Indonesia: International Community Urged to Stand with Church
Oct 02 2007
Postings >> Indonesia

The murder of two Christians and threats against a prominent church leader have prompted fresh calls for the international community to stand with the church in Papua.

Christians in the province (formerly Irian Jaya) have been brutally persecuted in what they say is a concerted campaign to 'Islamise' a predominantly Christian region.

With Javanese Muslims now arriving at the rate of 5,000 a week, the campaign, apparently orchestrated by the Indonesian authorities, seems to be gathering pace. The Indonesian military has proposed that a third infantry division be sent to the province to 'monitor separatists' -- as the church accuses the security forces of violence against Christians.

Two members of the Maranatha Kingmi church were found dead in the street in separate incidents over the summer. Both men, Ones Keiya and Matius Bunai, had similar injuries. RI sources say the church is 'certain' that security forces were involved in their deaths.

Meanwhile, well-known Baptist minister Sofian Yoman, an outspoken critic of human rights abuses in the province, has been threatened at gunpoint by a group of soldiers, police and intelligence officers outside his church in Jayapura. Rev Yoman claims his church has been infiltrated and defamatory leaflets about him have been circulated in the area.

Papua, the western part of New Guinea, was annexed by Indonesia in 1961. Papuan Christians have been marginalised ever since, as a perceived 'separatist threat'. When the Dutch had ceded the rest of the Dutch East Indies to Indonesia in 1949, they had held on to Papua, claiming that it should remain separate because of its Melanesian population.

• Ask God to bless and comfort the families of the two Christian Papuans murdered this summer. Thank Him for the courage of Rev Yoman: ask God to protect him.
• Pray that international pressure would be put on the Indonesian authorities to halt their persecution of Papuan Christians.