Indonesia boosts Christmas security over potential terror threat

Yahoo – AFP, December 17, 2019

Despite being a Muslim-majority nation, many Indonesians are happy to take part
in Christmas festivities regardless of their religion -- although conservative Islamic
groups frequently target public displays (AFP Photo/ADEK BERRY)

Jakarta (AFP) - Muslim-majority Indonesia will deploy nearly 200,000 security personnel nationwide ahead of Christmas to guard against potential terror attacks, police said Tuesday.

The Southeast Asian archipelago of 260 million has significant numbers of Christians, Hindus and Buddhists who have been targeted by radical Islamist groups.

On Tuesday, authorities said some 192,000 police and military personnel would be deployed to secure Christmas and New Year's Eve celebrations across the country -- including in easternmost Papua, a predominantly Christian region.

The deployment, which comes after a recent spate of attacks, is more than the 167,000 personnel deployed last year.

"As many as 10,000 personnel will be deployed in Jakarta" alone, said National Police spokesman Argo Yuwono

"Based on intelligence data, there are potential risks... so we're taking preventive measures but we are also ready to take proactive action," he added.

Many past attacks in Indonesia, which has dozens of groups loyal to Islamic State's violent ideology, have been against police and other state symbols.

Authorities routinely arrest suspected IS-linked militants ahead of alleged planned attacks.

In October Indonesian President Joko Widodo ordered beefed-up security after two militants from an IS-linked terror group stabbed his chief security minister. He survived the assassination attempt.

Last month a suicide bomber blew himself up at a police station in Sumatra, killing himself and wounding six civilians.

Hundreds of suspects were rounded up after the attacks, which came more than a year after a suicide bomber family killed a dozen congregants in attacks at churches in Indonesia's second-biggest city, Surabaya.

On Tuesday the country's new chief security minister Mahfud said high security was also meant to ensure Christian communities could celebrate Christmas without being targeted by groups keen to disrupt the festivities.

"We need to anticipate as early as possible things like intolerant incidents and burning down houses of worship," the minister, who goes by one name, told reporters.

Conservative Muslim groups frequently raid shopping malls and other public places to protest against Christmas displays or seasonal attire worn by Muslim employees.

Pope signs Jerusalem declaration on Morocco trip

Yahoo – AFP, Sophie Pons and Catherine Marciano, March 30, 2019

Pope Francis is the first pontiff to visit Morocco since John Paul II in
1985 (AFP Photo/CIRO FUSCO)

Rabat (AFP) - Pope Francis on Saturday joined Morocco's King Mohammed VI in saying Jerusalem should be a "symbol of peaceful coexistence" for Christians, Jews and Muslims, on the first day of a visit to the North African country.

The spiritual leader of the world's 1.3 billion Catholics was invited by King Mohammed VI for the sake of "interreligious dialogue", according to Moroccan authorities.

In a joint statement, the two leaders said Jerusalem was "common patrimony of humanity and especially the followers of the three monotheistic religions."

"The specific multi-religious character, the spiritual dimension and the particular cultural identity of Jerusalem... must be protected and promoted," they said in the declaration released by the Vatican as the pontiff visited Rabat.

The Moroccan king chairs a committee created by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to safeguard and restore Jerusalem's religious, cultural and architectural heritage.

The joint statement came after US President Donald Trump's landmark recognition of the disputed city as capital of Israel, which sparked anger across the Muslim world, especially from Palestinians who see Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

Improving relations with other religions has been a priority for the Argentine pontiff, whose papacy has been marred by clergy facing a wave of child sex abuse allegations.

Thousands of Moroccans greeted Pope Francis in the capital Rabat 

(AFP Photo/Alberto PIZZOLI)

Opposing extremism

Addressing thousands of Moroccans who had braved the rain to attend the welcome ceremony, Francis said it was "essential to oppose fanaticism".

He stressed the need for "appropriate preparation of future religious guides", ahead of meeting trainee imams later on Saturday.

Catholics are a tiny minority Morocco, where 99 percent of the population is Muslim. The king is revered across West Africa as "commander of the faithful".

Speaking at the ceremony at the Tour (or tower) Hassan mosque and nearby mausoleum in Rabat, the monarch also voiced opposition to radicalism.

"That which terrorists have in common is not religion, it's precisely the ignorance of religion. It's time that religion is no longer an alibi... for this ignorance, for this intolerance," he said.

Francis rode to the ceremony in his Popemobile, passing rows of Moroccan and Vatican City flags and an estimated 12,000 well-wishers who packed the esplanade.

Buildings had been repainted, lawns manicured and security stepped up ahead of the first papal visit to Morocco since John Paul II in 1985.

A 17-year-old was arrested after trying to throw himself onto the king's limousine to seek the monarch's help, the police said.

Pope Francis (L) was welcomed to Rabat by Morocco's King 

Mohammed VI (AFP Photo/Fadel SENNA)

Some 130,000 people across Rabat watched the first stage of the pope's visit, which was beamed onto giant screens, officials said.

'Right to a future'

After stopping by the royal palace, Francis and Mohammed visited an institute where around 1,300 students are studying to become imams and preachers.

There they heard from a French and a Nigerian student of the institute, which teaches "moderate Islam" and is backed by the king.

In Morocco, where Islam is the state religion, authorities are keen to stress the country's "religious tolerance" which allows Christians and Jews to worship freely.

But Moroccans are automatically considered Muslim, apart from a minority who are born Jewish. Apostasy is socially frowned upon, and proselytising is a criminal offence.

Those who try to "rock the faith of a Muslim or to convert him to another religion" risk a prison term of up to three years.

After years in the shadows, since 2017 the small number of converts have called openly for the right to live "without persecution" and "without discrimination".

The pope finished his Saturday schedule by meeting migrants (AFP Photo/
Alberto PIZZOLI)

Around 30,000 to 35,000 Catholics live in Morocco, many of them from sub-Saharan Africa.

The pope finished his Saturday schedule by meeting migrants -- including children dressed in colourful hats -- at a centre run by Catholic humanitarian organisation Caritas.

"Everyone has the right to a future," said Francis, who has throughout his papacy highlighted the plight of migrants and refugees.

He criticised "collective expulsions" and said ways for migrants to regularise their status should be encouraged.

Caritas centres in Rabat, Casablanca and Tangiers welcomed 7,551 new arrivals in 2017, according to the charity, helping migrants access services.

The number of people taking the sea route from Morocco to Spain has recently surged as it has become harder for them to pass through Libya.

Rabat claims to have a "humanistic" approach to migration and rejects allegations by rights groups of "brutal arrest campaigns" and "forced displacement" to the country's southern border.

On Sunday, the pope will celebrate mass at a Rabat stadium with an estimated 10,000 people attending.

Related Article:

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Tiny Indonesian church prays for tsunami victims on Christmas day

Yahoo – AFP, December 25, 2018

Carita was one of the worst-hit areas (AFP Photo/ADEK BERRY)

A few dozen congregants gathered at a little church just outside Indonesia's tsunami disaster zone on Christmas day to pray for the victims of the deadly disaster.

Anita Sitorus led a sombre service at the Rahmat Carita Pentecostal church near one of the worst-hit areas on the western edge of Java island.

"After this incident, God let us continue to serve the people, and especially this is a chance to serve you God better," church head Sitorus said, a large cross on the wall behind her.

"To serve our brothers and sisters better, to do something for this area for the people who were victims of the tsunami.

"This is the time to say that you God are present in Carita," she added. "You are in Carita, your church is in Pandeglang (regency), in this tiny town."

Indonesia is a Muslim majority nation but it has a Christian minority, with services held Tuesday nationwide to celebrate Christmas -- and pray for those affected by the deadly tsunami.

"This Christmas is different because we're celebrating it during a disaster," Rahmat Carita congregant Eliza told AFP.

"For me, it's a chance to contemplate. God's love is real, we must not forget that."

The powerful tsunami struck Saturday night and without warning, sweeping over popular beaches on southern Sumatra and the western edge of Java and inundating tourist hotels and coastal settlements.

More than 400 people have been killed and thousands more have been displaced, with many left homeless after houses were flattened by the deadly wave.

Christmas fireworks in Jakarta

Christmas fireworks in Jakarta pic.twitter.com/O0r5kMb6Pb

— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) December 25, 2015

Related Article: 

Brunei's sultan bans Christmas in hardline shift

Brunei's sultan bans Christmas in hardline shift

Yahoo – AFP, December 23, 2015

The Dorchester hotel in London, owned by the Sultan of Brunei, is decked out
 with Christmas decorations, in contrast to Brunei where Christmas celebrations
are banned (AFP Photo/Ben Stansall)

Christmas is just around the corner, but there are no tinsel-laden trees or Santa hats in the oil-rich sultanate of Brunei, where celebrations have been banned under a shift towards hardline Islamic law.

The all-powerful Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, one of the world's richest men, announced last year he would push ahead with the introduction of sharia law, eventually including tough penalties such as death by stoning or severed limbs.

Religious leaders in the oil-rich sultanate warned this month that a ban on Christmas would be strictly enforced, for fear that Muslims could be led astray.

"Using religious symbols like crosses, lighting candles, putting up Christmas trees, singing religious songs, sending Christmas greetings... are against Islamic faith," imams said in sermons published in the local press.

Punishment for violating the ban is a five-year jail sentence, and the government warned last year that Muslims would be committing an offence if they so much as wore "hats or clothes that resemble Santa Claus".

Although Christians are free to celebrate, they have been told not to do so "excessively and openly", in a directive that has had a chilling effect on the Southeast Asian nation, which sits on a corner of Borneo island.

Businesses have been warned to take decorations down and authorities have stepped up spot checks across the capital. Hotels popular among Western tourists that once boasted dazzling lights and giant Christmas trees are now barren of festive decor.

"This will be the saddest Christmas ever for me," a Malaysian expatriate resident told AFP, requesting not to be named for fear of reprisals from authorities.

"The best part of Christmas day is waking up and having that feeling that it is Christmas, but there's just none of that here and you just feel deprived."

"All this is just because of what the Sultan wants. In 2013, I saw many Muslims together with Christians having a good time at their house parties. Everything was normal and good," he said.

The all-powerful Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, one of the world's richest men, 

announced last year he would push ahead with the introduction of sharia law, 

eventually including tough penalties such as death by stoning or severed 

limbs (AFP Photo/Mohd Rasfan)

#MyTreedom

Most people are too scared to speak up about the ban, and while some privately gripe about the rule they know there is little to be done.

"I will be working on Christmas after church. We just have to cope," a Filipino waitress -- one of Brunei's many guest workers -- told AFP.

Some people dared to post pictures on social media depicting Christmas cheer using the hashtag #MyTreedom, part of a global campaign to highlight oppression against Christians.

At least one church in the capital sported decorations that were visible from the street, a rare glimpse of holiday cheer in the otherwise decoration-free city.

"The ban is ridiculous. It projects this image that Islam does not respect the rights of other religions to celebrate their faith," said a Muslim mother in the capital, also too scared to provide her name.

"Islam teaches us to respect one another and I believe it starts with respecting other religions even if what is being banned are ornamental displays."

Others were more tempered, and urged the prohibition to be respected.

"It is an Islamic country and so with respect to the law, churches need to keep decorations indoors," said a Christian Bruneian, unfazed by the strict rules.

"The meaning of Christmas for us isn't all about Christmas decorations."

Controversy at home

The Christmas prohibition does not 

extend to the business interests of the

sultan, who owns the Dorchester Hotel

in London (AFP Photo/Ben Stansall)

However, the prohibition does not extend to the business interests of the sultan, whose estimated $20 billion fortune includes the historic Beverly Hills Hotel -- part of his Dorchester Collection with branches in London, Paris, Milan and Rome.

It is Christmas as usual this year in the upscale Le Richemond hotel in Geneva where guests are greeted by lavish displays in the hotel lobby, include bowls overflowing with pine branches, ornaments and candles aplenty.

The Le Meurice hotel in Paris advertises a Christmas eve seven-course gourmet menu for 650 euros -- before drinks -- while the Beverly Hills Hotel is decked out for the holidays too.

Before unveiling the hardline law, the sultan had warned of pernicious foreign influences such as the Internet and indicated he intended to place more emphasis on Islam in the conservative Muslim country.

Strict rules against homosexuality in the sharia law, punishable with death by stoning, sparked a backlash among A-listers including Jay Leno, Ellen DeGeneres and business tycoon Richard Branson, who called for the hotels to be boycotted.

Jokowi Breaks Silence on Killings in Paniai, Pledges to Resolve Shootings

Fact-Finding Team: The president will set up an independent probe into the deaths of five civilians at the hands of the police

Jakarta Globe, Banjir Ambarita, Dec 28, 2014

President Joko Widodo says the killing of five young civilians by security
forces in Papua earlier this month is deplorable. (Antara Photo/Prasetyo Utomo)

Jayapura. President Joko Widodo has told a crowd in Papua that the shooting of five young civilians in the province earlier this month is unacceptable, and that the government will soon form a fact-finding team to investigate the case.

Joko, who is in Indonesia’s easternmost province to attend Christmas celebrations, said the incident, which occurred in the town of Enarotali in Paniai district on Dec. 8, was deplorable.

Security forces opened fire on about 800 peaceful demonstrators, including women and children. Five protesters were killed and at least 17 others — including elementary school students — were injured, according to a report from Human Rights Watch.

Joko, who addressed a crowd of hundreds at Mandala Stadium in Jayapura, the provincial capital, on Saturday, said he empathized with the grieving families.

“I want this case to be solved immediately so it won’t ever happen again in the future,” the president said. “By forming a fact-finding team, we hope to obtain valid information [about what actually happened], as well as find the root of the problems.”

Joko added he wanted peace in Papua.

“I want my visit to Papua to be useful, I want to listen to the people’s voices, and I’m willing to open dialogue for a better Papua,” he said.

Joko said the government needed to listen to Papuans in order to solve the long-running conflict in the restive region.

“I think that the people of Papua don’t only need health care, education, the construction of roads and bridges, but they also need to be listened to. That is what I will do in dealing with the problems in Papua,” he said.

Hostilities between Papuan civilians and the security forces have frequently turned deadly since Indonesia annexed the region in 1969.

The president had earlier faced strong calls from Papuans to abandon his plan to celebrate Christmas in the troubled eastern province due to his previous muted response to the Paniai shootings, which were one the worst acts of state violence in years.

Victims and activists have said the incident was prompted with the beating of a 12-year-old boy from Ipakiye village, five kilometers from Enarotali, when the boy confronted a group of men in an SUV for driving at night with their headlights off.

The beating resulted in villagers marching to the capital to demand an explanation the next day. At around 10 a.m. the crowd spotted the same SUV and began attacking it. Police then opened fire on the unarmed crowd, witnesses said.

But the National Police chief, Gen. Sutarman, gave a different account of what happened, claiming the victims were planning an attack against the local military base, where locals suspected the SUV driver was hiding.

Police stopped the crowd from advancing by setting up a barricade, he said.

“Amid the protest, some [unknown] gunmen fired shots from the hills far away, causing the 200 or so people to riot,” the police general claimed.

He also denied that a high school student was among the five people shot dead by officers, despite photographs obtained by HRW clearly showing young men in school uniforms among those shot.

The coordinator of the Papua Peace Network, or JDP, Rev. Neles Tebay, welcomed the president’s plan to form a fact-finding team, having previously criticized the police for being “very secretive” about their investigation.

“The president is willing to identify the problem, so surely this is a good commitment,” Neles said on Saturday.

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Editorial: Papua Probe Shows Jokowi’s True Colors

Police Out in Numbers as Jokowi Visits Papua

Police Out in Numbers as Jokowi Visits Papua

Jakarta Globe, Banjir Ambarita, Dec 27, 2014

Protesters outside the Malang Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) earlier
in December demanded President Joko Widodo cancel his visit to Papua
at Christmas. (Antara Photo/Ari Bowo)

Jayapura. Indonesian police and military deployed officers from throughout Papua on Saturday as President Joko Widodo arrived in the separatist eastern province to attend a Christmas celebration.

“We will deploy the officers from Sentani and Wamena for security, but that’s only for the external security. For the internal security hundreds of soldiers will also be deployed,” Cendrawasih military commander Maj.Gen. Fransen. G. Siahaan told the Jakarta Globe on Saturday.

Joko was scheduled to attend a Christmas celebration at Mandala stadium in Jayapura. Fransen said thousands of police officers would be mobilized to secure streets used by the president to and from the stadium.

Fransen said security would also be focused in Wamena.

“The dangerous spot is in Wamena where the president will visit on his second day here before he heads to Sorong then Jakarta,” he said.

Joko was scheduled to arrive in Jayapura at 2:45 p.m. Eastern Indonesia Time accompanied by 11 cabinet ministers.

Cuba prepares for Christmas with early gift from Obama

Yahoo – AFP, Francisco Jara, 24 Dec 2014

People wearing Santa Claus costumes give out leaflets promoting a restaurant

in the streets of Havana, Cuba, on December 23, 2014 (AFP Photo/Yamil Lage)

Havana (AFP) - Cubans prepared Wednesday to celebrate Christmas, a resurgent holiday banned for 38 years by the communist government, with an early gift from US President Barack Obama: a historic rapprochement.

Across the island, houses, restaurants, supermarkets, hotels and state-run stores have put up Christmas decorations, embracing a holiday eliminated by Fidel Castro soon after he came to power in the Cuban Revolution in 1959 and declared Cuba an atheist state.

"El Comandante" restored Christmas in 1998 after a landmark visit by pope John Paul II.

A Christmas tree adorns the lobby of a

 hotel in Havana, Cuba, on December 23,

2014 (AFP Photo/Yamil Lage)

After an initially hesitant revival, the Christmas spirit is once again booming on the island.

"Christmas was a very deep-rooted tradition in Cuba. It was interrupted for 38 years, which is no small thing, and yet it made a comeback," said the secretary of Cuba's Conference of Bishops, Jose Felix Perez.

In Havana's old city, Santas brave the Caribbean heat in bushy white beards and red suits to hand out restaurant flyers alongside Mrs Clauses wearing decidedly skimpier red outfits -- a scene that would have been unthinkable under Fidel.

On the streets of the capital, the dashboards of cars are decked out with Santas, wreaths and mini Christmas trees.

Less playful decorations adorn the gates and courtyards of foreign embassies and the US interests section, set to regain its status as an embassy under last week's watershed announcement by Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro, who took over from his big brother Fidel in 2006.

The thawing of the two countries' Cold War animosity has raised many Cubans' hopes for an economic revival in a country scarred by the "special period" of hunger and shortages in the 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

This year, Perez said, "everything the two presidents announced is giving people hope that their lives will get better and there will be greater understanding."

In this country where Catholicism has long co-existed with local traditions that draw on both Christianity and African religions, state-run stores are brimming with Christmas gift baskets and restaurants and hotels are offering sumptuous Christmas dinners.

At the Ambos Mundos, where the great American writer Ernest Hemingway once lived, the four-course meal costs $40 -- twice the average monthly salary of around $20.

"Before there were no Christmas decorations. All this is totally new," a Latin American diplomat told AFP.

Communist Christmas

New Year's was long celebrated as the main holiday in Cuba, bolstered by the revolutionary significance of the date: January 1, 1959, is the day Castro's forces ousted dictator Fulgencio Batista.

A couple wearing Santa Claus costumes greet a little boy as they give out

leaflets promoting a restaurant in the streets of Havana, Cuba, on December 23,

2014 (AFP Photo/Yamil Lage)

Starting in 1960, December 25 was declared a working day.

Christians celebrated in secret, hoping to evade detection by the Revolutionary Defense Committees (CDRs) deployed across the country.

Even after the holiday was restored, Christmas celebrations were muted until Fidel handed over power amid a health crisis.

In 2010 the Cuban government opened talks with the Church, which led to the release of 130 political prisoners and the return of Church buildings confiscated in the 1960s.

Later that year the main architect of the detente, Cardinal Jaime Ortega, celebrated Cuba's first Christmas mass since 1959 inside a prison.

Today, Cuban bishops broadcast Christmas messages on television.

In a further goodwill gesture toward the Church, Raul Castro also restored Good Friday as a holiday when pope Benedict XVI visited the island in 2012.

This picture released by Estudios Revolucion shows relatives welcoming

 freed Cuban prisoner Geraldo Hernandez (C) on December 17, 2014 in Havana

upon his return from the United States (AFP Photo)

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Djarot to Visit Jakarta Churches on Christmas Eve as Security Operation Continues

Jakarta Globe, Lenny Tristia Tambun, Dec 24, 2014

Bomb squad officers inspect a church in Malang, East Java, ahead of
the Christmas Eve mass. (AFP Photo)

Jakarta. The capital’s deputy governor Djarot Syaiful Hidayat said on Wednesday he would visit six churches in the capital on Christmas Eve to monitor security and wish Jakarta’s Christian community a happy Christmas.

“I’ll conduct blusukan [impromptu visits to constituents] this evening,” Djarot told reporters at City Hall on Wednesday. “I will visit several churches to make sure that the services run safely and smoothly.”

Djarot will kick off his visit at 6:30 p.m. to six churches: St. Theresia Catholic Church and GKI Kwitang in Central Jakarta, Santo Yoseph Church and GPIB Surya Kasih in East Jakarta, and Gereja Salib Suci and Gereja Tugu in North Jakarta.

“I also want to personally wish them a merry Christmas,” Djarot said.

The National Police said earlier in the week that some 80,000 police officers would be tasked with ensuring security at Christmas and New Year celebrations, in what has become an annual operation known as Operation Candle.

A further 19,5000 personnel from the Indonesian military will join the security operation, which is set to run through Jan. 2.

“We will secure every place of worship, residential areas, tourism locations, stations, terminals, ports, airports and also other places where there would be a lot people gathering for Christmas and New Year celebrations,” National Police chief Gen. Sutarman said on Tuesday.

As officers in Jakarta monitored security at churches and selected public spaces, police in East Java and Sulawesi were conducting searches of churches to look for any suspicious devices. To the south of Jakarta, in the West Java city of Bogor, police and security officials were investigating a bomb threat circulated via SMS message that purported to be linked to ISIS supporters in Indonesia.

“There was message from someone claiming to speak in the name of the ISIS network saying there would be terrorism during New Year, and the plan was to bomb three crowded places in Bogor City,” Bogor Mayor Bima Arya said on Tuesday. “We take this threat seriously. That is why we decided in a meeting with the police [on Tuesday] that we’ll jointly beef up security at places that attract a lot of people.”

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National Police: Christmas Being Celebrated Without Any Problems

Over 80,000 Cops to Secure Christmas, New Year Celebrations in Indonesia

Over 80,000 Cops to Secure Christmas, New Year Celebrations in Indonesia

Jakarta Globe, Bayu Marhaenjati, Dec 23, 2014

Officers of the Sidoarjo Police in East Java pray for a successful Operation
Candle on Tuesday. (Antara Photo/Suryanto)

Jakarta. The National Police said on Tuesday that they would dispatch no fewer than 80,560 cops to safeguard Christmas and New Year celebrations throughout the country this year as part of their annual Operation Candle.

During the operation, which runs from Wednesday until Jan. 2, the police will get help from the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI), which will dispatch more than 19,500 personnel, and from other agencies, that will make available another 65,000 officers.

The officers will be stationed at 1,767 security posts and 603 service posts throughout the country and they will monitor 895 CCTV cameras especially set up for the operation.

“This operation consists of preemptive and preventive actions, which are supported by professional and proportional law enforcement,” Gen. Sutarman, the chief of the National Police, said on Tuesday in Jakarta.

“We will secure every place of worship, residential areas, tourism locations, stations, terminals, ports, airports and also other places where there would be a lot people gathering for Christmas and New Year celebrations,” he said.

Operation Candle, Sutarman said, would not only guarantee the safety of the people celebrating Christmas and New Year, but also make sure that the distribution of food and fuel is not disrupted.

SBY Pledges to Protect Pluralism at Christmas Celebration

Jakarta Globe, Robertus Wardhy, December 28, 2013

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and First Lady Ani Yudhoyono
 leaving the national Christmas celebration in Jakarta on Dec. 27, 2013.
(AFP Photo/Adek Berry)

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Friday urged the public not to let religious extremism flourish in Indonesia.

“Morally and socially, every leader in the country must prevent and reject extreme and radical behavior,” he said, during the annual official Christmas celebration at the Jakarta Convention Center. “Do not depend on state actions to overcome each obstacle against tolerance and the peacefulness of life in society.”

He added that each part of society must prevent individuals, groups and movement from spreading radicalism.

The celebration was attended by Vice President Boediono, chairman of the Indonesian Bishops’ Conference (KWI) Ignatius Suharyo, interfaith activist Franz Magnis Suseno, cabinet ministers and around 4,000 Christians.

“Our nation must strengthen awareness and goodwill to build harmonious and peaceful living conditions,” Yudhoyono said. “We must develop all this in toddlers and continue it until school-age. Parents, teachers and religious leaders have a duty and a big responsibility. Religious leaders ought to sow the seeds of good deeds and grow them among their own people.”

Yudhoyono’s comments came in the wake of reports of religious intolerance in the archipelago, including the continued closure of the embattled GKI Yasmin congregation’s church in Bogor, which remains shuttered by the municipal government in defiance of two rulings by the Supreme Court.

“Let’s use our hearts and minds, not our emotion and violence,” Yudhoyono said. “Principally, the state will intervene if there is no other way and prevention fails to work. Law enforcement is the last option if persuasive approaches cannot succeed.”

The event was held after the actual holiday so that more guests would be able to attend.

“Since nine years ago, prior to and during Christmas celebrations across Indonesia, I have personally looked on hour by hour to ensure that Christmas security and services are going well so that such an important celebration proceed safely,” he said.

Christmas Sentence Cut for Australian Drug Mule

Jakarta Globe – AFP, December 26, 2013

This file photo shows Australian Schapelle Corby talks to women prisoner (unseen)
 inside Kerobokan prison during a press visit, in Denpasar on March 11, 2008. (AFP Photo)

Australian drug trafficker Schapelle Corby has had her sentence in an Indonesian prison cut by two months as part of an annual Christmas remission program, an official said Thursday.

Ika Yusanti, the justice ministry prisons spokeswoman, said she was receiving the reduction for “good behavior.”

However the official was tight-lipped about the 36-year-old’s prospects for parole amid speculation she may be released from jail on the resort island of Bali in the near future.

The island’s corrections board in August recommended Corby for early release from the notorious Kerobokan jail but the process has been bogged down by bureaucratic wrangling.

Corby was sentenced to 20 years in jail in 2005 for smuggling 4.1 kilos (nine pounds) of marijuana into Bali the previous year.

But she has received several remissions and a sentence cut of five years from the president after she filed an appeal for clemency.

If granted parole, Corby would still be bound to the island and obliged to report regularly to authorities. She would live with her sister on Bali under the terms of the parole agreement.

If she continues to receive the usual sentence reductions during her parole period, she could be free to return home to Australia by mid-2015.

Renae Lawrence — part of a group of Australian drug traffickers known as the Bali Nine jailed at Kerobokan — also had her sentence cut by two months. She was originally jailed for 20 years.

Under the Christmas program, the justice ministry granted 8,429 prisoners across the country sentence cuts.

Sentences are routinely cut in Indonesia to mark major religious celebrations and the country’s independence day on August 17.

Agence France-Presse

Indonesian Christians stage Christmas protest at palace

Google – AFP, 25 December 2013

Indonesian congregations from two churches attend a mass prayer outside

the presidential palace in Jakarta on December 25, 2013 (AFP, Adek Berry)

Jakarta — Hundreds of Indonesian Christians held a Christmas service Wednesday in front of the presidential palace in Jakarta to protest at the closure of their churches due to pressure by Muslim hardliners.

Some 200 people from two churches near the capital sang hymns, recited prayers and lit candles by a busy road alongside three "Christmas trees" constructed out of plywood and bamboo.

The service, involving people of all ages from toddlers to the elderly, began under the scorching sun and continued for hours even after the weather changed abruptly and heavy rain fell.

Christians are coming under increasing pressure from extremists in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has been criticised for failing to tackle the growing intolerance.

"We want to remind our president once again that he has not yet resolved the issue of religious intolerance in this country," Bona Sigalingging, a spokesman for one of the churches, told AFP.

The churches, in the cities of Bekasi and Bogor, were closed in 2010 by local authorities who had come under pressure from Muslim hardliners.

Authorities said it was because the buildings lacked proper building permits, although rights groups say local governments are simply bowing to extremist pressure and using the permit issue as an excuse.

As well as Christians, hardliners in Sunni-majority Indonesia have targeted Muslim minorities. Ahmadis have seen their places of worship closed and Shiites have been subjected to violent attacks.

Ninety percent of Indonesia's 250 million people identify themselves as Muslim although the constitution guarantees freedom of religion.

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"THE RECALIBRATION OF BELIEF"– Aug 18, 2013 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)