Indonesia’s Aceh Province last month appears to have opened the way for a crack-down on the minority Christian community, which saw 17 churches sealed shut in early May. Emboldened by the April 9 .... President Sidesteps Church Controversy    Published in 2012 JAKARTA, Indonesia, February 23 (World Watch Monitor) — 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 .... Anti-Christian Incidents Nearly Doubled in 2011    Published in 2012 NEW DELHI, January 4 (World Watch Monitor) — 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 .... Indonesian Mayor’s Defiance Said to Show Government Weakness    Published in 2011 JAKARTA, Indonesia, December 19 (World Watch Monitor) — The Bogor mayor’s refusal to obey a Supreme Court order to restore a congregation’s permit casts doubt on the ability of the Indonesian government to enforce the rule of law, according to a leading rights group. Muslim demonstrators and area .... Indonesian Church Denied Site as New Bill Threatens Freedoms    Published in 2011 DUBLIN, October 25 (World Watch Monitor) — Members of a church in Bogor, West Java, are determined to continue meeting outside their sealed building each Sunday until they are granted freedom to worship inside it, despite a ban on street meetings issued by the local mayor. “The church will .... Why Is Islamic Extremism Growing in Indonesia?    Published in 2011 JAKARTA, Indonesia, October 3 (World Watch Monitor) — The suicide bombing of a church in Central Java on Sept. 25 pointed not only to a new level of attacks on religious minorities in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country but to a political bent that accommodates Islamist extremism. .... Suicide Bomber of Church in Indonesia Identified    Published in 2011 DUBLIN, September 27 (World Watch Monitor) — Indonesian police today identified the suicide bomber who detonated eight pipe bombs outside a church building in Solo, Central Java on Sunday (Sept. 25). The bomber, Ahmad Yosepa Hayat, killed himself and wounded at least 20 church members. “The .... Motives for Church Burnings in Indonesia Questioned    Published in 2011 JAKARTA, Indonesia, August 17 (World Watch Monitor) — Suspected Islamists were behind the burning of three homes used as churches on Sumatra Island’s Riau Province this month, though a political motive may also have played a role, Christian leaders said. Muslim mobs burned the meeting places of a .... Mayor in Indonesia Again Balks at Granting Church Permit    Published in 2011 JAKARTA, Indonesia, August 15 (World Watch Monitor) — A mayor in West Java who disregarded a Supreme Court ruling to reinstate the building permit of a church in Bogor has now dismissed a recommendation by the National Ombudsman Institute to do so. Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto rejected the .... Indonesian ‘Blasphemy’ Law a Weapon for Radical Islam    Published in 2011 DUBLIN, May 12 (World Watch Monitor) — On Feb. 6 in Indonesia, Muslim hardliners armed with machetes brutally murdered three members of a “blasphemous” Muslim sect in the village of Cikeusik, West Java. Five other members escaped with severe injuries; police were present but did not .... Church Reports Defiant Mayor to National Police    Published in 2011 JAKARTA, Indonesia, April 1 (World Watch Monitor) — A month that saw the Bogor city mayor defying a Supreme Court decision granting a building permit for a church in Bogor, West Java culminated in police turning away those seeking to worship – and church leaders today filing a police complaint on the .... Light Sentences for Attack on Christians in Indonesia Condemned    Published in 2011 JAKARTA, Indonesia, March 10 (World Watch Monitor) — Human rights and Christian leaders said a West Java court’s light sentence for Islamic extremists who injured a church pastor and an elder will encourage more violence and religious intolerance.   After those involved in the Sept. 12, 2010 .... After Attacks, Christian Leaders in Indonesia Decry Lax Security    Published in 2011 JAKARTA, Indonesia, February 11 (World Watch Monitor) — Christian leaders faulted Indonesian authorities for security breaches that allowed Islamic extremist mobs this week to attack a defendant convicted of defaming Islam, the judge that sentenced him, two churches and a Christian school.   The .... Attacks on Indonesian Churches Spiked in 2010, Group Says    Published in 2011 JAKARTA, Indonesia, February 3 (World Watch Monitor) — Violations of Christians’ religious freedom in Indonesia jumped from 12 incidents in 2009 to 75 last year, according to a report from the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace. Setara Institute researcher Ismail Hasani said at a press conference .... Police, Islamists Put Up Obstacles to Worship in Indonesia    Published in 2011 JAKARTA, Indonesia, January 10 (World Watch Monitor) — Government officials in West Java Province blocked one church from worshipping, and Islamic groups pressured authorities to seize the property of another during the Christmas season.   The Bogor Regency Administrative Leadership Council tried .... Theology Students in Indonesia Still Seek Facilities, Compensation    Published in 2010 JAKARTA, Indonesia, December 23 (World Watch Monitor) — Two and a half years after an Islamic attack on a seminary here left hundreds of students without facilities, they are still in temporary shelters and the government has not compensated the loss of eight buildings. Students from the Arastamar .... Indonesian Churches Wary of Islamist Offer of ‘Protection’    Published in 2010 DUBLIN, December 21 (World Watch Monitor) — In the wake of several attacks on worship services by Indonesia’s notorious Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), several Jakarta area church leaders rejected the FPI’s offer to help protect them over Christmas.   FPI leader Rizieq Shihab made the .... Islamists Raid House Churches in West Java    Published in 2010 JAKARTA, Indonesia, December 18 (World Watch Monitor) — About 200 demonstrators from hard-line Islamic organizations in West Java on Sunday (Dec. 12) disrupted the worship of a church in Rancaekek district, Bandung, driving more than 100 worshippers from the building. Members of the Islamic Defenders .... Islamic Groups in Indonesia Demonstrate against Worship in Mall    Published in 2010 JAKARTA, Indonesia, December 2 (World Watch Monitor) — After closing churches in West Java, South Sulawesi, Sumatra, and other provinces, hard-line Islamic organizations are now attempting to stop Christian worship in or near shopping malls. Dozens of people from Islamic organizations demonstrated in .... Islamic Groups Aim to Shut Down Church in Indonesia    Published in 2010 JAKARTA, Indonesia, November 19 (World Watch Monitor) — More than 50 people from Islamic groups demonstrated against a church in West Java on Nov. 7, chanting for it to stop worshipping during its Sunday service, according to Muslim online news site Arrahmah.com. The King of Glory church of the .... Church in Indonesia Forced to Accept Worship Terms of Islamists    Published in 2010 JAKARTA, Indonesia, October 16 (World Watch Monitor) — A church in Banten Province that has been in conflict with Muslim groups for more than two years was compelled to cease meeting in the pastor’s home last week in a bid to put an end to harassment and threats.   The Sepatan Baptist Christian .... Muslims in Bekasi Oppose Another Church Building    Published in 2010 JAKARTA, Indonesia, October 13 (World Watch Monitor) — Islamic organizations have mounted a campaign against the planned construction of Mother Teresa Catholic Church in West Java Province, where Christian leaders report 20 other churches have faced Muslim hostility since 2009.   Muslim leaders .... Church under Attack in Indonesia Agrees to Change Venue    Published in 2010 JAKARTA, Indonesia, September 29 (World Watch Monitor) — A West Java church has agreed to move temporarily to a government-selected site following Islamist harassment that included a Sept. 12 attack on two of its leaders. The Batak Christian Protestant Church (Huria Kristen Batak Protestan, or HKBP) in .... Police Keep Indonesian Church from Worship Site after Attack    Published in 2010 JAKARTA, Indonesia, September 23 (World Watch Monitor) — Following attacks on their church leaders on Sept. 12, a West Java congregation on Sunday (Sept. 19) faced a wall of security officers blocking them from worshipping on their property as authorities tried to coax them to meet at another venue. .... Despite Court Victories, Church Building in Indonesia Blocked    Published in 2010 JAKARTA, Indonesia, September 22 (World Watch Monitor) — A year after a church in West Java won a court battle over whether it could erect a worship building, Islamic extremists have blocked construction through attacks and intimidation tactics, church leaders said. A mob of 50 Muslim extremists on Sept. .... Judges Rule Church in Bekasi Can Worship    Published in 2010 JAKARTA, Indonesia, September 15 (World Watch Monitor) — A court in West Java Province has revoked a local decree that forbade Christian activities of a church in Bekasi and has ordered officials to allow the Christians to establish a place of worship.   After months of conflict and legal battles, .... Indonesian Church Leaders Wounded in Attack    Published in 2010 JAKARTA, Indonesia, September 15 (World Watch Monitor) — An elder of a West Java church that Muslim groups attacked last month remains in critical condition after a motorcyclist stabbed him in the heart and stomach on his way to a service on Sunday (Sept. 12), according to Theophilus Bela, president of .... Church Building in Bogor, Indonesia Re-opens – for a Day    Published in 2010 JAKARTA, Indonesia, September 8 (World Watch Monitor) — The Bogor city government in West Java re-sealed the Gereja Kristen Indonesia (GKI) Yasmin Church on Aug. 28, one day after security police had removed the seal and lock.   Under cover of darkness, Bogor security police were ordered to .... ‘Unchecked Extremism’ behind Attacks on Churches in Indonesia    Published in 2010 JAKARTA, Indonesia, August 17 (World Watch Monitor) — The country that is home to the world’s largest Muslim population celebrated its 65th Independence Day today amid a widespread sense of distrust in the government’s ability to check attacks on churches by Islamist groups. Muslims and Islamic .... Mob Threats Lead to Closure of Church Building in Indonesia    Published in 2010 JAKARTA, Indonesia, August 14 (World Watch Monitor) — Police and local government officials joined forces with a Muslim mob to close a church in North Sumatra Province on July 30, with church leaders forced to promise never to hold services at the site. The Rev. Leritio Panjaitan of the Binanga HKBP .... Hundreds Injure Church Members in Bekasi, Indonesia    Published in 2010 DUBLIN, August 9 (World Watch Monitor) — Leaders of a church in West Java, Indonesia demanded justice from police after a fifth attack from Muslim protestors left at least a dozen people injured yesterday. As some 20 members of the Batak Christian Protestant Filadelfia Church (HKBP .... Muslim Protestors Surround Worshipers in Bekasi, Indonesia    Published in 2010 DUBLIN, August 4 (World Watch Monitor) — Around 300 Muslim protestors and 300 police officers surrounded members of the Batak Christian Protestant Church (Huria Kristen Batak Protestan or HKBP) on Sunday (Aug. 1) as they worshiped in an open field in Ciketing, Bekasi, local sources said. .... Police Demolish Church House    Published in 2010 JAKARTA, Indonesia, July 22 (World Watch Monitor) — Public order personnel on Monday (July 19) supported Bogor police officers who demolished a house where a church regularly met in a village in Bogor Regency, West Java.   Clashes broke out with church members and others as police tore down .... Sealed Church in Bogor, Indonesia Appeals to UN    Published in 2010 JAKARTA, Indonesia, July 7 (World Watch Monitor) — The Gereja Kristen Indonesia (GKI) Taman Yasmin Church in Bogor, West Java has filed a religious discrimination appeal with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, church leaders said. Since April 11 the congregation .... Indonesian Muslims Call for Halt to ‘Christianization’    Published in 2010 DUBLIN, July 2 (World Watch Monitor) — Muslim organizations in Bekasi, West Java, on Sunday (June 27) declared their intention to establish paramilitary units in local mosques and a “mission center” to oppose “ongoing attempts to convert people to Christianity,” according to the national .... Church Closure in Indonesia Called Unconstitutional at Hearing    Published in 2010 JAKARTA, Indonesia, June 19 (World Watch Monitor) — In a hearing in its lawsuit against a local government, a representative for a church that Bekasi, West Java officials summarily closed earlier this year told an administrative court that the action was unconstitutional. The Huria Kristen Batak .... Muslims Burn Christian Center under Construction in Indonesia    Published in 2010 JAKARTA, Indonesia, May 4 (World Watch Monitor) — Hundreds of people calling themselves the Muslim Community of the Puncak Route last week burned buildings under construction belonging to a Christian organization in West Java Province. Believing that a church or school building was being built, .... Official Orders Halt to Beleaguered Church    Published in 2010 JAKARTA, Indonesia, April 21 (World Watch Monitor) — A local government official in Bekasi, West Java last week forbid all worship of the Filadelfia Huria Kristen Batak Protestan Church (HKBP) in Jejalan village. Regent Sa’duddin on April 12 ordered a halt to all activities of the church, including .... Construction of Two Churches Stopped in Indonesia    Published in 2010 JAKARTA, Indonesia, March 25 (World Watch Monitor) — An Islamic mob stopped construction of Santa Maria Immaculata Catholic Church in Citra Garden, West Jakarta earlier this month even as government officials in Yasmin Park, Bogor, West Java halted work on an Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) .... Christians Refuse to Allow Officials to Close Church in Indonesia    Published in 2010 BEKASI, Indonesia, March 11 (World Watch Monitor) — Efforts by local officials in this city in West Java to close a church met with stiff resistance this month, as a defiant lawyer and weeping women refused to allow it. Women of the Huria Christian Protestant Batak Church (HKBP) cried in protest as .... Court Reverses Revocation of Church’s Building Permit    Published in 2010 JAKARTA, Indonesia, March 8 (World Watch Monitor) — A court in West Java has reversed the revocation of a Catholic church’s building permit. The Purwakarta regency government had revoked the building permit for Santa Maria Catholic Church when Islamists threatened local residents and officials into .... Muslim Groups Demand Closure of Large, Legal Church in Indonesia    Published in 2010 JAKARTA, Indonesia, February 25 (World Watch Monitor) — Hundreds of Muslims from outside the area where a 600-member church meets in West Java staged a protest there to call for its closure this month in an attempt to portray local opposition.   Demonstrators from 16 Islamic organizations, .... Two Churches Forced to Close in Indonesia    Published in 2010 JAKARTA, Indonesia, February 4 (World Watch Monitor) — Local governments have ordered the closure of two churches on Indonesia’s Java island.   Under pressure from Islamist groups, authorities ordered Christian Baptist Church in Sepatan, Tangerang district, Banten Province to cease services. In .... Two Partially Constructed Church Buildings Burned    Published in 2010 JAKARTA, Indonesia, January 29 (World Watch Monitor) — Suspected Islamic extremists burned two church buildings under construction in a village in North Sumatra on Jan. 22.   The attackers came from outside the area to burn the partially constructed buildings of the Huria Kristen Batak Protestan .... Christians Most Hit by Religious Freedom Violations    Published in 2010 JAKARTA, Indonesia, January 21 (World Watch Monitor) — A moderate Muslim research institute focusing on interfaith issues in Indonesia reported 35 cases of government violations of religious freedom – including 28 against Christians – and 93 instances of community intolerance of churches in 2009. .... Massive Mob Protests Christmas Eve Service    Published in 2010 JAKARTA, Indonesia, January 4 (World Watch Monitor) — More than 1,000 people protested the Christmas Eve service of a church meeting in a makeshift facility in Bekasi, West Java. Christians of the Filadelfia Huria Kristen Batak Protestan Church (HKBP) fearfully held their service, including the .... Massive Muslim Mob Damages Church Building in Indonesia    Published in 2009 JAKARTA, Indonesia, December 23 (World Watch Monitor) — Hundreds of Muslims celebrated the eve of the Islamic New Year last Thursday (Dec. 17) by attacking a Catholic church building under construction in Bekasi, West Java.   A crowd of approximately 1,000 men, women and children from the Bebalan .... Theology Students Withstand Threats, Illness    Published in 2009 JAKARTA, Indonesia, December 1 (World Watch Monitor) — Some 1,000 seminary students are resisting efforts to evict them from the former municipal building of West Jakarta where they have taken refuge after Muslim protestors drove them from their campus last year.   On Oct. 27 officials began .... Seminary Students in Indonesia Evicted from Two Locations    Published in 2009 JAKARTA, Indonesia, October 30 (World Watch Monitor) — In the past week hundreds of students from Arastamar Evangelical Theological Seminary (SETIA) were evicted from two sites where they had taken refuge after Muslim protestors drove them from their campus last year.   With about 700 students .... Islamists Bully Villagers into Revoking Church Permit    Published in 2009 JAKARTA, Indonesia, October 26 (World Watch Monitor) — The regent of Purwakarta regency, West Java has revoked his decision to permit construction of a Catholic worship building in Cinanka village after Islamists threatened residents into withdrawing their approval of the project. Dedi Mulyadi on Oct. .... Theology Students in Indonesia to be Evicted from Campground    Published in 2009 JAKARTA, Indonesia, October 20 (World Watch Monitor) — Approximately 700 students from Arastamar Evangelical Theological Seminary (SETIA) are facing eviction at the end of the month from a campground where Muslim protestors drove them last year. Education will end for students who have been living in .... Two Indonesian Churches Receive Bomb Threats    Published in 2009 JAKARTA, Indonesia, October 13 (World Watch Monitor) — Two churches in the greater Jakarta area have received bomb threats. In East Jakarta, the pastor of a Batak Protestant Christian Church (Huria Kristen Batak Protestan, or HKBP) on Bogor Street received a threatening phone call before Sunday services .... Islamic Groups Shut Down Worship of Church in Indonesia    Published in 2009 JAKARTA, Indonesia, October 5 (World Watch Monitor) — Several Islamic organizations have pressed officials in a sub-district near Indonesia’s capital city to forbid Jakarta Christian Baptist Church to worship in a house, resulting in an order to cease services. The Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), .... Church Wins Legal Battle to Worship in Building    Published in 2009 JAKARTA, Indonesia, September 29 (World Watch Monitor) — Christians have won a court battle restoring the right to worship in their building in Depok City, West Java.Depok Mayor Nur Mahmudi Ismail on March 27 had revoked the building permit for a multipurpose building and house of worship for Gereja Huria .... Christians Call for Rejection of Sharia-Inspired Bills    Published in 2009 JAKARTA, August 19 (World Watch Monitor) — The Indonesian Council of Churches (PGI) has called for the rejection of two bills inspired by sharia (Islamic law).  The Halal Product Guarantee Bill and the Zakat Obligatory Alms Management Bill, both under consideration in the Indonesian .... Christians Call for Rejection of Sharia-Inspired Bills    Published in 2009 August 19 (World Watch Monitor) — JAKARTA, August 19 (Compass Direct News) – The Indonesian Council of Churches (PGI) has called for the rejection of two bills inspired by sharia (Islamic law). The Halal Product Guarantee Bill and the Zakat Obligatory Alms Management Bill, both .... Muslims Order Halt to Church Building in Indonesia    Published in 2009 JAKARTA, Indonesia, July 15 (World Watch Monitor) — Members of several Muslim organizations joined a demonstration on June 27 to protest construction of a Huria Kristen Batak Protestant (HKBP) church building in Plaju, outside of Palembang, capital of South Sumatra Province.  The South Sumatra .... Muslims Order Halt to Church Building    Published in 2009 July 15 (World Watch Monitor) — JAKARTA, July 15 (Compass Direct News) – Members of several Muslim organizations joined a demonstration on June 27 to protest construction of a Huria Kristen Batak Protestant (HKBP) church building in Plaju, outside of Palembang, capital of South .... Church, Bible Students Fight Discrimination in Indonesia    Published in 2009 JAKARTA, Indonesia, July 8 (World Watch Monitor) — Christians have stood up for their rights in two key cases the last few weeks in heavily Muslim Indonesia. Members of the Huria Kristen Batak Protestan Church (HKBP) in Cinere village, Depok, West Java appeared in court on June 29 to contest .... Church, Bible Students Fight Discrimination    Published in 2009 July 7 (World Watch Monitor) — JAKARTA, July 7 (Compass Direct News) – Christians have stood up for their rights in two key cases the last few weeks in heavily Muslim Indonesia. Members of the Huria Kristen Batak Protestan Church (HKBP) in Cinere village, Depok, West Java .... Muslim Group in Indonesia Threatens Newly Elected Christian    Published in 2009 JAKARTA, Indonesia, May 18 (World Watch Monitor) — An Islamic group in West Sumatra province, Indonesia, has issued threats against Dominikus Supriyanto, the only Catholic to win a seat in the district legislature in recent general elections, warning him that he should convert to Islam if he wants .... Muslim Group Threatens Newly Elected Christian    Published in 2009 May 18 (World Watch Monitor) — JAKARTA, May 18 (Compass Direct News) – An Islamic group in West Sumatra province, Indonesia, has issued threats against Dominikus Supriyanto, the only Catholic to win a seat in the district legislature in recent general elections, warning him that .... New Building Site Found for Bible College    Published in 2009 May 11 (World Watch Monitor) — JAKARTA, May 11 (Compass Direct News) – Officials of the Arastamar School of Theology (SETIA) in Jakarta are considering the purchase of a new campus site after violent protests last July led to the eviction of 1,400 students and staff members. .... New Building Site Found for Bible College    Published in 2009 JAKARTA, Indonesia, May 11 (World Watch Monitor) — Officials of the Arastamar School of Theology (SETIA) in Jakarta are considering the purchase of a new campus site after violent protests last July led to the eviction of 1,400 students and staff members. Indonesian officials on May 1 inspected land .... Mayor Revokes Church Permit    Published in 2009 May 6 (World Watch Monitor) — JAKARTA, Indonesia, May 5 (Compass Direct News) – Church members in Depok city, West Java, are unable to use their church building after the mayor, citing protests from area Muslims, revoked a permit issued in 1998. Under a Joint Ministerial Decree .... Mayor Revokes Church Permit    Published in 2009 JAKARTA, Indonesia, May 6 (World Watch Monitor) — Church members in Depok city, West Java, are unable to use their church building after the mayor, citing protests from area Muslims, revoked a permit issued in 1998. Under a Joint Ministerial Decree (SKB) issued in 1969 and revised in 2006, all .... Sharia-Based Laws Creep into Half of Provinces    Published in 2009 DUBLIN, February 2 (World Watch Monitor) — As candidates hit the campaign trail in preparation for Indonesia’s presidential election in July, rights groups have voiced strong opposition to an increasing number of sharia-inspired laws introduced by local governments. They say the laws .... Sharia-Based Laws Creep into Half of Provinces    Published in 2009 February 2 (World Watch Monitor) — DUBLIN, February 2 (Compass Direct News) – As candidates hit the campaign trail in preparation for Indonesia’s presidential election in July, rights groups have voiced strong opposition to an increasing number of sharia-inspired laws introduced by .... Village to be Rebuilt following Islamic Rampage    Published in 2008 December 17 (World Watch Monitor) — Destroyed building in LetwaruAMBON, Indonesia, December 17 (Compass Direct News) – Government officials in Central Maluku, Indonesia, yesterday promised to reconstruct before Christmas two church buildings and a number of houses set ablaze last week .... Theology Students Move to Abandoned Office    Published in 2008 October 27 (World Watch Monitor) — JAKARTA, October 27 (Compass Direct News) – Over 1,000 students forced from the Arastamar Evangelical School of Theology (SETIA) in East Jakarta have now moved into an abandoned mayor’s office in Jakarta after management at the Bumi Perkemahan .... Pastor Forced to Stop Worship Services in Home    Published in 2008 September 25 (World Watch Monitor) — Syaiful Hamzah and wife Tiolida SihotangJAKARTA, September 25 (Compass Direct News) – Residents in North Jakarta have ordered the pastor of a small congregation to cease holding services in his home, despite a letter of permission issued by the .... Pastor Assaulted, Threatened    Published in 2008 September 18 (World Watch Monitor) — GMKI Chairman Charles HutahaeanJAKARTA, 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 .... Land Dispute Leads to Attacks on Christian Hub    Published in 2008 September 3 (World Watch Monitor) — JAKARTA, September 3 (Compass Direct News) – A land dispute led to two attacks on the headquarters of the Indonesian Christian Students’ Movement (GMKI) and its parent ministry, the Alliance of Indonesian Churches (PGI), last week (August 26 and .... Unhoused Theology Students Ordered to Leave Campground    Published in 2008 August 28 (World Watch Monitor) — Students worship at campgroundJAKARTA, August 28 (Compass Direct News) –The manager of a campground in East Jakarta this week asked staff members and 600 female students from a theological college who had taken refuge there to leave and pay stiff .... Muslim Mob Storms Church, Calls for Ban    Published in 2008 August 19 (World Watch Monitor) — Protest banners on churchJAKARTA, August 19 (Compass Direct News) – On Sunday (August 17) a Muslim mob stormed a church service in Cipayung, East Jakarta, forcing Christians to flee and then erecting banners in the street declaring a ban on .... Students Demand Safe Return to College    Published in 2008 July 31 (World Watch Monitor) — Attacked Student Marthen LaloJAKARTA, July 31 (Compass Direct News) – For a second consecutive night some 580 students from the Arastamar Evangelical School of Theology (SETIA) in East Jakarta slept in the lobby of Indonesia’s parliament yesterday .... Pastor Battling Order to Demolish Home    Published in 2008 July 24 (World Watch Monitor) — JAKARTA, July 24 (Compass Direct News) – Officials in Cipayung district, East Jakarta, have ordered Pastor Chris Ambessa of the Protestant Church of Indonesia to dismantle the newly constructed second floor of his home and to cease all religious .... Religious Tensions Rise in West Papua    Published in 2008 July 14 (World Watch Monitor) — DUBLIN, July 14 (Compass Direct News) – Authorities in West Papua, Indonesia, must move fast to prevent tension between Christian and Muslim communities escalating into a Malukan-style conflict, according to a recent report by the International .... Church in West Java Bulldozed    Published in 2008 July 8 (World Watch Monitor) — Bulldozed Cirebeum village churchJAKARTA, July 8 (Compass Direct News) – Public Order officials on June 26 demolished a church building in Cimahi regency of Bandung district, West Java, to make way for a new shopping mall and bus terminal after .... Islamists Try to Destroy Church Buildings    Published in 2008 June 25 (World Watch Monitor) — JAKARTA, June 24 (Compass Direct News) – Local authorities accompanied by an Islamist mob attempted to demolish two buildings in a church compound used by three congregations in Jatimulya village, West Java province on June 14. The initial .... Islamists Threaten to Kill Church Leader    Published in 2008 June 5 (World Watch Monitor) — JAKARTA, June 5 (Compass Direct News) – Members of the Islamic Defenders’ Front (FPI) in Tangerang, Banten province, confronted and threatened to kill church leader Bedali Hulu yesterday as he visited his elderly mother-in-law in a rented home .... Islamists Threaten to Tear Down Church    Published in 2008 May 6 (World Watch Monitor) — Police protecting churchJAKARTA, May 6 (Compass Direct News) – Muslim extremists and local government authorities last week threatened to tear down a church building under construction in North Sumatra even though church leaders met requirements of .... 110 Churches Closed in Three Years    Published in 2008 April 2 (World Watch Monitor) — JAKARTA, April 2 (Compass Direct News) – Islamic extremist groups and local governments in Indonesia closed 110 churches from 2004 to 2007, according to religious and human rights organizations. The Wahid Institute, a moderate Muslim .... Church Closures Mount Under Islamic Pressure    Published in 2008 March 10 (World Watch Monitor) — JAKARTA, March 10 (Compass Direct News) – Islamic protestors have halted worship at a church on Sumatra island and at another church on Java island, even as several other churches remain closed after suffering attacks last year. The congregation of .... Religious Freedom Still Elusive in West Java    Published in 2008 February 27 (World Watch Monitor) — DUBLIN, February 27 (Compass Direct News) – Almost eight months have passed since Dr. Rebekka Zakaria, Eti Pangesti and Ratna Bangun walked free from a prison in Indramayu, West Java, having served two years of a three-year sentence for allegedly .... Prospects for Peace Increase in Poso    Published in 2008 February 18 (World Watch Monitor) — DUBLIN, February 18 (Compass Direct News) – Early on the morning of October 29, 2005, extremists waylaid four teenage girls in Poso, Indonesia. They beheaded Theresia Morangke, Alfita Poliwo and Yarni Sambue, while Noviana Malewa, the only survivor, .... Islamic Extremists Sentenced to Prison for Beheading Girls    Published in 2007 December 4 (World Watch Monitor) — LOS ANGELES, December 4 (Compass Direct News) – Three Islamic extremists were sentenced yesterday to 19, 14 and 10 years in prison respectively for beheading three Christian teenage girls and shooting two others non-fatally in 2005. A South Jakarta .... Islamic Groups Secure Closure of Two Churches    Published in 2007 December 3 (World Watch Monitor) — GKBJ Sepatan church membersJAKARTA, December 3 (Compass Direct News) – Attacking the house of a Baptist pastor and protesting the presence of a Catholic temple, radical Muslim groups got authorities to close down two churches in the past two weeks. .... Muslim Radicals Threaten House Churches    Published in 2007 June 21 (World Watch Monitor) — JAKARTA, June 21 (Compass Direct News) – Muslim extremists demonstrating on June 14 in West Java threatened to close down churches operating in private homes, and a pastor on Sunday (June 17) received an anonymous letter promising to destroy his .... Imprisoned Sunday School Teachers Released    Published in 2007 June 8 (World Watch Monitor) — The teachers with their release papers. DUBLIN, June 8 (Compass Direct News) – A small crowd gathered to welcome Dr. Rebekka Zakaria, Eti Pangesti and Ratna Bangun as they walked free from the Indramayu district prison in West Java, .... Justice in Religious Conflicts Appears Uneven    Published in 2007 April 4 (World Watch Monitor) — BANGKOK, April 4 (Compass Direct News) – Justice dispensed in Indonesia’s religious conflicts seems to favor Muslims over Christians following relatively light sentences given to three Muslim extremists who beheaded three Christian high school girls .... Extremist Confesses to Murder of Christians    Published in 2007 January 19 (World Watch Monitor) — JAKARTA, January 19 (Compass Direct News) – An Islamic extremist on Wednesday (January 17) admitted to taking part in the killing of three Christian high school girls in Poso in 2005. He also confessed to shooting the Rev. Susianty Tinulele to death .... Police Raid Nest of Islamic Terrorists in Poso    Published in 2007 January 16 (World Watch Monitor) — JAKARTA, January 16 (Compass Direct News) – Police in Central Sulawesi last Thursday (January 11) raided the home of one of 29 Islamic terrorists suspected of carrying out violent attacks on Christians. A suspect was killed in the raid – as was an .... Service Cancelled in Otherwise Quiet Christmas    Published in 2007 January 10 (World Watch Monitor) — JAKARTA, January 10 (Compass Direct News) – A 200-strong mob prevented a church here from holding a Christmas Eve service in what was an otherwise peaceful holiday season in Indonesia. Some Muslim groups even provided protection for churches .... Muslim Extremists on Trial for Beheadings    Published in 2006 November 22 (World Watch Monitor) — November 22 (Compass Direct News) – One of three Muslim extremists on trial for beheading three Christian teenagers in Poso, Indonesia, in October 2005 has admitted his role in the attacks. A group of machete-wielding men ambushed Theresia Morangke, .... Christian Lecturer Attacked in West Java    Published in 2006 November 16 (World Watch Monitor) — November 16 (Compass Direct News) – Muslim extremists in West Java attempted to murder a Christian lecturer in mid-October for converting from Islam three years ago. The lecturer at various theological schools, whose name was withheld for security .... Angry Mob Attacks Church in Aceh,    Published in 2006 September 8 (World Watch Monitor) — September 8 (Compass Direct News) – A pastor and his wife living in Aceh province, Indonesia, have gone into hiding after a Muslim mob set fire to a church building following a revival service on September 1. Several weeks ago, Pastor Luther Saragih .... Islamic Militants Confess to Beheading Three Girls    Published in 2006 May 12 (World Watch Monitor) — May 12 (Compass Direct) – Police in Indonesia announced Wednesday (May 10) that suspected Islamic terrorists have confessed to beheading three Indonesian schoolgirls in Poso, on the island of Sulawesi, in October 2005. Five of the suspected .... Radical Muslims Stop Church Services    Published in 2006 May 2 (World Watch Monitor) — May 2 (Compass Direct) – Radical Muslims in mid-April forced three churches to cease services in North Jakarta and the provinces of West Java and Tangerang, claiming the meetings were disturbing Islamic communities. On April 17, a group of .... Muslim Group Threatens Christian Foundation    Published in 2006 April 25 (World Watch Monitor) — Sarah Fifi and husbandApril 25 (Compass Direct) – A Muslim community group called Majlis Taklim on April 9 entered the premises of a Christian social institution in West Java, Indonesia, demanding its closure for the fifth time this year. The .... Mob Forces Church to Close in West Java    Published in 2006 March 27 (World Watch Monitor) — March 27 (Compass) – A mob of some 200 Muslim vigilantes forced Christians in Bogor, West Java, to abandon their church service on Sunday, The Jakarta Post reported today. Police were present but failed to stop the mob, composed of residents from .... West Java Churches Told Not to Meet in Homes    Published in 2006 March 21 (World Watch Monitor) — March 21 (Compass) – A local council in West Java has warned several congregations in the Rancaekek Kencana housing complex in Bandung to abandon their “nomadic” cell group system, which allows limited numbers of Christians to meet together in .... Court Rejects Legal Intervention for Jailed Teachers    Published in 2006 January 24 (World Watch Monitor) — January 24 (Compass) – Judges at Indonesia’s Constitutional Court on January 17 ruled that the Child Protection Act is in line with the constitution and should not be amended. The Rev. Ruyandi Hutasoit of the Prosperous Peace Party had challenged .... Eight House Churches Shut Down in West Java    Published in 2006 January 19 (World Watch Monitor) — January 19 (Compass) – Local government officials in Bandung, West Java, have ordered eight house churches in the Rancaekek Kencana housing complex to cease meeting in private homes starting last Sunday (January 15). Each church received the order .... New Indonesian Security Unit to Probe New Year’s Eve Bombing    Published in 2006 January 6 (World Watch Monitor) — January 6 (Compass) – The Indonesian government has established a new Security Operation Command, or kopskam, to investigate violence in Central Sulawesi following a New Year’s Eve bomb explosion in Palu that killed eight people. The bomb, which .... High Court Rejects Appeal for Schoolteachers    Published in 2005 December 21 (World Watch Monitor) — Eti Pangesti, Ratna Bangun and Rebekka Zakaria December 21 (Compass) – Dr. Rebekka Zakaria, one of three women imprisoned for breaching Indonesia’s Child Protection Law, had secretly prayed to be home for Christmas. Zakaria conveyed this wish .... Worship Law Proposal Would Change Little    Published in 2005 December 16 (World Watch Monitor) — December 16 (Compass) – Following the closure of scores of churches in the past two years, the Indonesian government is revising a controversial law that regulates places of worship. But Christian leaders fear the changes would do little to keep .... Weekend Shooting, Machete Attacks Stun Christians    Published in 2005 November 21 (World Watch Monitor) — November 21 (Compass) – Indonesian Christians are in shock today as details emerge of two vicious attacks over the weekend on a Christian couple and three teenagers in the town of Palu, Central Sulawesi. Motorbike riders shot a man and woman at .... Churches Find Temporary Home after Closures    Published in 2005 November 16 (World Watch Monitor) — November 16 (Compass) – Denied permits and ordered not to worship in public or at home, churches in East Bekasi, West Java, have taken temporary refuge in a Social Affairs Agency office. Trouble for the churches began in September, when local .... Two More Schoolgirls Critically Injured in Poso    Published in 2005 November 9 (World Watch Monitor) — November 9 (Compass) – Unidentified assailants yesterday shot two senior high school students in Indonesia’s Poso district, Central Sulawesi, just 10 days after the beheading of three Christian teenage girls. Ivon, so far identified only by her .... Radical Muslims Halt Church Building    Published in 2005 October 28 (World Watch Monitor) — October 28 (Compass) – At a site in the West Java town of Cikarang Baru where a Christian church was under construction, there used to be a banner that read, “This property is sealed off by Muslims.”The banner may be gone, but in its place local .... Teachers Appeal ‘Christianization’ Conviction in Indonesia    Published in 2005 September 23 (World Watch Monitor) — Eti Pangesti, Ratna Bangun and Rebekka ZakariaSeptember 23 (Compass) – Three women accused of “Christianization” have appealed the conviction handed down by an Indonesian court on September 1. Rebekka Zakaria, Eti Pangesti and Ratna Bangun were .... Sunday School Teachers Sentenced to Three Years in Prison    Published in 2005 September 1 (World Watch Monitor) — Eti Pangesti, Ratna Bangun and Rebekka ZakariaSeptember 1 (Compass) -- Indonesian judges today sentenced three women to three years in prison for allowing Muslim children to attend a Christian Sunday school program. Rebekka Zakaria, Eti .... Verdict for Sunday School Teachers Expected September 1    Published in 2005 August 30 (World Watch Monitor) — Eti Pangesti, Ratna Bangun and Rebekka Zakaria August 30 (Compass) -- A verdict is expected on September 1 for three Christian women in Indonesia accused of attempting to convert Muslim children. Eti Pangesti, Ratna Bangun and Rebekka Zakaria were .... Sunday School Teachers’ Case Goes to High Court    Published in 2005 August 2 (World Watch Monitor) — Eti Pangesti, Ratna Bangun, and Rebekka Zakaria August 2 (Compass) -- Hostile spectators filled a courtroom in West Java, Indonesia on July 28 as the fifth hearing in a controversial trial against three Christian women began. The women were .... Mob Attacks Boarding House at Theological School    Published in 2005 July 29 (World Watch Monitor) — July 29 (Compass) -- An angry mob has twice attacked a boarding house at a theological school in Pulo village, Makasar district, east Jakarta, causing more than $10,000 in damage. The Arastamar Theological School boarding house, still under .... Three Women Arrested, Charged    Published in 2005 June 23 (World Watch Monitor) — Dr. Rebekka Zakaria, Eti Pangesti and Ratna Bangun June 23 (Compass) -- A Muslim council has accused three Indonesian women of attempting to convert Muslim children. Dr. Rebekka Zakaria, Eti Pangesti and Ratna Bangun were arrested on May 13 and .... Muslim Leaders Push for Islamic Law    Published in 2005 June 9 (World Watch Monitor) — June 9 (Compass) — In the wake of the May 28 bombing in Tentena, both Muslim and Christian leaders have expressed concern about corruption and violence in Indonesia. Some Muslim leaders say the bombing is yet another reason why Indonesia should .... Thirteen Suspects Arrested for Tentena Bombing    Published in 2005 June 6 (World Watch Monitor) — Rev. Rinaldy DamanikJune 6 (Compass) — The Rev. Rinaldy Damanik chaired an interfaith dialogue on May 29, a day after two bombs exploded in the predominantly Christian refugee town of Tentena, in Poso district, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. The .... Two Bombs Kill Christians in Tentena    Published in 2005 May 31 (World Watch Monitor) — May 31 (Compass) — Two bombs, timed to inflict the greatest possible damage, exploded in a refugee village for Christians in Tentena, Indonesia, on Saturday morning, killing 21 people and injuring 49. The first bomb exploded at around 8:15 a.m., May .... Pastor Still Missing    Published in 2005 April 4 (World Watch Monitor) — April 4 (Compass) -- The family of the Rev. Jokran Ratu, kidnapped four months ago on a remote Indonesian island, still does not know whether he is dead or alive. No ransom demand has been received and police have not apprehended the kidnappers. .... Churches Struggle to Find Worship Facilities    Published in 2005 February 11 (World Watch Monitor) — January 11 (Compass) -- More than 30 churches in West Java, Indonesia are still searching for approved worship facilities after objections from Muslim neighbors forced them to close in 2004. Recently, the Huria Kristen Batak Protestan Betania .... Tighter Security Ordered for Churches this Christmas    Published in 2004 December 22 (World Watch Monitor) — December 22 (Compass) — Police in Indonesia pledged today to provide tighter security for churches during Christmas and New Year celebrations, after one of their own was arrested in connection with the murder of a Christian village chief on the .... Two Churches Attacked, Three People Injured    Published in 2004 December 14 (World Watch Monitor) — December 14 (Compass) -- Assailants simultaneously attacked two churches in the town of Palu, Central Sulawesi, during church services on Sunday night, injuring at least three people. A bomb exploded at Emanuel church in downtown Palu in the early .... Pastor Kidnapped, Still Missing    Published in 2004 December 13 (World Watch Monitor) — December 13 (Compass) — Villagers on a small Indonesian island who recently joined a search for their missing pastor found only a red T-shirt with three bullet holes in it, lying on the beach near his home.At press time, Rev. Jarok Ratu, 35, of .... Pastor Kidnapped, Still Missing    Published in 2004 December 13 (World Watch Monitor) — December 13 (Compass) -- Rev. Jarok Ratu, 35, is still missing 10 days after a group of unidentified men kidnapped him in the early hours of December 3. National media reports suggested the kidnappers were looking for funds recently donated for the .... Church Closing Sparks Public Debate    Published in 2004 November 18 (World Watch Monitor) — November 18 (Compass) -- Members of a Protestant church in Indonesia are still waiting for resolution on an incident with Muslim neighbors, who attacked the church on October 24. The church was then closed down by authorities. According to Komintra .... Authorities Grant Early Release for Rev. Damanik    Published in 2004 November 10 (World Watch Monitor) — November 10 (Compass) -- Rev. Rinaldy Damanik walked free from his cell at the Maesa Detention Center in Palu, Sulawesi, on November 9 after authorities granted him an early release. A smiling Damanik greeted the small crowd of friends and reporters .... Authorities Grant Early Release for Rev. Damanik    Published in 2004 November 10 (World Watch Monitor) — Rev. Damanik leaves prisonNovember 10 (Compass) — Rev. Rinaldy Damanik walked free from his cell at the Maesa Detention Center in Palu, Sulawesi, on November 9 after authorities granted him an early release. A smiling Damanik greeted the small crowd .... Catholic School Closed for Three Weeks    Published in 2004 November 1 (World Watch Monitor) — November 1 (Compass) -- Heated disputes over a Catholic school in Tangerang, Indonesia, have yet to be fully resolved despite a meeting between government ministers and local residents on October 27. A district official had allowed Catholic .... More Than 1,000 Flee Conflict in Indonesia    Published in 2004 October 29 (World Watch Monitor) — October 29 (Compass) -- More than 1,000 people remained in temporary accommodations this week, afraid to go home after conflict erupted between Christians and Muslims living in Mamasa regency, Sulawesi, Indonesia. The dispute arose over a law that .... Man Shot in Church    Published in 2004 October 27 (World Watch Monitor) — October 27 (Compass) -- Unidentified snipers shot and injured Hans Sanipi, a 25-year-old Christian, in Sulawesi, Indonesia, on October 21. Residents of Sulawesi and neighboring Ambon island also found caches of homemade bombs in the third week of .... Five Die as Sulawesi Turns Violent    Published in 2004 October 20 (World Watch Monitor) — October 20 (Compass) -- Gunmen killed a 25-year-old Hindu woman and injured two Christian men in an attack in Central Sulawesi on October 13. Police said they believed the attack in Poso Pesisir district was committed by the same group who shot .... Early Release for Pastor    Published in 2004 September 29 (World Watch Monitor) — September 29 (Compass) — On Saturday, September 25, imprisoned pastor Rinaldy Damanik celebrated his 45th birthday. However on Monday, September 27, he had far greater cause for celebration when police announced he would be released in November 2004 .... Indonesia Closes 12 Churches in Bandung    Published in 2004 September 29 (World Watch Monitor) — GSK church in Bekasi attacked August 29September 29 (Compass) — Local authorities recently ordered 12 churches in the sub-district of Rancaekek, Bandung, Indonesia, to close their doors. The order came after Muslim clerics protested that the .... Authorities Close 12 Churches in Bandung    Published in 2004 September 29 (World Watch Monitor) — September 29 (Compass) — Local authorities recently ordered 12 churches in Rancaekek to close their doors. The order came after Muslim leaders protested that the churches were meeting illegally. The congregations had applied as early as 1993 for .... Early Release for Indonesian Pastor    Published in 2004 September 29 (World Watch Monitor) — Rev. Damanik on July 29, 2004September 29 (Compass) — On Saturday, September 25, Rev. Damanik — an Indonesian pastor imprisoned under what many believe were false charges — celebrated his 45th birthday.But on Monday, September 27, he had far greater .... Police Continue Search for Killers in Palu    Published in 2004 August 18 (World Watch Monitor) — August 11 (Compass) — Police are still searching for the killers of Rev. Susianty Tinulele, a 26-year-old pastor shot on July 18 at Efatah church in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. President Megawati Sukarnoputri has ordered an all-out manhunt .... Police Continue Search for Killers in Palu    Published in 2004 August 11 (World Watch Monitor) — August 11 (Compass) — Police are still searching for the killers of Rev. Susianty Tinulele, a 26-year-old pastor shot on July 18 at Efatah church in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. President Megawati Sukarnoputri has ordered an all-out manhunt .... Death Toll Rises in Sulawesi    Published in 2004 July 22 (World Watch Monitor) — July 22 (Compass) — Indonesians are mourning the deaths of the Rev. Susianty Tinulele, 26, and Desrianti Tengkede, 17, killed by unidentified gunmen during worship services at the Central Sulawesi Christian Church (GKST) in Efatah on July 18. .... Death Toll Rises in Sulawesi    Published in 2004 July 22 (World Watch Monitor) — July 22 (Compass) — Christians from many church backgrounds in Palu, Indonesia, attended a funeral on July 20 for Rev. Susianty Tinulele, age 26, and Desrianti Tengkede, 17. Both were victims of a drive-by shooting that occurred at their church on .... Four Churches Targeted In ‘Coordinated Attack’    Published in 2004 June 7 (World Watch Monitor) — June 7 (Compass) -- Mobs armed with sticks attacked four churches in Banten province, Indonesia, on Sunday June 6, doing minor damage to church furniture and windows. Attackers punched one pastor in the head, although he was not seriously injured. .... Rev. Damanik Spared Surgery in Jakarta    Published in 2004 June 1 (World Watch Monitor) — June 1 (Compass) -- Open Doors reported today that Rev. Rinaldy Damanik, an Indonesian pastor imprisoned since September 2002 under what many believe are false charges, has had a “miraculous” recovery from serious kidney problems. Damanik’s transfer .... Pastor to Receive Urgent Medical Treatment    Published in 2004 May 4 (World Watch Monitor) — May 4 (Compass) — Rev. Rinaldy Damanik, a pastor who many believe was framed on false charges of “illegal weapons possession,” has finally received permission to travel to Jakarta for urgent medical treatment. Damanik has been in and out of the .... Violence Flares Again in Ambon    Published in 2004 May 4 (World Watch Monitor) — May 4 (Compass) — Sectarian violence has erupted again in Ambon, on the South Moluccan islands of Indonesia. The flashpoint came on Sunday, April 25, when the independence party FKM-RMS celebrated their 54th anniversary by hoisting banned flags. The .... More Churches Forced to Close    Published in 2004 February 24 (World Watch Monitor) — February 24 (Compass) — Several churches in Banten province, Indonesia, were closed on January 25 following protests by local residents. The churches met in rented facilities at the Makhota Mas shopping center in Tangerang city. The same day, a .... Protestant Churches Sustain Attacks    Published in 2004 January 26 (World Watch Monitor) — January 26 (Compass) — Muslim protestors have attacked at least four churches over the past three weeks in the regions of East Java, West Java and North Sumatra, Indonesia. A crowd of approximately 100 people attacked the Gereja Protestan Indonesia .... Second Member of ‘Padang Six’ Released in Time For Christmas    Published in 2003 December 22 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) -- Yanuardi Koto, the second of Indonesia’s “Padang Six” to be released in 2003, will celebrate this Christmas and New Year with family and friends. Sources in Indonesia believe the Padang Six were victims of an elaborate Muslim sting .... Christians Face New Discrimination In Papua    Published in 2003 December 15 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) — On November 13, Indonesia’s House of Representatives endorsed the move to divide the territory now known as Papua into three separate provinces, despite strong opposition. Sources in Indonesia say this move has the potential of crowding .... Deaths Mark Renewed Violence In Poso    Published in 2003 December 15 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) — Fifty-eight-year-old Oranje Tadjodja, Treasurer of the Synod of the Protestant Church in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, was found battered to death on November 16, along with his nephew Yohannes Tadjodja, 26, whose throat was cut. The .... Christian Village Suffers Midnight Attack    Published in 2003 November 14 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) — Indonesian Christians in Old Beteleme (Bethlehem), Central Sulawesi, suffered a night-time attack that left two people dead, six missing and 38 homes destroyed. Shortly after midnight on October 11, villagers heard white-clad assailants .... Christians Flee Their Homes as Attacks Spread    Published in 2003 November 14 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) — Villagers in Central Sulawesi are fleeing for their lives in reaction to recent attacks on four villages. Following the October 11 attack on the village of Old Beteleme, a further assault was launched in the early hours of October 12 on .... Christian Village Suffers Midnight Attack    Published in 2003 October 14 (World Watch Monitor) — Indonesian Christians who have lived in the village of Old Beteleme (Bethlehem), Central Sulawesi, since being displaced by a three-year wave of religious violence suffered a night-time attack Friday that left two people dead, six missing and 38 .... Authorities Illegally Detain Christian Leader    Published in 2003 October 10 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) — Christians in Indonesia have issued an urgent call for prayer for the release of Rev. Rinaldy Damanik, whose prison detention in Palu, Central Sulawesi, should have ended on September 15, according to Indonesian law. That day, Damanik’s .... Christians Report Attempted Bombings, Assassination    Published in 2003 October 10 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) — In recent weeks, anonymous assailants have targeted Christian churches in Indonesia with attempted bombings and bomb threats. The latest attempt occurred on Sunday, September 28, at the Gereja Kristen Sulawesi Tengah (GKST) church, Tojo .... Opponents Force Church to Forfeit Worship Center    Published in 2003 October 10 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) — Because of ongoing threats from Muslim activists, the Jakarta Baptist Church in Kali Jaya, Tangerang province, has been unable to worship in its sanctuary since mid May. Several hundred villagers led by Muslim clergyman Sanusi Syafei .... Duma Emerges from Tragedy    Published in 2003 September 12 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) — The village of Duma on the island of Halmahera, Indonesia, is one of many communities in the Maluku Islands (also known as the Moluccas) to take tentative steps toward recovery from a violent Muslim-Christian conflict that has claimed a .... New Twist on Controversial Education Bill    Published in 2003 September 12 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) — In a new twist on Indonesia’s controversial education bill, the Department of Religion has asked a Christian Bible school to provide training for teachers who will work in state-run schools. The new National Education System Bill, passed .... Increasing Terrorism Endangers Christians    Published in 2003 August 15 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) — The bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta on August 5 has contributed to fears of a rising wave of terrorism in Indonesia. The Christian community is a particular target. Members of the Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah .... Bali Bombing Unites Churches    Published in 2003 August 15 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) — Following last October’s bombing of a Bali nightclub, Christians have made an effort to unite in their response to the tragedy. “This has brought a spirit of shame over a large section of the Bali community, with a subsequent opening to .... Court Approves Guilty Verdict Against Damanik    Published in 2003 August 15 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) — The Central Sulawesi High Court upheld the guilty verdict reached in June in the trial of Rev. Rinaldy Damanik. The Indonesian pastor and his lawyers are still awaiting a formal confirmation of the verdict from the High Court judges .... Hopes of Peace in Poso Marred    Published in 2003 August 15 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) — Violent incidents reported in July in the Poso region of Central Sulawesi have again marred hopes of peace. On the afternoon of July 10, Julius Ledo Pamini, a 32-year-old Torajan Christian, was shot dead while working on his plantation. .... Churches Destroyed, Pastor Murdered    Published in 2003 July 14 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) — Violence has continued against Christians in Indonesia in recent weeks, with attacks on churches and the murder of a pastor. The situation in the Bekasi region has been tense since Muslim militants threatened to destroy unregistered .... Justice Sought for Two Pastors Killed in Papua    Published in 2003 July 14 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) — Leaders of religious groups have called for an independent investigation into the recent crackdown by the Indonesian military in Wamena, a district in the Central Highlands of Papua. The Baptist World Alliance reported that the .... Pastor to Appeal Prison Sentence    Published in 2003 July 14 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) — Indonesian pastor Rinaldy Damanik, charged with illegal weapons possession, plans to appeal a three-year sentence imposed on him June 16. Supporters met with Damanik and agreed to mount an appeal to free him because they are convinced he .... Christians Protest New Education Policy    Published in 2003 June 16 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) — Around 15,000 Protestants and Catholics marched through the streets of Jakarta on June 5 in protest of a new education bill endorsed by the government on June 11. Under article 13 of the proposed law, a Christian school with 10 or more .... Civil War Adds to Religious Tension    Published in 2003 June 16 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) — Christians in the province of Aceh in northern Indonesia have faced huge challenges since the adoption of sharia law on March 4. When the law was first introduced last March, Muslim clerics declared that sharia would only affect the .... Five-Year Sentence Possible for Pastor    Published in 2003 June 16 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) — An Indonesian court is preparing to pass sentence on Rev. Rinaldy Damanik on charges of illegal weapons possession. According to sources closely monitoring the case, prosecutors are expected to ask for a five-year prison term for the .... Government Delays Controversial Education Bill    Published in 2003 May 19 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) — Politicians in Indonesia have postponed endorsement of a controversial new education bill. Legislators hoped to endorse the bill on May 8 to mark celebrations of National Education Day. However, protests from teachers and religious .... Muslim Radicals Harass Churches    Published in 2003 May 19 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) — Churches in Bekasi, West Java, are facing renewed threats. Radical Muslim groups such as the Front Hizbullah, supported by the local government, are destroying unlicensed church buildings and ordering Christians to cease their religious .... Pastor Released After Four Years in Prison    Published in 2003 May 19 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) — Rev. Robert Marthinus, an Indonesian pastor jailed in July 1999 in Padang, West Sumatra, was released from prison on April 22. He served more than three years and nine months for allegedly proselytizing a Muslim girl, what Indonesian .... Damanik Trial Reveals Irregularities    Published in 2003 April 14 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) — The selection of witnesses in the trial of Christian peacemaker Rev. Rinaldy Damanik is now underway in Palu, Central Sulawesi. According to a fact-finding team from Jubilee Campaign, Damanik’s lawyers closely questioned three policemen .... Christian Peacemaker Threatened With Death Penalty    Published in 2003 March 14 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) -- On February 26, the trial of Rev. Rinaldi Damanik was adjourned because the defendant had been admitted to a hospital with suspected hepatitis. Damanik, the general secretary of the Central Sulawesi Protestant Church Synod, faces .... Islamic Court Opens For Business    Published in 2003 March 14 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) -- Indonesia’s first Islamic court opened in the troubled northwest province of Aceh on March 3 as thousands celebrated. The Aceh legislature recently instituted sharia, the Islamic legal system based on the teachings of the Quran. The new .... Christian Peacemaker Faces Trial    Published in 2003 February 11 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) -- The Rev. Rinaldi Damanik, General Secretary of the Synod of the Protestant Church of Central Sulawesi, went on trial in a Palu court February 3, accused of carrying weapons while traveling between Christian villages under attack in .... Minister Held Without Charges    Published in 2003 January 13 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) — Church leader and peace advocate Rev. Rinaldy Damanik spent the holiday season in prison, even though Indonesian authorities cannot make a case for accusations against him. Christian leaders fear for his safety. Since June 2000, Muslim .... Christians Prevent Police from Arresting Key Pastor    Published in 2002 September 13 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) -- Scores of Christians blocked streets and prevented a police helicopter from landing in the city of Tentena on September 3, thus foiling an attempt to arrest the Rev. Rinaldy Damanik, secretary-general of the Synod of the Christian .... Ambon Peace Process Barely Intact    Published in 2002 August 9 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) — The precarious peace between Muslims and Christians on the island of Ambon continued to hold, despite extremists detonating bombs in the predominantly Christian area of Mardika on July 27. The blast area included a polytechnic school, .... Ambon Christians Outraged as Muslim Leader Calls for Jihad    Published in 2002 May 13 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) - Maluku church leaders appealed to the United Nations secretary-general on Sunday, April 28, as “their only hope” to protect them from Muslim extremism and official government discrimination. The appeal follows a difficult week on eastern .... Religious Leaders To Visit Ambon In Bombing Aftermath    Published in 2002 April 19 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) - Indonesia’s major religious leaders planned to visit Ambon in mid April to lend moral support to local leaders who are standing up for peace in this strife-torn area of eastern Indonesia. The visit will take place in the tense aftermath .... Returning Christians Face Threats And Violence    Published in 2002 April 19 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) - Muslim groups are trying to prevent Christians from rebuilding their homes, says Mona Saroinsong, coordinator of the protestant church Crisis Centre in North and Central Sulawesi. Following last November’s violence in Central Sulawesi, .... Christian-Muslim Peace Accord Signed In Ambon    Published in 2002 March 15 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) - On February 12, a second peace accord in the space of three months between Christians and Muslims in one of Indonesia’s trouble spots got off to a rocky start. The eleven-point peace accord was barely signed in war-torn Ambon, when Mr. .... Christians under Threat    Published in 2001 December 14 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) - Over 2,000 fighters from the extremist Muslim Laskar Jihad were foiled in their attempt to attack Christians of Tentena who have fled recent fighting in the Poso region of Central Sulawesi. After a five-day campaign that saw the jihad .... Ambon Christians Observe Three Days of Mourning    Published in 2001 December 14 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) - A three-day period of mourning beginning November 20 was observed by Ambon’s Christian community, which saw thousands attend churches and pray for peace. The vigil was to mourn the nearly three years of violence in northern and southern .... Two More Christians Killed    Published in 2001 November 16 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) - A force of 1,700 Muslim extremists attacked the Christian village of Waimulang on Buru Island in eastern Indonesia’s Maluku province on November 1, killing two Christians and forcing over a thousand to flee into the jungle. A force of 13 .... Christians Surrounded in Central Sulawesi    Published in 2001 August 24 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) - A \"second Ambon\" is brewing in Indonesia as a 3,000-strong Muslim jihad force closes in on 28,000 Christians in Tentena, Central Sulawesi. Ambon refers to an area in eastern Indonesia where thousands have died in Muslim-Christian .... Religious Liberty Deteriorates during Crisis    Published in 2001 June 15 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) - Mobs attacked five East Java churches, and six Ambon Christians were hacked to death in May in a sudden escalation of religious violence being played out against a backdrop of increasing political instability. The worst anti-Christian .... Fate of ‘Padang Six’ Rests with President    Published in 2001 April 21 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) - Indonesia’s most infamous \"persecution\" case reached the desk of President Abdurrahman Wahid in March. Three Christian couples from Padang, West Sumatra, were tried and convicted of abducting, raping and forcibly converting a teenage .... ‘Fragile Calm’ as War of Words Takes Over    Published in 2001 March 23 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) - A \"fragile calm\" prevailed during February in the conflict between Christians and Muslims in the Maluku islands of eastern Indonesia. The focus shifted to Washington, D.C., where Muslim and Christian representatives from the area gave .... Ambon Simmers while Wahid Struggles    Published in 2001 February 16 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) - As Indonesia’s ailing President Abdurrahman Wahid endured a humiliating vote of censure from Parliament on corruption charges on February 1, a church was razed in Maluku province by Muslim jihad fighters. On the morning of January 24, .... Church Bombings Meant to Provoke War    Published in 2001 January 19 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) - Indonesia’s Christian and political leaders are convinced that the widespread Christmas Eve church bombings were meant to provoke all-out war between the Muslim and Christian communities in the country. Seventeen people were killed and .... Maluku Leaders Ask for Help    Published in 2001 January 19 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) - Alarmed by mounting evidence from evacuees that perhaps as many as a thousand Protestant and Catholic Christians on the islands of Kesui and Teor were forcibly converted to Islam, often involving painful circumcisions, leaders of the .... Chiapas Governor Faces Uphill Battle    Published in 2000 December 15 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) - After decades of persecution at the hands of traditionalist Catholics, Chiapas’ evangelicals are hailing the election of Pablo Salazar - a lawyer who has defended the persecuted church in Mexico’s embattled southernmost state - as .... Christians Fear Further Violence in Irian Jaya    Published in 2000 December 15 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) - A smouldering civil unrest that has troubled the eastern Indonesian province of Irian Jaya for years threatens once again to harm Christians and others caught in the war between a growing independence movement and the Jakarta government. .... Massacres Continue    Published in 2000 December 15 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) - Maluku’s head of police admitted that authorities cannot dislodge the hundreds of Muslim jihad fighters scattered throughout eastern Indonesia’s Maluku province and who have escalated the inter-religious conflict as Christmas approaches. .... ‘There Are No Christians Left in Ternate’    Published in 2000 November 17 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) - \"There are no Christians left in Ternate,\" said George Saselah, who had left his farm there to join his wife and newborn daughter in a refugee camp in Manado, on Indonesia’s North Sulawesi island. Other refugees confirmed Saselah’s .... Christians and Muslims Move Toward Peace Talks    Published in 2000 November 17 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) - \"It is disappointing that the suffering of the Christians due to the conflict in the Malukus has been insufficiently exposed in various reports on a national and international level,\" stated the U.S. Consul General Robert Pollard. .... Another Attack on Maluku Christians    Published in 2000 October 20 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) - As Protestants and Catholics began a nine-day period of mourning on September 26 to reflect and pray over the terrible war ravaging eastern Indonesia’s Maluku Islands, another Christian village was shelled and destroyed by the Muslim .... Pastor Attacked    Published in 2000 October 20 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) - A Sunday morning attack on Indonesian pastor Dr. Benjamin Munthe left his assistant dead and family members shaken. The September 17 attack came from two men on a motorcycle as Munthe and his assistant, Kaleb Situmorang, and family .... The Final Siege?    Published in 2000 October 20 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) - Militant Muslim forces known as Laskar Jihad are now aiming to take control of the Ambon airport at Laha and are moving to besiege the Christian enclave at Paso where more than 100,000 Christian refugees are housed on the island of Ambon .... Ambon Christians Call for U.N. Help    Published in 2000 September 22 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) - Indonesia’s President Wahid was rebuffed by Christian leaders on Ambon when they refused his invitation to September 2 Muslim-Christian reconciliation talks. The leaders demanded, as a precondition to talks, concrete action by the .... Threatened Genocide Averted - For Now    Published in 2000 August 18 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) - Threats from Muslim extremist fighters to exterminate all Christians remaining in Ambon city by July 31 caused 90 percent of the Ambonese Christians to flee to the mountains. The army managed to prevent the threatened ethnic cleansing .... Maluku Conflict Reaches Critical New Phase §    Published in 2000 July 21 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) - Religious tensions in eastern Indonesia’s Maluku province spun out of control as the 18-month-long civil war between Muslims and Christians reached a critical new phase. A force of 3,000 Muslim fighters with heavy artillery began .... Christians Tense and Waiting    Published in 2000 March 17 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) - Christians in the central Java town of Solo are still tense after a Muslim rally on March 3 ended in a call to \"burn all Christian churches.\" A Christian priest was forced to flee his home in Solo after the rally’s speakers began to .... Maluku Islands Unrest Spreads    Published in 2000 February 18 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) - Violence broke out between Christians and Muslims on the Maluku Islands in eastern Indonesia on January 19, 1999, and has left thousands dead and hundreds of churches and mosques destroyed. The conflict was mainly confined to southern .... Church Gains Freedom even as Islam Revives    Published in 2000 January 21 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) - With the exception of the violence in Ambon, 1999 was an encouraging year for the church in Indonesia, which gained more freedom even as Islam revived, reported Dr. Iman Santoso, a Christian scholar in Jakarta who heads a national prayer .... Maluku Islands Erupt in Year-End Violence    Published in 2000 January 21 (World Watch Monitor) — (Compass) - Open warfare between Muslims and Christians in Indonesia’s Maluku province has left over 3000 dead since mid December. Over 50 churches have been destroyed. Before December 1999, the conflict between the two religious communities had a ....