Bandung Mayor Ridwan Kamil came under fire earlier this week after a Christmas worship programat the city's Sabugawas dismissed by Islamic militants. Online, discussions and opinions on the act of religious intolerance were posted with the hashtag #BandungIntoleran, many of which questioned Ridwan Kamilstance on the issue.
Responding to the incident, Ridwan Kamil issued a public apology on his social media page.
"I was in Jakarta during the event," he wrote. "So [I] authorized a coordination [for the matter] to the Political Unity Office based on their duties and tasks."
He then elaborated his points as written below:
1. The right to worship is a fundamental right of all Indonesians, regulated by Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution (UUD 1945).
2. The citizens of Bandung are people who love peace, who are tolerant, and live on the basis ofPancasila.
3. [We] regret any obstacles faced to conduct the worship activity due to organizationaldynamics.
4. [We] regret the presence and intimidation from a religious organization, which is not a reflection of the spirit of Unity in Diversity (Bhineka Tunggal Ika).
5. As long as its "incidental", it is not an issue for public spaces such as the Sabuga to be used for a religious event.
6. This worshipactivity is a provincial program, therefore the letter of recommendation came from the Bandung regional office of the Religious Affairs Ministry.
7. During the coordination process, the organizers of the event agreed that the worship in Sabuga would occur only in the afternoon, and it was SUCCESSFULLY held from01:00 p.m to 04:00 p.m.
8. [We] regret the lack of coordination between the organizers and authorities upon the request for an additional event to be held that evening, which was not part of the letter of agreement.
9. The Bandunggovernment and organizers of the program will try to find another time and place as a replacement of the previous event so as to allow Christians who were not able to participate in the program that night to have a good Christmas service.
10. The Bandung government apologizes for the incovenience, and hopefully in the future, the coordination for this sortof event will be done better by all people.
(brl/red)
