KUALA LUMPUR: Indonesian Christians took to the capital, Jakarta, to protest the closure of the church they had been erecting, but that the government forced closed in 2008. The Gereja Kristen Indonesia (GKI) Taman Yasmin Church worshipers decided to take their plea to allow the government to let them finish the building in Bogo, West Java, to the heart of government: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's residence late last month. According to Christian news wire reports, the congregation then prayed their service as police and other security officials watched, in the hopes that their calls for change in the country would be heard. Worshipers said they want the government to uphold freedom of religion legislation in the country. The Taman Yasmin Church, located in Bogor, West Java, is a congregation is a member church of the World Council of Churches (WCC). “The half-finished building of Taman Yasmin Church was sealed off by the local administration in 2008, reportedly under pressure from Islamic hardline political groups like the Islamic People's Forum,” reported Deseret News. A Supreme Court ruling in 2011 was in favor of the church building, but Taman Yasmin still has not been able to resume its worship services as the government continues to bar them from the premises.
