Tsarina Maharani, Jakarta – A report by the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) shows that there are an increasing number of violations against the right to freedom of religion and belief every year.

Achmad Nasrudin Yahya, Jakarta – The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) recorded 38 cases of religious blasphemy between January and May, 2020.

YLBHI Chairperson Asfinawati revealed that there were three pieces of legislation which were used to indict people in these cases.

Jakarta – President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo plans to build an underground tunnel connecting the Istiqlal Mosque and the Cathedral Church in Central Jakarta which are located adjacent to each other. The proposed construction will be carried out during renovations to the Istiqlal Mosque which were reviewed by Widodo on Friday February 7.

Egi Adyatama, Jakarta – Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace Deputy Chairperson Bonar Tigor Naipospos says that there is no urgency for the government to build a tunnel of friendship connecting the Istiqlal Mosque and the St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral in Central Jakarta.

Dwi Putra Kesuma, Sawangan – Opposing the presence of the Ahmadiyah religious sect, a number of people demonstrated and called for the Ahmadiyah headquarters on Jl Raya Sawangan in the Jakarta satellite city of Depok to be torn down.

Muhammad Ridwan – Amnesty International Indonesia has responded to a case involving an interfaith activist from West Sumatra, Sudarto, who has been charged with hate speech. Amnesty believes that Sudarto was in fact defending religious minorities’ right to worship.

Jakarta – Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan became the target of subtle insinuations by Jakarta Archbishop Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo after he visited the Cathedral in Central Jakarta for Christmas evening mass on Tuesday December 24.

He insinuated that Baswedan “turned up all of a sudden” in the middle of the Christmas church mass.

Jakarta – Members of the Yasmin Bogor Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) and the Filadelfia Bekasi Batak Christian Protestant Church (HKBP) were again forced to hold their Christmas services in front of the Presidential Palace in Central Jakarta on Wednesday December 25.

Muhammad Ridwan – The Setara Institute for Democracy has released the results of research ranking the level of religious intolerance in Indonesian provinces. The results showed that West Java recorded the largest number of violations against religious freedom or belief between 2014 and 2019.

Jakarta – Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) says that violations against freedom of religion and belief (KBB) occur because the law is bias towards the majority. Imparsial researcher Amelia says that several regulations guarantee the right to freedom of religion and worship but others threaten this freedom.