Member of Commission I of the Indonesian House of Representatives Abraham Sridjaja strongly condemned the incident of the disbandment of a Christian student retreat by a group of people in Cidahu, Sukabumi, West Java, which he considered endangered diversity and tarnished Pancasila.
"This incident is not just a local incident. It is a warning sign for our diversity. If our children cannot worship peacefully in this country then we are all going backwards as a nation. This tarnishes our Pancasila, divides the nation, and is very inhumane," Abraham said in a statement received in Jakarta, Monday.
He considered the acts of vandalism and expulsion of students who were carrying out religious activities to be a form of violence that was not only a violation of the law, but also contradicted the values of Pancasila and the principles of just and civilized humanity.
"We must not let this happen, especially when the victims are children, young students who should be protected, not intimidated. This is a violation of the law," he said.
He also assessed that the video recording related to the disbandment of the activity could tarnish the face of Indonesia's tolerance in the eyes of the world.
For this reason, he asked the Chief of Police and the West Java Regional Police to immediately take firm action and arrest the perpetrators who were clearly recorded in the video because it is not enough to only use a peaceful approach and mediation in handling the case.
"If the state is not present and the perpetrators are not prosecuted, then what grows is fear and hatred. The authorities should not just mediate, arrest them! The law must apply to all. There is no place for intolerance in this republic," he said.
As a member of Commission I of the Indonesian House of Representatives which oversees national defense and security issues, he also reminded that conflicts based on religious intolerance are time bombs that can damage the nation's socio-political stability.
Therefore, Abraham urged the central government to immediately conduct a national evaluation of religious freedom and protection of minority groups.
"Don't wait for this nation to burn because we let the small fires of intolerance continue to burn in many places. We are a country of law, not a country of thugs," he said.
Finally, he called on all elements of the nation not to remain silent in the face of injustice, and urged the media and civil society to continue monitoring this case until justice is upheld.
