the local government prohibits the construction of churches by a 1975 agreement

The agreement linked the construction of a steel plant supported by the Russian government – today the largest in Indonesia – with a ban on building Christian places of worship in the city of Cilegon. There are currently more than 7,000 Christians residing in the region, who are forced to travel to attend services over the weekend. The Minister of Religious Affairs attempted mediation, but was unsuccessful.

Banten () – In the Indonesian city of Cilegon no churches have been built for almost 50 years, although more than 7,000 Christians reside in the province of Banten, of whom at least 1,000 are Catholic. This situation is due to an agreement that was signed in 1975 between the then head of the Serang regency, Ronggo Waluyo, and Krakatau Steel, the largest steel plant in the country. The contract stipulated that in exchange for the construction of the steel plant – sponsored by the Russian government – no churches would be built in the entire district. Today Cilegon is no longer within the Serang administration, but the hard line against Christians is maintained, to the point that, according to a report published in recent days, the city is the most intolerant in all of Indonesia.

“On many occasions, the leaders of the Protestant Churches have submitted an application to build their own place of worship and this has been rejected by the local authorities despite the fact that all the administrative requirements had been met,” explained Minister of Religious Affairs Hajj Yaqut Cholil Qoumas during a meeting with the main leaders of the Batak Protestant Christian Church. “The real problem is not at the base,” he added, “it is the hard line of the local administration.” However, Qoumas has guaranteed that he will try to do “everything in his power” so that the Indonesian Constitution, which guarantees religious freedom to all communities, is applied in Cilegon.

Wawan Djunaedi, head of the Ministry’s Center for Religious Harmony, also confirmed these statements: “Since April there have been several friendly approaches by my department to address the issue, but no fruitful results have been obtained so far.” In recent days, a video has been released in which the mayor of Chilegón Helldy Agustian and the vice mayor Sanuji Pentamarta are seen stamping their signatures on a white cloth used by the local population to express their dissidence against the eventual construction of a church. The Council of Ulema also issued a statement against it.

Cilegon is located in the westernmost part of the island of Java. At this time Christians are forced to travel to Serang to attend services over the weekend, forcing them to spend heavily on public transportation.