When asked about how GKI Yasmin and the Ahmadiyah community fit into his plan, Diani said there was no future for either one. Last month, the Al Mubarok mosque, which belongs to the Ahmadiyah Muslim minority group, was also sealed.
Source/Credit: The Jakarta Globe
By Vento Saudale | June 05, 2012
Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto has big plans for the West Java city, which celebrated its 530th anniversary on Sunday.
He says he plans to return Bogor to the way it was during the Dutch colonial time, a peaceful and organized resort town.
“I admit, there is a lot of homework for Bogor,” Diani said. “The roads will be fixed by 2014 and old buildings restored to their former glory.”
The mayor offered scant detail on the implementation of his revitalization plan, but locals said there was no shortage of things needing improvement.
“The roads are full of holes. When it rains it is flooded, and when it is dry it is filled with dust,” said Husain Abdul, a public minivan driver.
Bogor’s road maintenance chief Agus Suharyanto admitted that only a third of the city’s 34,000 kilometers of roads were smooth. The rest are covered in potholes and cracks.
Locals also complain about the Baranangsiang bus terminal, which has fallen into disrepair and is quickly becoming overcrowded. The city’s transportation system is also a source of local frustration amid a growing population.
Notably absent from the plan were two existing structures: the GKI Yasmin church and a mosque belonging to the Ahmadiyah sect. Both sites have faced opposition by locals in recent times, and they are seen by many as tests of the city’s tolerance.
When asked about how GKI Yasmin and the Ahmadiyah community fit into his plan, Diani said there was no future for either one. “[The church] stands on disputed land and there is the forgery of surrounding people’s signatures,” the mayor claimed, referring to the application lodged by the congregation that purported to demonstrate the support of the surrounding community.
GKI Yasmin spokesman Bona Sigalingging suggested Diani had acted inconsistently, pointing to the fact that Diani attended the church’s ground-breaking ceremony in 2006.
“But after he got re-elected [in 2009], Diani had a change of heart, saying that GKI stands on disputed land,” Bona said.
Diani has faced pressure over defying a Supreme Court order to reopen the GKI Yasmin church, which he closed in 2009.
Last month, the Al Mubarok mosque, which belongs to the Ahmadiyah Muslim minority group, was also sealed.
“The sealing of the Ahmadiyah mosque is a follow-up to the mayor’s decree on the ban against Ahmadiyah activities in the city of Bogor,” said Bogor city administrative assistant Edgar Suratman, who chairs the city’s Ahmadiyah review team.
Edgar insisted the ban on all Ahmadiyah activities was enacted to “maintain order.” Ghulam Wahyudin, secretary of the Bogor chapter of the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI), said the closure was illegal and constituted discrimination.
Read original post here: Indonesia: Bogor Seeks to Return to Dutch Heritage
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