( Jakarta Post) – Christian organizations have agreed on a plan to file a class action against the government for maintaining a joint decree on the construction of places of worship. They insisted that the decree, issued in 1969 by then religious affairs minister Mohammad Dahlan and home affairs minister Amir Machmud, went against human rights and principles of religious freedom. “The decree is contrary to Article 29 of the Constitution, which guarantees citizens the right to choose their belief and perform their religious duties,” Indonesian Communion of Churches chairman Nathan Setiabudi said. Joint ministerial decree No.1/BER/mdn-mag/1969, on the government’s responsibility to regulate in an orderly manner the construction of places of worship and religious activities, requires a religious community to seek approval from the local administration in the event that a place of worship is built. The local authorities can consult leaders of other religious communities or organizations before approving the proposal.
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