KONTAN.CO.ID - YOGYAKARTA. An alliance of civil society groups has recorded that there were at least 10 unresolved cases of intolerance in the province, six of which occurred this year. The Bhinneka Tunggal Ika National Alliance said the six cases this year included the recent wooden cross incident in Purbayan village in Yogyakarta City. In February, a man attacked churchgoers with a sword on a Sunday morning at St. Lidwina, a Catholic church in Sleman regency, injuring the priest and several congregation members.
“[Acts of] intolerance are being repeated in Yogyakarta because there is no serious effort to resolve the root of the problems,” said alliance coordinator Agnes Dwi Rusjiati. The group also recorded this year that there was a rejection of a social program held by St. Paulus church in Pringgolayan, resistance to the construction of a Seventh-day Adventist church in Bantul, intimidation toward a traditional Javanese ritual and sedekah laut (ocean’s offering) in Bantul, as well as vandalism at the Bantul District Court building after the court punished a Pemuda Pancasila leader that had disrupted a painting exhibition at the Islamic University of Indonesia. Setara Institute director Halili said intolerance was prevalent in the province, which was once dubbed “Little Indonesia” for its pluralism and tolerance, because values of diversity are absent in the education system. Other factors were “inequality before the law” as authorities have applied impunity to certain groups. “The Yogyakarta administration is very weak in creating inclusive policies,” he said. Yogyakarta City ranked 41st out of 94 cities observed in the institute’s 2018 Tolerant Cities Index.
