LOVE FOR ALL

Perda Manokwari Kota Injil

2011-12-30T22:26:00.001-08:00

Perda Manokwari Kota Injil : Makna dan Konsekuensi bagi Gereja-gereja di Indonesia I. Pendahuluan Kehadiran perda-perda bernuansa agama di Indonesia pada umumnya tidak secara terang-terangan menamakan dirinya sebagai perda agama. Namun, melihat isinya yang memuat nilai-nilai agama tertentu jelas menunjukkan bahwa itu adalah sebuah perda agama.1 Perda ini biasa disebut perda yang melanggar hak-hak asasi manusia karena isinya terindikasi mendiskriminasikan agama-agama lain Perda bernuansa agama sukses diberlakukan di beberapa provinsi di Indonesia. Berbekal dukungan mayoritas, perda bernuansa agama itu setidaknya telah diberlakukan di tingkat provinsi (6), kabupaten (38), Kota (12).2 Pengalaman sukses menghadirkan perda agama itu ternyata telah mendorong agama-agama lain yang terdiskriminasikan untuk juga menghadirkan perda agama pada daerah dimana agama-agama tertentu menjadi mayoritas, seperti misalnya terkait kehadiran perda Kota Injil di Manokwari yang mayoritas penduduknya beragama Kristen. Timbul pertanyaan, apakah kehadiran Perda Manokwari Kota Injil yang awalnya merupakan usulan tokoh-tokoh agama Kristen tentang “Raperda Pembinaan Mental dan Spiritual”3 yang kemudian direspon oleh pemerintah daerah Manokwari, dan dituangkan dalam rancangan peraturan daerah (raperda) itu bisa disebut sebagai bagian dari strategi gereja dalam merespon maraknya perda-perda syariah diberbagai daerah di Indonesia? Dan apakah konsekuensinya bagi Gereja-gereja di Indonesia. II. Makna Perda Manokwari Kota Injil Pemicu yang paling kuat lahirnya usulan kontroversial tokoh-tokoh agama Kristen di Papua dalam bentuk perda Injil adalah Pembangunan Masjid Raya, sebuah masjid yang berada pada tempat yang strategis, dekat lapangan Udara Manokwari, dan dianggap berpotensi menghapus tanda-tanda Manokwari sebagai kota Injil. Tokoh-tokoh agama Kristen di Papua umumnya sepakat bahwa kehadiran Masjid Raya di Manokwari telah melukai perasaan umat Kristen Papua, dan menimbulkan perasaan terdiskriminasikan. Penolakan terhadap Masjid Raya itu datang dari berbagai kalangan umat Kristen di Papua. Kekecewaan ini selalu saja dihembuskan tokoh-tokoh agama Kristen di Papua, bahkan ini juga diutarakan oleh pejabat-pejabat lembaga pemerintahan yang beragama Kristen di Papua, baik eksekutif, maupun legislatif. 4 Pada akhir tahun 2005, umat Muslim Manokwari memutuskan untuk membangun Masjid Raya. Rencana pembangunan Masjid Raya itu mendapat dukungan dari Wakil Gubernur, Rahimin Kacong, yang sedang mencari dukungan pemilih Muslim untuk memenangkan pemilihan kepala daerah pada bulan Maret 2006. Rumor yang muncul di masyarakat adalah pembangunan Masjid Raya itu akan disertai dengan Islamic Center yang terbesar di Asia Tenggara.5 Hal yang memperkeruh adalah, Rahimin Kacong memainkan kartu agama dengan menjanjikan pemberian IMB apabila ia terpilih sebagai wakil Gubernur Papua Barat. Ini membuktikan bahwa konflik agama di Papua ternyata tidak bisa dilepaskan dari pengaruh negatif politisasi agama, yang merugikan agama-agama itu sendiri. Bagi pemimpin-pemimpin Gereja Papua, pembangunan Mesjid Raya itu bertentangan dengan kondisi Manokwari yang sejak lama diakui sebagai Kota Injil, sekalipun sebutan Kota Injil itu belum diformalkan. Masjid Raya yang besarnya melampaui Gereja-gereja yang pernah ada di Manokwari dikuatirkan akan merusak keindahan Manokwari sebagai Kota Injil. Apalagi usaha tersebut ternyata melibatkan pejabat pemerintahan daerah. Penolakan umat Kristen terhadap pembangunan Masjid Raya juga didasarkan pada kenyataan bahwa umat Muslim di Manokwari tidak sedang kekurangan tempat untuk beribadah. Pada hari-hari raya besar umat Muslim memang menggunakan lapangan-lapangan sepakbola sebagai tempat beribadah seperti misalnya untuk merayakan Idul Fitri, namun kebiasaan ini bukan karena tempat-tempat ibadah Muslim tidak cukup untuk menampung umat Muslim beribadah, tetapi karena pada hari raya Idul Fitri umat Muslim dari berbagai tempat biasanya beribadah bersama, namun pada hari-hari biasa kebutuhan itu tidak ada, masjid-masjid yang ada di Manokwari cukup untuk menampung umat muslim beribadah. Pdt. Albert Yoku, wakil Sekretaris Sinode GKI (Gereja Kristen Injili di Tanah Papua), di Sentani, Jayapura. Menjelaskan, “persiapan untuk membangun Mesjid Raya dan Islamic Center itu sudah dikerjakan sejak 2003-2004. Padahal, di Kota Manokwari setiap tahun ada perayaan besar agama Kristen yang dirayakan setiap 5 Februari, hari perayaan masuknya Injil ke tanah Papua yang dipusatkan di pulau Mansinam. Sejarah melaporkan bahwa dua orang missionari Jerman, pada tanggal 5 Februari 1855, bernama Johann Gottlob Geissler dan Carl Wilhelm Ottow ketika pertama kalinya menjejakan kaki di pulau Mansinam, pulau yang berada di Kabupaten Manokwari, kedua missionari itu mengucapkan kata-kata penting yang sampai saat ini dipegang oleh masyarakat Kristen Papua, “Im Namen Gottes betreten wir dieses Land” “Dengan nama Tuhan kami menginjak tanah ini.6 Pernyataan dua missionari yang digelari ”Rasul Papua” itu oleh masyarakat Kristen Papua dipercaya sebagai suatu penetapan Tuhan untuk Papua, yaitu sebagai tanah milik Tuhan, yang kemudian mereka sebut Kota Injil atau daerah Injil, karena Manokwari adalah pintu gerbang masuknya Injil ke tanah Papua. Perayaan masuknya Injil ke tanah Papua dirayakan oleh orang Kristen Papua, mereka biasanya, dari berbagai daerah di Papua, tumpah ruah di pulau Mansinam. Pemerintah juga ikut terlibat memberikan bantuan dalam penyelenggaraan acara akbar itu. Tokoh-tokoh agama Papua menyesalkan, “mengapa di tempat itu harus dibangun Mesjid Raya yang besarnya melampaui gereja-gereja yang ada di kota Manokwari.”7 Mayoritas Kristen Papua memiliki pandangan yang sama dengan Pdt. Albert Yoku, bahwa mereka merasa terpinggirkan karena perayaan-perayaan besar mereka akan ditelan kemeriahan kehadiran Masjid Raya, dan mereka menjadi kuatir dengan masa depan anak-anak mereka yang senantiasa diperhadapkan dengan simbol-simbol agama Islam, sedang pada sisi yang lain simbol-simbol agama Kristen makin terpinggirkan. GKI adalah gereja yang dapat dikategorikan Gereja yang cukup toleran, namun pertumbuhan umat Muslim yang mencengangkan di Papua ternyata telah melahirkan hegemoni Islam yang termanifestasi dalam pembangunan masjid yang besarnya melampaui rumah-rumah ibadah Kristen. Hal itu mengancam eksistensi Kristen Papua, termasuk GKI. Umat Kristen menganggap pendirian Masjid Raya adalah wujud intoleransi umat Muslim Papua yang memarginalkan Kristen Papua. Tokoh-tokoh agama di Papua menjadi semakin terancam ketika mengetahui, kemudahan yang selama ini diberikan kepada umat Muslim ternyata tidak sama dengan yang dialami oleh umat Kristen di daerah-daerah lain. Laporan jumlah gereja yang terbakar atau dirusak juga dilaporkan kepada masyarakat Kristen di Papua. Gema Indonesia sebagai negara juara pembakaran rumah ibadah telah menimbulkan perasaan terancam umat Kristen Papua yang terkenal amat toleran. Mereka kuatir, diskriminasi yang menimpa umat kristen di berbagai daerah pada gilirannya juga akan menimpa umat Kristen di Papua. Minimnya promosi dan pembicaraan tentang Pancasila sebagai dasar negara dan dasar hidup bersama Masyarakat Indonesia pada era Reformasi menimbulkan kekuatiran yang amat mendalam. Masyarakat Papua beranggapan bukan mustahil Pancasila akan hanya tinggal slogan yang tidak lagi diakui sebagi cara pandang bangsa Indonesia yang harus mewujud dalam kehidupan semua warga negara Indonesia. Kondisi itu menyebabkan tokoh-tokoh agama di Papua berusaha untuk memproteksi diri dengan menghadirkan perda kota Injil. Tekad masyarakat Kristen Papua untuk menghadirkan Perda Kota Injil tak bisa dipisahkan dengan demonstrasi menolak kehadiran Masjid Raya di kota Manokwari pada 17 November 2005. Ribuan pendemo (ada kira-kira 5000 orang lebih) memprotes pembangunan Masjid Raya di Manokwari. Ribuan massa yang terdiri dari mahasiswa Kristen, warga Gereja dan pemimpin-pemimpin gereja yang berasal dari 30 denominasi gereja, berdemonstrasi ke kantor DPRD Provinsi Papua Barat. Mereka berkumpul di GKI Maranatha, dekat kompleks DPRD, kemudian dengan berjalan kaki mereka tumpah ruah di gedung DPRD kabupaten Manokwari. Mereka diterima oleh Ketua DPRD Provinsi Papua Barat dengan didampingi Bupati Manokwari, Dominggus Mandacan, dan Kapolres dan Dandim setempat. Pada waktu itu juga para pendemo mendesak untuk menetapkan Manokwari sebagai Kota Injil. Mereka menuntut, pembangunan tempat-tempat ibadah mesti memperhatikan keberadan Manokwari sebagai Kota Injil, dan juga peristiwa pembangunan Masjid Raya yang menimbulkan rasa terancam umat Kristen itu tidak boleh terulang lagi. Atas dasar kecurigaan bahwa usaha pembangunan Masjid Raya akan terus diupayakan dengan segala cara, para pendemo kemudian menuntut agar Manokwari ditetapkan sebagai Kota Injil secara formal. Sebutan Manokwari Kota Injil menurut tokoh-tokoh agama di Papua dapat disamakan dengan sebutan “Jombang kota Santri”, Atau “Aceh sebagai Serambi Mekah, namun karena penetapan Manokwari Kota Injil terkait usaha “membendung”misi Islam di Papua, maka penetapan Manokwari sebagai Kota Injil telah menimbulkan perasaan terdiskriminasikan umat Islam Papua, dan juga umat Islam yang berada di seantero Indonesia. Penetapan Manokwari sebagai Kota Injil ternyata tidak cukup memuaskan tokoh-tokoh agama Kristen di Papua. Mereka berpendapat, masyarakat Papua, khususnya mereka yang beragama Kristen ternyata belum memiliki komitmen yang kuat untuk hidup sesuai dengan Injil. Padahal, pada saat yang sama arus migrasi ke Papua telah mengubah wajah Papua yang mulanya memiliki populasi Kristen lebih tinggi, dan kini dengan adanya migrasi penduduk yang beragama Islam, populasi muslim di Papua bertambah dengan pesat, khususnya pada kota-kota besar. Penduduk muslim yang datang dengan membawa simbol-simbol agama itu kemudian merubah wajah kota Manokwari, yang kemudian dipenuhi dengan atribut-atribut muslim. Tokoh-tokoh agama Papua kemudian bergerak lebih jauh dengan mengusulkan aturan-aturan yang dapat dituangkan dalam bentuk perda yang bersifat memaksa orang Kristen untuk hidup selaras dengan aturan Injil demi melestarikan Manokwari sebagai kota Injil sebagaimana layaknya perda-perda syariah yang memaksa umat muslim mentaati syariah. Kota Manokwari sebagai Kota Injil mutlak dipenuhi dengan simbol-simbol kekristenan, bukan simbol agama-agama lain. Selang beberapa bulan setelah aksi demo penolakan pembangunan Mesjid Raya, lahirlah Perda Miras (larangan Minuman Keras) pada bulan Desember 2006.8 Perda tersebut ditetapkan dalam usaha untuk mengukuhkan keberadaan Manokwari sebagai kota Injil. Perda itu diakui berisi nilai-nilai Injil, karena penggagasnya adalah komunitas Kristen, dalam hal ini gereja-gereja. Namun, nilai-nilai itu juga dapat diterima oleh umat beragama lain, karena memang nilai-nilai itu diakui bersifat universal. Perda Miras mendapat sambutan hangat dari masyarakat Manokwari, karena dengan hadirnya Perda Miras, keamanan di Manokwari menjadi lebih baik, gangguan para pemabuk yang biasanya hadir pada malam hari sebelum diberlakukannya perda Miras, menurun secara drastis. Manokwati menjadi kota yang nyaman untuk pendatang, juga bagi penduduk yang ingin berjalan-jalan di malam hari, demikian juga bagi mereka yang biasa berdagang pada malam hari. Karena itu, kelahiran perda larangan minuman keras itu dianggap cukup efektif untuk menjaga keindahan kota Manokwari sebagai Kota Injil. Pada tanggal 1-2 Februari 2007, dalam rangka memperingati 152 tahun masuknya Injil di Papua, diadakanlah seminar dan lokakarya atas kerja sama Pemda Manokwari, Universitas Cendrawasih (UNCEN), STT-GKI dan Universitas Papua (UNIPA), yang dihadiri oleh tokoh-tokoh Gereja dari berbagai denominasi, tokoh perempuan dan pemuda, bertempat di Gereja Kristen Injili Elim Kuali, yang dibuka oleh Bupati Manokwari, Dominggus Mandacan.9 Pada akhir seminar itu diajukanlah usulan “Raperda Pembinaan Mental dan Spiritual”untuk Manokwari sebagai daerah Injil, dan lebih dikenal dengan sebutan “Perda Manokwari Kota Injil”. Usulan tersebut dituangkan dalam format yang berbentuk perda, dan kemudian menyebar tanpa diketahui siapa yang menyebarkannya, berita itu menjadi laporan utama di media-media massa. Manokwari yang terletak jauh di ujung Timur itu menjadi buah bibir bukan hanya di Indonesia, tetapi juga di luar negeri, karena radio Nederland juga pernah mewawancarai tokoh-tokoh Masayarakat Papua, dan isinya beredar luas di media massa, dan karena penyebaran berita yang begitu cepat, meski raperda Injil itu baru wacana, baru berupa usulan masyarakat Kristen Papua tentang bagaimana melindungi moral masyarakat, kehadiran usulan tokoh-tokoh agama Kristen perihal bagaimana menata Manokwari sebagai daerah Injil itu telah melahirkan kontroversi. Kekuatiran bahwa usulan tokoh-tokoh agama kristen tersebut akan diterima pemerintah daerah dan dituangkan dalam bentuk perda sangat beralasan, karena penduduk Manokwari mayoritas beragama kristen. Apalagi, dua puluh dari sejumlah 25 anggota DPRD Manokwari ketika perda itu dimunculkan diketahui memeluk agama Kristen. Pada bulan Mei 2008 pemerintah daerah Manokwari kemudian mengakomodasi usulan tokoh-tokoh agama Kristen tersebut, dan lahirlah “Raperda Tentang Penataan Manokwari Sebagai Kota Injil.”10 Meski raperda ini berbeda dengan draft usulan tokoh-tokoh agama Kristen, dan isinya lebih kurang diskriminatif,11 raperda Tentang Penataan Manokwari Sebagai Kota Injil itu ternyata kandas di tangan DPRD Manokwari. Namun, kegagalan menghadirkan perda Tentang Penataan Manokwari Kota Injil sesungguhnya tak pernah sirna dihati pendukung Perda manokwari Kota Injil, apalagi jika perlakuan diskriminatif berupa pembakaran, perusakan, dan penutupan Gereja terus terjadi di daerah-daerah mayoritas Islam di negeri ini, dan pemerintah terus membiarkannya, atau bahkan terlibat langsung dalam kegiatan tersebut. III. Konsekuensi bagi Gereja-gereja di Indonesia Usulan tokoh-tokoh agama Kristen Papua yang dituangkan dalam bentuk “Raperda Pembinaan Mental dan Spiritual” Untuk Manokwari sebagai Kota Injil pada awalnya belum bisa disebut sebagai raperda. Namun, setelah pemerintah daerah Manokwari menerima usulan tokoh-tokoh agama Kristen Papua tersebut dan dituangkan dalam “Raperda Tentang Penataan Manokwari sebagai Kota Injil,”yang lebih dikenal dengan Perda Manokwari Kota Injil atau Perda Injil, terlihat jelas bahwa usulah tokoh-tokoh agama Kristen Papua menjadi inti dari isi “Raperda Tentang Penataan Manokwari sebagai Kota Injil.” Meski isinya lebih kurang diskriminatif dibandingkan usulan tokoh-tokoh agama Kristen Papua, raperda itu tetap saja mendiskriminasikan agama-agama lain, dan bisa digolongkan pada perda bernuansa agama walau tidak secara-terang-terangan menyebut diri sebagai perda agama Kristen. Tapi, karena pengusulnya adalah tokoh-tokoh agama Kristen (Gereja), maka kehadiran perda tersebut memiliki konsekuensi bukan hanya bagi Gereja-gereja di Papua, tapi juga terhadap kehadiran gereja-gereja di seantero Indonesia. Draft berupa usulan pemimpin-pemimpin Gereja Papua itu, khususnya Gereja Kristen Injili di tanah Papua, sebagai pelopor utama yang juga kemudian mengikut sertakan gereja-gereja lainnya, diakui memiliki pasal-pasal yang dianggap diskriminatif. Adanya pasal-pasal yang diskriminatif tersebut diakui dengan jujur baik oleh tokoh-tokoh agama di Papua yang telah membaca isi draf tersebut, khususnya Badan Kerja sama Gereja (BKSG), dan juga pejabat di kabupaten Manokwari,. Kepala bagian Hukum Manokwari, Robert K. R. Hammar, berkomentar, “Perda Manokwari Kota Injil, usulan awalnya adalah Perda pembinaan Mental dan Spiritual, jadi itu bukan perda agama, karena tidak mungkin menyamakan nilai-nilai Injil yang adalah perintah Tuhan, dengan perda yang adalah buatan manusia, itu justru akan mereduksi nilai Injil itu sendiri.” Pemerintah daerah menampung usulan itu dan akan disusun kembali oleh tim legislasi dalam bentuk format raperda untuk kemudian diadakan pembahasan. Ia juga mengatakan, “dalam raperda yang akan dibahas itu tentunya tidak akan ada nilai-nilai yang bersifat diskriminatif, tetapi pastilah akan berisi nilai-nilai yang universal yang dapat diterima oleh semua”. Apa yang dikatakan Kabag hukum Manokwari itu terbukti dalam “Raperda Tentang Penataan Manokwari sebagai Kota Injil”yang isinya lebh kurang diskriminatif dibandingkan usulan tokoh-tokoh agama Kristen. Pendeta Bastian Salabai, salah seorang pembicara dalam semi loka dan yang juga memberikan kontribusi usulan untuk pembuatan perda pembinaan mental dan spiritual mengatakan, “aturan yang akan ditetapkan dalam perda itu adalah nilai-nilai yang universal, sebagaimana Injil itu berisi nilai-nilai universal, itulah yang kami usulkan. Jika kemudian ada usulan-usulan yang tampak berisi nilai-nilai yang diskriminatif itu bisa saja didialogkan, hanya saja memang perda itu merupakan proteksi terhadap umat Kristen dari usaha-usaha islamisasi yang gencar dilaksanakan di Papua.” Berbeda dengan itu, Pdt Sherley, seorang pendeta di Manokwari, berkomentar, dalam semiloka yang menggagas usulan perda kota Injil itu, umat Kristen yang hadir menyetujuinya, jadi kami rindu membuat suatu perda yang akan membuat Manokwari sebagai kota Injil. Ia juga menambahakan, “Indonesia bukan negara Islam, jika di Aceh diizinkan ditetapkan perda syariah, maka mengapa kami tidak boleh menetapkan perda kota Injil, lagi pula perda kota Injil berbeda dengan perda syariah yang diskriminatif, sedang perda kota injil tidak bersifat diskriminatif”. Dengan demikian jelaslah kehadiran Perda Manokwari Kota Injil ternyata telah memosisikan Gereja ketika menjadi mayoritas cenderung mendiskriminasikan agama-agama lain. Itu terbukti dari pasal-pasal diskriminatif yang tertuang dalam Perda Manokwari Kota Injil, baik berupa larangan melakukan kegiatan publik pada hari minggu untuk agama-agama lain, pelarangan penggunaan jilbab, pelarangan azan, dan keharusan pemasangan atribut-atribut Kristen pada gedung-gedung pemerintah.12 Disamping itu kehadiran Perda Manokwari Kota Injil telah melahirkan kontroversi di dalam Gereja itu sendiri. Kontroversi terjadi antara mereka yang setuju dan mereka yang menolak kehadiran Perda Manokwari Kota Injil. Perda Manokwari Kota Injil bisa menyebabkan terjadinya perpecahan di dalam Gereja, bukan hanya di Papua, tetapi juga pada Gereja-gereja di luar Papua. Kehadiran Perda Manokwari Kota Injil jelas mencerminkan adanya kemunduran Gereja, yakni adanya ketidakmampuan Gereja untuk menafsirkan Injil secara benar, dan kemudian membawanya pada konteks Indonesia. Ini juga membuktikan bahwa Gereja ternyata tidak mampu memahami Pancasila sebagai dasar bagi kehidupan bersama, rumah bersama bagi agama-agama yang ada di Indonesia. Gereja bisa dianggap mengingkari nilai-nilai dari Pancasila. IV. Kesimpulan Harus diakui bahwa kehadiran usulan tokoh-tokoh agama Kristen Papua yang dituangkan dalam bentuk “Raperda Pembinaan Mental dan Spiritual” Untuk Manokwari sebagai Kota Injil berdampak buruk bagi Gereja. Penerimaan pemerintah daerah Manokwari terhadap usulan tokoh-tokoh agama Kristen yang dituangkan dalam “Raperda Tentang Penataan Manokwari sebagai Kota Injil,”yang lebih dikenal dengan Perda Manokwari Kota Injil, atau Perda Injil, meski memuat sedikit perubahan tetap saja telah memosisikan Gereja sebagai ancaman bagi agama-agama lain. Perda Penataan Manokwari sebagai Kota Injil meski kurang diskriminatif dibandingkan usulan tokoh-tokoh agama Kristen yang dikenal dalam “Raperda Pembinaan Mental dan spiritual, tetap saja dapat digolongkan dalam perda bernuansa agama. Karena penetapan Manokwari sebagai Kota Injil secara formal sesungguhnya tidak bisa dilepaskan dengan Perda Manokwari Kota Injil. Jadi jika Penetapan Manokwari sebagai proteksi umat Kristen terhadap derasnya Islamisasi di Papua, maka Perda tersebut juga merupakan bagian dari strategi umat Kristen untuk membendung misi Islam, termasuk kehadiran perda syariah. Apabila Perda Manokwari Kota Injil sebagai dianggap bagian dari strategi gereja untuk membendung serbuan perda-perda Syariah, maka strategi tersebut justru merugikan bagi gereja itu sendiri. Gereja terjebak dalam politisasi agama dan agamaisasi politik, demi menuntut kekhususannya dengan mengandalkan kekuatan mayoritas, dan tindakan itu sesungguhnya merugikan gereja itu sendiri. Pdt. Binsar A. Hutabarat, M.C.S. Peneliti pada Reformed Center for Religion and Society (RCRS) Melakukan Penelitian di Papua tentang Perda manokwari Kota Injil pada tahun 2007.

2011-09-20T01:29:00.001-07:00

2011-09-20T01:27:00.000-07:00

Local Regulation of Religious (Gospel) In the Christian perspective

2010-05-24T21:28:00.003-07:00

Local Regulation of Religious (Gospel) In the Christian perspective

I. Preliminary

The news will be the implementation of regulations nuanced Religion (gospel) in Manokwari, or better known by the term "regulation of Manokwari town Gospel", the capital of the province of West Papua, led to controversy, both within Christian circles itself, and also from the Muslims who are directly feel terdiskriminasikan. According to the news in the media, the draft regulations of the Gospel that has been circulating, which pass unnoticed, it is indicated directly fetter freedom of religion, especially the Muslims.
The reaction was so vociferous about the gospel of the city's regulations to get his place amid rampant religious nuances presented by local regulations in some areas in Indonesia. Despite the presence perda-perda nuanced religious (sharia regulations) it is claimed to be born in a democratic way, however, still stipulating regulations that have been discriminated against religious nuances of other religions, even though the discussion has drawn protests, local regulation of religious nuance that with the support of a majority of local people remain Just apply, at least it has been established at the provincial level (6), district (38), City (12).
Rejection response to the enforcement regulations of Manokwari town gospel come either from areas outside the regions of Papua and West Papua. Even in some areas there has been a demonstration rejecting the application of regulations in the Gospel of Manokwari in early didengungkannya. Those who knows how to process perda-perda syariah enactment, to know with certainty, the majority of Christians in Papua would be able to "pass" regulations that, if done on the discussion.
But the question must be answered is whether the presence of regulations that caused the gospel, and whether indeed the gospel regulations have a strong foothold in Christian theology itself? This article will answer both these questions.

II. Perda Gospel in the city of Manokwari.

A. Manokwari City Gospel

The city of Manokwari designation gospel is not something new, because the designations were associated with the entry of the gospel to the historical event Papua. Every year people from various regions of Papua on February 5, cornucopia in Manokwari, especially Mansinam island, to celebrate the entry of the Gospel to the land of Papua. However, the new designations were formally appointed after the introduction of special autonomy. Previously, commonly called the city of Manokwari fruit, because it's the city's many fruits.
History reports that two German missionaries, on February 5, 1855, named Johann Gottlob Carl Wilhelm Ottow Geissler and when the first time menjejakan Mansinam foot on the island, an island located in Manokwari District, both the missionary's words to this important held by the Christian community in Papua, "Im Gottes tournament betreten wir dieses Land" "With God's name we stepped on this land.

Statement of the two missionaries who called the "Apostle of Papua" was by the Christian communities of Papua trusted as a God's determination for Papua, as the land belongs to God, which they call the Gospel or the Gospel of the City, because of Manokwari is the entry gate of the Gospel to the land of Papua. At first, this title is not formalized, because of Manokwari town known as fruits.
At the end of 2005, Muslims Manokwari decided to build a Grand Mosque. Mosque highway construction plan that has the support of the Deputy Governor, Rahimin Kacong, who are seeking the support of Muslim voters to win local elections in March 2006. The rumors emerged in the community is the construction of the Grand Mosque will be accompanied by the Islamic Center of Southeast Asia's largest.
For church leaders in Papua, the construction of the Grand Mosque was contrary to Manokwari condition that has long been recognized as a City of the Gospel, even if not formally, let alone Muslims in Manokwari not lack a place to worship. Mosque attendance festival will certainly exceed the amount of Christian churches is the major religion in Manokwari, that of course lead to feelings of marginalization of the Christian community which is a majority.
Rev. Albert Yoku, deputy secretary GKI (Evangelical Christian Church in Tanah Papua), which is domiciled in Sentani, Jayapura. Explains, "preparation for building a Grand Mosque and Islamic Center has been done since 2003-2004, whereas in the city of Manokwari, every year there are great celebrations of Christianity which was celebrated on February 5, the day the celebration of the entry of the Gospel to the ground and concentrated on the island of Papua Mansinam , and the celebration was celebrated by all Christian people of Papua, and they usually, from different regions of Papua, Mansinam cornucopia on the island, the government is also involved providing assistance in organizing a grand event, but why it should be built where the size of the Grand Mosque beyond the existing churches in the town of Manokwari. "
What was said by Albert Yoku was also thought to be a lot of Christian religious leaders in West Papua, this clearly shows that there is a feeling threatened by the Christian community in Papua against Muslims, when the international communist movement is a church that can be categorized as a fairly tolerant church.
Establishment of the Grand Mosque and then get a rejection from the Christians because it is considered as an act of anti-tolerant. Moreover, the Muslim community in Papua added significant. Islamization in Papua and Papua migration of Muslims to make the Christian community in Papua marginalized. In fact, the Islamic parties in Papua in the 2004 election has been claimed that Muslims in Papua approximately 40% and continue to have added. The success of the development of Islam in Papua is considered to give birth with the development of Islamic hegemony of the big houses of worship and even places of worship of Islam has been insufficient.
On the other hand, ease of use has been given to the Muslims was not the same as that experienced by Christians in other areas, reports the number of churches that burned down or destroyed are also reported to the Christian community in Papua. Echoes of Indonesia as a state champion burning houses of worship, especially the largest church in the world of course be feeling threatened by the famous Papuan Christians very tolerant, not to mention the Muslim immigrants are generally more affluent than the Christian community in Papua.
On November 17, 2005, there were about 5000 people more demonstrators who protested against the construction of the highway mensjid, thousands of mass that consists of Christian students, citizens of the church and church leaders from 30 church denominations, marched on the Parliament's office in West Papua Province , before they gathered at the church near the parliament complex, GKI Maranatha, then with their walking cornucopia of regional parliament in Manokwari district. Demonstrators were received by the Chairman of the Parliament of West Papua province accompanied by the regent of Manokwari, Dominggus Mandacan, and the police chief and local Dandim. At that time, the protestors also urged to set the town of Manokwari as gospel.
The demonstrators also demanded the construction of places of worship must pay attention to the existence of the town of Manokwari as gospel, so that the construction of the Grand Mosque of events that lead to a sense of danger that Christians should not happen again. The demonstrators suspected that the Grand Mosque development efforts will continue to be pursued by all means, so they demanded the enactment of Manokwari a Gospel City. Since the demonstration that the gospel began to discourse of Manokwari town often played in the speeches of government officials and religious leaders in Papua.
Peaceful demonstration was indeed almost infuriated demonstrators because of mass communication was not smooth, but not a clash between religions. Impairment protestors carried banners that read the rejection by the Grand Mosque development department had responded to a negative religion, namely as a rejection of the aspirations of the mass of protestors, but, once there is clarification that the decline in real banner should be done because the government has heard the demands of protestors, then it died down a misunderstanding and did not result in conflict. It is evident that the Papuan people living with a high tolerance, and in the land of Papua, Manokwari there never was the destruction or burning places of worship of any religion, that fact is recognized by the Christian religious leaders in Papua and also local officials.
Based on the description above it is clear that the determination of the city of Manokwari as gospel, which appears on the special autonomy in the beginning, associated with the condition of Papua, which lagged behind other regions in Indonesia. Then it was compounded by the politicization of religion, especially in local elections, which resulted in suspicion between religions, which then makes the Christian religions, particularly in Papua New thinking on how to protect themselves from such injustice. It is not surprising that efforts to establish a City Gospel Manokwari legally formal demonstrations are gaining momentum in the construction of the Grand Mosque in the town of Manokwari on 17 November 2005, because the construction of the Grand Mosque is a testimony to the hegemony of Islam in Papua.
At the demonstration's momentum and then the Christian community is the majority of Papua, which was agreed to rename the town of Manokwari which initially is the fruit into the city of the Gospel, and was regarded as a historical reality of the Manokwari area, as well as to remind all residents who live there, without intending to discriminate other religions.
The desire to set a nickname for the city of Manokwari gospel is not actually a business related solely to remind the public of the existence of the Gospel of Manokwari as the entry gate to the land of Papua, because there are among those who argued that it was an attempt to preserve the gospel values that proved to have appointed honorary Papuan people, the idea was subsequently accepted by many people in Papua who were awaiting new hope to get out of their backwardness compared to other regions in Indonesia.
Here there is clearly a relationship between economic conditions in Papua, and the attempt to formalize the designation of the gospel, that is the hope to keep pace with the Papuan people. Wealth of natural resources of Papua are two times more than the wealth of all the islands in Indonesia, but unfortunately they are far behind compared to other regions. On the other hand recognizes the Papuans of Papua modernization can not be separated from the contribution of the entry of the Gospel in the land of Papua, Papua interpreted and underdevelopment occur because people are not faithful to the Gospel values. So, to toward the triumph of the Gospel of Papua is an important solution.

B. About Perda Gospel

A few months after the construction of demonstration rejection Grand Mosque, was born Perda Alcohol (Liquor restrictions) in December 2006. Regulation set forth in an attempt to confirm the existence of the town of Manokwari as gospel. Recognized that local regulations contain the values of the Gospel, because penggagasnya is a Christian community, in this church-Church. However, these values can also be accepted by other religious people, because it is recognized that values are universal.
Perda Alcohol gets warm welcome from the community Manokwari, because with the presence of Alcohol legislation, security in Manokwari become better, impaired drunks who normally attend on the night before the enactment of regulations Alcohol, decreases dramatically. Manokwati a city that is comfortable for newcomers, as well as for residents who want to take a walk at night, as well as for those who regularly trade in the evenings. Hence, the birth of a liquor ban regulations was considered quite effective enough to maintain the beauty of the town of Manokwari as City Gospel.
Alcohol Perda was led by Christian religious leaders, and then develop a belief that efforts to bring the values of the Gospel is not something that discriminatory, because the gospel values which would be accepted universally by all religions that exist in Papua. However, in this context there is a fallacy, namely the claim that the universal values of the Gospel of Alcohol try regulations set forth in the claims as the exclusive property of Christians., As if Christians know better about the right compared to other religions.
On December 1 to 2 February 2007, to commemorate 152 years the entry of the Gospel in Papua, they held seminars and workshops for local government cooperation Manokwari, university (UNCEN), STT-GKI and the University of Papua (UNIPA), which was attended by figures Churches of various denominations, women and youth leaders, held at Elim Evangelical Christian Church cauldron, which was opened by the Bupati of Manokwari, Dominggus Mandacan.
At the end of the seminar proposed regulations diajukanlah Gospel of Manokwari town, which was originally given the name "Raperda Mental and Spiritual Guidance." The proposal is then poured in a format that shaped local regulations, and then spread a pass unnoticed, much less then the story becomes the main reports in magazines, newspapers, internet and even sms-sms.
Manokwari, located deep in the East end it became a byword not only in Indonesia but also abroad, because the Netherlands has also been interviewed radio personalities Papuan society, and it circulated widely on the internet, and since the news spread so fast, though RAPERDA gospel new discourses, new form of Christian community suggestions about how to protect the morals of Papua society.
Seeing how the spread of the draft proposed regulations, we can understand, why the resulting diverse interpretations of the Gospel law, and not a few who act hard and doing a demo of rejection, although the information received is not clear, because the regulations indeed the gospel itself has never existed, and something an alien in pemikiram Christian, let alone not many have the draft proposal as it were.

C. The contents of the draft legislation Gospel Controversy

The draft of the proposed church leaders, especially the Church of Evangelical Christians in the land of Papua, as the main pioneer that also then includes other Church church, it has articles that are considered discriminatory. The existence of discriminatory provisions that are recognized with good honest by religious leaders in Papua, which has read the contents of the draft, especially the Church Cooperation Agency (BKSG), as well as officials in Manokwari district, but they still insisted it was not regulation, but still Papua is a Christian community proposals, especially the GKI, due to be RAPERDA, discussion draft should be passed along.
Explicitly Regional Secretary (Secretary) Manokwari says, "Gospel City Manokwari law has never been!" According to him, there was just the proposal of the Christian community, and the proposal we have received, but it must pass legislation team, then to be prepared in the form of local regulation . And in the process of preparation could have been the parts that are considered discriminatory was removed. The proposal was presented as a response to his speeches about the gospel of Manokwari town used to say Regent Dominggus Mandacan.
The same thing dijeleskan by, the Head of Legal Manokwari, Robert K. R. Hammar, he commented, "Gospel City Manokwari law, was originally proposed guidance law Mental and Spiritual, not religious regulations, because it is not possible to equate the values of the Gospel which is God's command, with regulations that are man-made, it would reduce the value gospel itself. "Local governments accommodate the proposal and would be reformed by legislation in the form of team RAPERDA format for later held discussions. He also said, "that will be discussed in RAPERDA it certainly will not have values that are discriminatory, but it surely will contain the values that can be universally accepted by all".
In contrast to that, Rev. Sherley, a pastor in Manokwari, commented, in a workshop that initiated the proposal that regulation of the Gospel Christians who were present agreed, so we wish to make a regulation that will make the city of Manokwari as gospel. He is also adding, "Indonesia is not an Islamic state, if allowed to set regulations in Aceh sharia, then why we should not set the regulations of the gospel, after all local regulations differ from city gospel discriminatory shari'a regulations, regulations of the gospel is not discriminatory."
Medium, Reverend Bastian sanbalai, one speaker in the spring workshop and which also contribute to the proposed regulations for the manufacture of mental and spiritual guidance that says, "rules to be stipulated in regulations that are universal values, as it contains the Gospel of universal values that's what we are proposing, if later there appeared proposals contain the values that it could be discriminatory didialogkan, it's just that it is the protection regulations were against Christians from the Islamisation efforts intensively carried out in Papua. "
Regarding the use of the headscarf ban is in draft RAPERDA Gospel, he commented, "Hijab is an Islamic attributes, automatic media also spread the religion, we are not forbidden, only their use in its place, for example, used to worship, but not in all places, especially on civil countries which already have a special uniform. So he thinks there are no restrictions covered in the proposal, there is a restriction. This comment was also expressed by other religious figures as well as officials at the district of Manokwari.
Besides the use of hijab, the other things that are considered discriminatory and widely distributed without seeing the background of the proposal by some religious figures and government in Manokwari is the question of prohibition of public activities on Sunday. Menurt prominent tokohDalam interviews with their authors explain, the presence of a passenger ship which lowers passengers in large numbers on Sunday in the small town of Manokwari, very disturbing Christian worship, is not uncommon to get the rupiah, the church members, especially "pengojek" prefer to do not attend worship services a week, these figures concern the church, because it prompted the government does not allow the ship enters at Munggu day, or at least after the 12 pm, after the Christian worship was over.
Another thing that causes a negative reaction on the proposed regulations is a matter of sound azan, according to the religious leaders there, it does not need floated, for disturbing the people of other religions, especially the Gospel of this city. So we ask is to award our existence as Christians are a majority, we do not imprison freedom of religion, but it should also tolerate the Muslims with the Christian majority here. According to some religious leaders in Papua, it is not discriminatory actions, but acknowledged it is a protection against Christians.
Evidence that the regulation of the real gospel is still in the level of discourse seen in the diversity of interpretation of the draft. It was clear the proposal is an expression of disquiet church leaders in Papua will helplessness they raised the standard of life of the indigenous people of Papua amid the high number of visitors entering the land of Papua.
After the workshop that gave birth to the proposed RAPERDA mental and spiritual guidance, then in the town of Manokwari glued six beautiful big signpost that contains the statement "the gospel of Manokwari town," on the side of the road into the town of Manokwari also displayed the words "Welcome to the Gospel of Manokwari town, Lord bless. "signpost that reads the gospel of Manokwari town also displayed the corner-corner from Manokwari town, even kedesa-village. Declaration of the gospel with the installation of the town of Manokwari-signpost signpost that according to Agustina, a Rohaniwati Indonesian Evangelism Fellowship Foundation (The foundation), who is vice chairman of the Assembly representatives YPPII in pairs after the Spring workshop, which proposed the existence of local regulations Gospel of Manokwari town.
-Signpost signpost that reads the Gospel of Manokwari town, both in very good shape, or a simple, looked well maintained, and to beautify the city of Manokwari accessories which are dianuggerahi natural beauty, and also the soil fertility. The term gospel of Manokwari town of Manokwari society does not seem surprising. Which is still a debate is the law of the gospel. However, it was still within the level of discourse.

III. In the perspective of the Christian Gospel Perda

Although there has never been the Gospel law in Papua, as well as in Indonesia, and there was just setting the gospel for the Municipality of Manokwari, no gospel law, however, the hope of the Gospel in Manokwari dihadirkannya perda not impossible, especially if the people of Papua's economic problems are not immediately unchanged.
Migrants from outside Papua, who continued to arrive, with a lot of their success stories, certainly will make people of Papua, Papua, particularly the increasingly marginalized Christian will attempt to seek protection from the law of the Gospel. In this context important to understand whether the regulation of the gospel according to Christian views or not, so the response to the gospel of local regulations in the town of Manokwari exhaled more proportional.
Sacred Scriptures of Christians reported that during the Old Testament, Israel or the people of God (in the sense now is not just Israel that is called God's people, but all who serve the Lord) is in a theocracy. But it is a democratic theocracy, meaning that a king can not take its own course, because the King is also the people, and all are responsible to the Lord.
Governing at that time also to separate between religion and public office positions, though not totally (waterproof). Then the government also has a specialty, ie there is only one religion in the kingdom. So if there is a link with the gospel of government regulation of the Old Testament Scriptures, it obviously does not have compatibility.
When referring to the New Testament, one important basis for the relationship between religion and state is what Jesus said, "Give to Caesar what you must give to Caesar and to God what you ought to give to God (Luke 20:25). This is considered basic for Christians, that the State and religion is something separate.
In the course of history there are a few thoughts on the relationship of religion and state, but for Christians the real relationship between religion and state something that has been done, That is a separate state and religion, but they have a coordinative relationship.
Religion and country are equally accountable to God. But religion should not be showing its hegemony against the State and vice versa, the State should not be included in the private sphere of religion. That is why Christians should accept religious pluralism. Because the man is the king's conscience, and should not impose one religious belief or someone who should be adopted. Likewise in religion should not use religion in order to inhibit the hands of other religions.
Interfaith relations right is coexistence (live and let live), so religion must recognize their dependence with each other (interdependence), and then a new dialogue can occur religions honest to then formulate the common good. and in carrying out its mission of other religions should not let die (Live and Let Die).
Thus it is clear according to Christian thought, the law which overshadow the life of the people, must contain the values that are universal, or the values of the common good. There is not adapembenaran against discrimination of religion, all religions have the right to memberikankontribusinya, and religions should encourage other religions to be able to contribute with the formation of legislation.
It is clear that what is contained in the draft Raperda Mental and Spiritual Development which later turned into a draft Raperda Gospel, or the Setup Manokwari As a regional gospel, not only the contents that are not in accordance with the view of the Christian faith. But the existence of law itself is contrary to the gospel, because it is the hegemony of Christianity against other religions. Religion trying to use the State to private interests of religion, and consequently will give birth to discrimination against other religions.

IV. Cover

Designation as an area of Manokwari town Gospel or the Gospel really is not anything new. Designations were already recognized by the Christian communities of Papua in general since a long time, because it is related events with the inclusion of the Gospel to the ground Papua Manokwari as its gates. Place the first Protestant missionaries to set foot on the soil of Papua. That is why change the name of the city of Manokwari becomes the city of fruits Gospel, with the fitting-signpost signpost that contains the statement "The city of Manokwari Gospel" and is quite prominent Papuan people is not surprising.
However, since the name change took momentum in the Great Mosque of Demonstration rejection, changes that induce a feeling threatened by the Islamic community in Papua, as it is associated with inter-religious suspicion, fear that the newcomers, especially there in New Guinea. And then it was compounded by the proposed draft Mental and Spiritual Development Regulations which later turned into Raperda areas Structuring Manokwari as gospel (Perda Gospel), let alone draft interpreted without understanding the background of the Papuan people. In order to neutralize this case the role of government and religious leaders, especially the moderates are expected to terpeliharnya peace in the land of Papua.

Rev. Binsar A. Hutabarat, M.C.S.
Researchers at the Center for Reformed Religionand Society (RCRS)
Conducting research about the Gospel law in Papua in October 2007

Coercive apparatus

2010-05-24T21:22:00.001-07:00

Coercive apparatus

Violence is always just given birth to violence. Countries that promote violence against its people will undoubtedly reap violence. Eliminate the coercive apparatus is a wise way to build a peaceful relationship with community members.

About 3,000 workers combined civil Praja Police Unit (Satpol PP) and police descended to liberate the land of PT Pelindo II (Indonesian shipping) a state-owned enterprises that are legally based on the North Jakarta District Court's decision won the disputed ownership of the land area of 5.4 hectare area of the port containers, Koja, North Jakarta, including the tomb of Mbah anchoring.

However, the heirs Habib Hasan bin Muhammad al-Haddad (Mbah anchoring) insist on maintaining ownership of the tomb Mbah anchoring. Because in addition to physical mengusai or land, the document on the land also exist in these heirs. Moreover, they also know that the tomb of anchoring Mbah a historical site that must be preserved.

Land dispute that has lasted really long, and the liberation of the land will inevitably lead to conflict, let alone Kramat tomb tomb is visited by many pilgrims who can be expected that many people will side with the heirs to preserve historical sites such dikramatkan. The question arises, why was no antispasi against the possibility of a bloody conflict on the land acquisition.

Coercive apparatus

The number of officers who descended to liberate the disputed land GDP, this proves that local governments in carrying out its duties indicated to the ways of coercion. As said Ogley Roderick'c, whenever one party the other parties mengontol behavior with the threat, or actual coercion, harm, or threaten to wipe out, then there is coercion there.

A threat in order to succeed must be sufficient (Schelling, 1960) Three thousand officers Satpol combined PP and of course the police will make the heirs and citizens to re-think to prevent enforcement by the security officer. Government instead of taking the road heirs and dialogue with local people even show off the power of officials, this is coercive ways.

The number of officers who have clearly spelled out many of the consequences of the threat of serious disobedience against the heir's grave Mbah anchoring and residents who intend to hinder the task Satpol PP and police to free the land owned by PT Pelindo in efforts to expand the container ports in order to meet international standards.

PP Satpol habits, who liked to do violence apparently makes them optimistic that a large number will be able to frighten people who want to side with the heirs Mbah anchoring or at least will think twice when he saw a demonstration of his power of large numbers of these officers.

However, it encountered a different reality, people with land heirs insisted on maintaining the tomb Mbah anchoring, and there was a physical clash between members Satpol PP and local residents.

The brutality Satpol PP with beat residents who insisted on maintaining Graveyard Mbah anchoring, even uncivilized kids who beat up caught in a brutal, this could be driven by panic that citizens do not seem to see eye to a degree the power of large numbers of troops, and for strengthen these threats, acts of violence are demonstrated.

The threat then was done by means of violence, it could be done to improve the credibility of threats against citizens of other officers who remained stubbornly obstructing their mission, as if to show that they are a threat not just to play games, but will have direct consequences on citizen tried to fight.

Unfortunately, the authorities move further action, no longer exhibited greater numbers to threaten citizens, but also acted blindly with violence, the authorities lost control because of the situation, which had never occurred, they are no longer with the intent to threaten but to master land with the ways of violence, which is why these officials indicated actions violate human rights.

Anthony Arblaster said, the violence includes any physical attacks against humans are done with the intention to harm, hurt, or create suffering. Although the PP Satpol actions may aim to eliminate the courage citizens who increasingly come to favor the tomb heirs Mbah anchoring, it is clearly a violent act that can not be tolerated.

The outbreak of open war between Satpol PP and police with local citizens to prove that coercive methods with violence is not an effective way to demand obedience citizens.

Coercive ways have resulted in Koja, three life members of the PP float Satpol namely, Ahmad Tajudin (26) who lives in Kebun Jeruk, West Jakarta, Israel jaya (27), citizen identity nodes, Pondok Gede, Bekasi, and Warsito Soepono ( 44), citizen Komp. BPP, Jalan Kramat Jaya, Koja North Jakarta. In addition to the three people died in the conflict there are seven Koja injured and 137 slightly injured, 40 cars were burnt and 30 others were damaged.

Removing coercion

Fitting to what is said Lieberman (1964), the threat may be sufficient and credible but is not recommended because the target may not respond to threats in a rational way because of stress, avoiding information or incompetence, and the fact that coercion is likely to cause anger or make things forbidden it becomes more attractive . Even if the suppression of dissent can stop the rebellion, the government may lose legitimacy and ability to mobilize the communal spirit.

Koja tragedy should be a lesson for the government to no longer conduct coercive ways that lead to frustration of the people and finally culminate in such a terrible tragedy that occurred in Koja. The government and security forces should prefer the dialogue approach, an approach which is not to outdo each other but it benefits all parties. In this way the violence can be muted, and if possible eliminated altogether.

Binsar A. Hutabarat
Researchers at the Reformed Center for Religion and Society

Hukum, Peta Keadilan

2010-05-06T00:48:00.000-07:00

Hukum, Peta Keadilan

Hukum di negeri ini masih jauh dari keadilan. Hukum hanya galak kepada mereka yang miskin dan tak punya kekuasaan, itulah yang kini terpampang dalam berbagai media massa yang melaporkan ketidak sesuaian hukum dengan keadilan.
Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ketika meninjau Lembaga Pemasyarakatan Kelas II-A Anak Pria, Tangerang Banten, Selasa (16/2/2010) mengakui bahwa rasa keadilan kerap terusik dalam praktik penegakkan hukum karena disamaratakannya hukuman atas tindak pidana tertentu, seperti pencurian yang dilakukan orang dewasa dan anak-anak. Demikian pula ketika pencurian dilakukan karena seseorang amat sangat miskin dan seseorang yang sebenarnya tidak berkekurangan.
Kejadian terkini tentang hukum yang tidak sesuai dengan keadilan itu menimpa Aspuri, seorang pemuda berusia 18 tahun yang tak pernah menyangka akibat memungut sehelai kaus bekas yang kotor di pagar rumah Dewi di kampung Sisipan, Desa Bendung, Kecamatan Kasemen, Kota Serang, Provinsi Banten, Oktober 2009, di vonis bersalah dengan hukuman penjara 3 bulam 5 hari.
Di pengadilan Batang empat pencuri randu senilai Rp. 12.000,- diganjar hukuman 24 hari. Kholil (41) dan Basar (40) warga lingkungan Bujel, Kelurahan Sukorame keduanya dibawa kemeja hijau karena mencuri 1 buah semangka. Seorang nenek berumur 55 tahun dituntut jaksa hukuman 6 bulan atas tuduhan mencuri 3 biji kakao yang sudah jatuh ke tanah milik PT Rumpun Sari Antan IV (RSA) di Banyumas , Jawa tengah. Meskipun akhirnya Hakim menjatuhkan hukuman 1 bulan 15 hari kepada si nenek, tanpa harus menjalani kurungan penjara.
Nasib malang juga menimpa seorang anak berusia 8 tahun yang diajukan ke pengadilan oleh polisi yang berpangkat Komisaris (Kompol) lantaran karena lebah yang dipegangnya menyengat pipi teman bermainnya yang adalah anak pejabat, kejadian ini menambah daftar panjang kinerja buruk Polisi di lapangan.
Ironisnya, fakta-fakta hukum yang tidak sesuai dengan keadilan itu seperti fenomena gunung es, yang terkuak hanya sejumlah kecil kasus, dan sebagian besar kasus tentang ketidakadilan hukum itu tidak pernah terkuak, apalagi menjadi berita pada media-media massa. Ini jelas merupakan ancaman bagi tegaknya supremasi hukum di negeri ini.

Peta keadilan

Hukum yang ber-keadilan harusnya menempatkan semua orang sama dihadapan hukum (equal for all). Hukum harus keras bukan hanya untuk mereka yang miskin dan lemah, tetapi juga kepada mereka yang kaya dan kuat. Hukum yang tegas pada semua orang ini bukan hanya menguntungkan mereka yang lemah, tetapi juga menguntungkan semua pihak termasuk mereka yang kuat.

Hukum yang tegas akan menguntungkan yang kuat karena itu akan menolong yang kuat untuk berhati-hati dalam mengambil tindakan, ini akan menolong yang kuat terhindar dari sikap sewenang-wenang, dengan mengabaikan mereka yang lemah. Jadi, hukum sesungguhnya ibarat peta yang dapat membawa semua orang menuju kehidupan yang adil bagi semua. Terciptanya suatu komunitas beradab dari manusia yang beradab. Hukum adalah peta keadilan, melalui hukum semua orang dapat melihat manakah tindakan yang sesuai dengan asas keadilan dan mana yang tidak sesuai dengan asas keadilan.

Sayangnya, argumen kepastian hukum itu sering kali disalah gunakan oleh mereka yang kuat, akibatnya hukum tidak selaras dengan nilai-nilai keadilan, hukum hanya menjadi alat bagi mereka yang kuat untuk memaksakan kehendaknya, hukum hanya tajam bagi mereka yang lemah, sebagaimana terlihat pada pengadilan yang mempertontonkan ketidak adilan pada akhir-akhir ini.

Hukum di Indonesia ternyata bukannya menjadi peta yang menunjukkan bagaimana membangun kehidupan masyarakat yang adil untuk semua, sebaliknya malahan menjadi kendaraan kepentingan bagi yang kuat, hukum tidak lagi berfungsi sebagaimana mestinya, itulah sebabnya hukum tidak bisa keras untuk semua, hukum menjadi tumpul bagi mereka yang kuat, dan amat tajam bagi mereka yang lemah.

Implementasi hukum di Indonesia sesungguhnya membenarkan apa yang dikatakan oleh Trasymachus, “Hukum tidak lain kecuali kepentingan mereka yang kuat” Hukum adalah kendaraan untuk kepentingan-kepentingan yang kuat. Jika yang adil disamakan dengan yang legal, maka sumber keadilan adalah kehendak pembuat hukum. Parahnya, kehendak pembuat hukum tidak selalu sesui dengan keadilan, itulah sebabnya banyak ketidakadilan dipertontonkan dimuka pengadilan ketika yang adil itu disamakan dengan yang legal.

Realitas hukum yang seperti itu sama saja dengan membenarkan apa yang dipromosikan Machiavelli dalam The Prince yang menolak mendasarkan politik atas hak dan hukum yang menyatakan bahwa tidak ada hukum kecuali kekuatan yang dapat memaksakannya. Hukum di Indonesia tampaknya telah dikuasai semangat Machiavelli yang menjadikan hukum tidak lain kecuali alat legitimasi kekuasaan, bahkan menjadikan hukum sebagai alat pembenaran kekerasan.

Pemerintahan yang kuat

Untuk menegakkan hukum diperlukan penguasa yang kuat, meminjam istilah Thommas Hobbes, Perjanjian tanpa pedang hanyalah kata-kata kosong (Leviathan XVIII) Untuk penegakkan hukum diperlukan pemerintahan yang kuat untuk dapat memaksakan hukum bagi semua, baik untuk mereka yang lemah dan mereka yang kuat. Namun, tetap saja hukum tidak boleh menjadi alat kekuasaan pemerintahan yang kuat karena itu sama saja mengabaikan tujuan pokok hukum yang pada dasarnya adalah mencari keadilan, kesejahteraan umum, perlindungan individu dan solidaritas.

Kita tentu setuju bahwa manusia diciptakan oleh yang maha kuasa, dan yang maha adil, lantaran itulah sewajarnya seluruh tatanan dunia ini mempertunjukan keadilan sang pencipta. Keadilan semestinya mengalir dari sang pencipta kepada semua ciptaan, dan semua manusia dituntut untuk melaksanakan keadilan. Pada sisi yang lain kita tentu juga tahu bahwa keadilan menjadi kebutuhan setiap manusia. Maka dengan demikian jelaslah penegakkan keadilan sejalan dengan kebutuhan bersama semua manusia, karena semua ciptaan membutuhkan hukum yang sejalan dengan keadilan untuk tetap eksis. Jadi, suatu pemerintahan yang kuat merupakan hamba rakyat dalam menegakkan keadilan yang menjadi tuntutan rakyat. Pemerintahan yang kuat juga dibutuhkan untuk maksimalisai fungsi hukum sebagai peta keadilan, bukannya kendaraan kepentingan yang kuat.

Binsar A. Hutabarat

Peneliti pada Reformed Center for Religion and Society

सतुदी Bible

2009-07-01T19:38:00.000-07:00

What is a study Bible and what are the reasons to purchasing one? A study Bible is a Bible that has various footnotes and other study helps to explain verses of scripture or shed more light on a certain word that is used. Study bibles do not explain an entire passage or book, that is reserved for Bible commentaries, but do help when reading through the Bible and a simple question comes to mind.

Perhaps you've been reading through the Bible and saw that something measured ten cubits. You wondered what a cubit was but didn't know where to look it up or you didn't have the time. If you are reading from your study Bible, you can look beneath the passage at the footnote and find that a cubit is approximately 18 inches. Suddenly you have a greater understanding of the passage because you can picture the size of an object when before you had no clue.

There are a number of things that should be factored when selecting a Bible. Probably the first decision that needs to be made is for what Bible version are you looking. There are numerous different translations of the Bible available and each one has their own strengths and weaknesses.

After you select which version you are looking for, you should decide how you will use your Bible. Most people want just a general study Bible such as the Life Application Study Bible or Zondervan's NIV Study Bible. However your options go far beyond general studies if you desire. There are now study Bibles for children, teens, men, and women. Each Bible has notes that are meant to specifically help the group it is focused on.

Or you may prefer study notes by a particular person. There are numerous study Bibles with notes written all by one person. Some of the popular versions are ones written by John MacArthur, Charles Ryrie, and C.I. Scofield.

Finally you must choose whether you want a hardback Bible or a leather bound Bible. Your cover options may be more limited with a study Bible as these Bibles tend to be bigger than ones without the notes. Many general study Bibles also are available in large print and some are offering a smaller personal size but you should look out for tiny print in these. Depending on the publisher and the overall popularity of the Bible, some Bibles may only be available in hardcover. A limited number of study Bibles are available in paperback as well.

After you have an idea of what you are looking for start shopping for the best study Bible prices. With a bit of searching you will find a Bible that not only meets your needs but also your budget.

Pastor Mike has spent years studying the Bible and operates http://www.studybiblesshop.com
He operates several websites but lately has been writing on evangelism at http://www.christianevangelism.net

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Stine

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2009-07-01T19:20:00.000-07:00

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2009-06-28T08:19:00.001-07:00

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STOP SMOKING

2009-05-04T22:51:00.000-07:00

A farcical decree on smoking
A FARCIAL DECREE ON SMOKING
CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW ON THE USE OF TOBACCO
SMOKING COULD LEAD TO OTHER FORMS OF ADDICTION
WHY BE A SLAVE TO CIGARETTES?
THE NATION CAN LIVE WITHOUT CIGARETTES
TEACHING BY GIVING EXAMPLES
THE END CANNOT JUSTIFY THE MEANS
MYTHS ABOUT SMOKING
STOP SMOKING TODAY AND BE A BETTER PERSON
THROW THOSE CIGARETTES AWAY
HOW THEY QUIT SMOKING
Cigarette companies were trembling when 650 Muslim leaders from across the archipelago gathered in Padang Panjang, West Sumatra, recently for a national conference to formulate an anti-smoking decree. Their fear did not become reality, because the conference produced but a funny decree which may not serve the real purpose of educating people to quit smoking. By Pitan Daslani
In opening the national conference of Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI), Vice President Jusuf Kalla called on the religious lawmakers not to issue “a frightening decree.”
“I believe MUI will not issue a frightening decree; not just to declare it haram (forbidden by religion) but find a positive solution based on Islamic teaching,” Kalla said, adding that MUI should pay attention to “cigarette industry’s added value for the economy.”
That appeal was more than enough to condition the proceedings of the conference. Even before the meeting ended, analysts had already predicted that MUI would come up with a disappointing fatwa (religious decree).
That ought to happen to please the government. The vice president got what he wanted. In order not to produce a frightening decree, MUI produced a funny decree.
After a series of presumably heated debates, MUI declared that cigarette smoking would only be considered haram or religiously forbidden whenever the smoker is a child or a pregnant woman, or whenever smoking is practiced in public places.
This effectively means that adult males are still allowed to smoke, and every smoker should not be advised to kick the habit so long as he or she smokes at home or elsewhere where nobody else is affected by the smoke.
Up to that point it was crystal-clear that the government’s tragic intention was not to promote public health in order to prevent millions of people from being killed by nicotine consumption, but to prevent industry workers from losing their jobs.
In the government’s lexicon, it is more important to secure a lucrative industry that keeps on providing Rp60 trillion in excise and taxes every year than caring about the health condition of the entire population and future generations.
Even before the conference came to an end, representatives of the MUI chapter in Kudus were already shouting aloud for delegates to “consider the economic impact” of the anti-smoking decree that was about to be formulated. They represented the town where one of Indonesia’s biggest cigarette companies is situated.
To complete the story, a rival conference of vested-interest community leaders was the same week to counter the outcome of the MUI conference.
As MUI leaders were gathering in West Sumatra, Internet news provider detikcom reported from Jakarta that Transparency International had discovered MUI to be an institution where certification-related bribery was very common. It was commenting on MUI’s authority to issue the Halal (kosher) label on food products.
The highest Muslim authority immedi-ately rejected Transparency’s charges as a “groundless act of defamation.”
The Indonesian chapter of Transparency International is chaired by former minister of finance Mar’ie Muhammad who is popularly known as Indonesia’s “Mr. Clean” for his untainted reputation and credibility.
Amidst the heated political tug of war, health observers has warned that Indonesia is still the only Asian country to have refused to sign and ratify the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) which since its issuance in May 2003 has been ratified by 137 UN member countries. According to Binsar A.Hutabarat, a researcher at Reformed Center for Religion and Society, Indonesia is home to 46.16 percent of the total number of active smokers in ASEAN which as of 2004 stood at 124.6 million people and at least 20% of smokers who died across the globe each year since then were in ASEAN.
Indonesia has the worst story. According to a 2004 national census, active smokers aged 13-15 years represented 26.8 percent of the total number of smokers while those aged 5-9 years represented 1.8 percent of the total.
During the 2001-2004 period alone there was a 400 percent increase in the number of smokers in those age groups.
The government seems to be working to reduce the hazard of smoking on the population but its efforts appear artificial. Here is an example: Instead of banning smoking, it has only issued a decree to provide special places for smokers to gradually kill themselves. That is not a policy to ban smoking but is a policy to facilitate smoking.
Aris Merdeka Sirait, the secretary general of the National Commission on Child Protection, was right when he said, “a government that allows cigarette advertisements to influence children is a government that takes part in killing the children.”
The government has no intention nor courage to remove cigarette ads from the mass media because it doesn’t want to lose this sector’s tax and excise and it doesn’t have the ability to create alternative employment opportunities for industry workers.
Every month at least 400 people die of tobacco-related diseases in Indonesia. And every year millions of first-time smokers join the death row—willingly killing themselves while inflating the pockets of cigarette companies and the finance ministry.
This will go on and there is no one in this country who knows how to stop it. Non-smoking Indonesians will only have to learn to bitterly swallow the reality that the pro-smoking camp is still too powerful to overcome. CA

2008-07-03T19:59:00.001-07:00

Click here to view the full report as a PDF file in A4 format. For more information about viewing PDF documents, please click here. This document is also available in MS-Word format
Indonesia: Communal Tensions in Papua
Asia Report N°154 16 June 2008
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Indonesian Papua has seen periodic clashes between pro-independence supporters and goverment forces, but conflict between Muslim and Christian communities could also erupt unless rising tensions are effectively managed. Violence was narrowly averted in Manokwari and Kaimana in West Papua province in 2007, but bitterness remains on both sides. The key factors are continuing Muslim migration from elsewhere in Indonesia; the emergence of new, exclusivist groups in both religious communities that have hardened the perception of the other as enemy; the lasting impact of the Maluku conflict; and the impact of developments outside Papua. National and local officials need to ensure that no discriminatory local regulations are enacted, and no activities by exclusivist religious organisations are supported by government funds.
The Manokwari drama, played out over more than two years, illustrates some of the changes. It started in 2005, when Christians mobilised to prevent an Islamic centre and mosque from being built on the place where German missionaries brought Christianity to Papua in the mid-nineteenth century. Muslim anger went beyond Papua; many Indonesian Muslims, newly conscious of the history of Muslim traders in the area, saw Islam as Papua’s original religion and found the rejection of the mosque intolerable. Local church leaders, seeing the reaction, believed they needed to strengthen Manokwari’s Christian identity and in 2007 drafted a regulation for the local parliament that would have infused the local goverment with Christian values and symbols and discriminated against Muslims in the process. It was never enacted but generated a furore in Muslim communities across Indonesia and increased the sense of siege on both sides. It remains to be seen how a new draft that began to be circulated in late May 2008 will be greeted.
It is not just in Manokwari, however, that the communities feel themselves under threat. Many indigenous Christians feel they are being slowly but surely swamped by Muslim migrants at a time when the central government seems to be supportive of more conservative Islamic orthodoxy, while some migrants believe they face discrimination if not expulsion in a democratic system where Christians can exercise “tyranny of the majority”. The communal divide is overlain by a political one: many Christian Papuans believe autonomy has not gone nearly far enough, while many Muslim migrants see it as a disaster and are fervent supporters of centralised rule from Jakarta.
In some areas latent tensions have been kept under control by pairing a Papuan Christian district head with a non-Papuan Muslim deputy, with political and economic spoils divided accordingly. That may work in areas like Merauke, where the migrant population has already exceeded 50 per cent, but is not a solution where the majority feels itself under threat.
Where the risk of conflict is high, indigenous Papuan Muslims, largely concentrated in the Bird’s Head region of north western Papua, can play a bridging role, particularly through a new organisation, Majelis Muslim Papua. This organisation is both firmly committed to universal Islamic values and deeply rooted in Papuan culture and traditions. They have a demonstrated capacity to cool communal tensions, working with their Christian counterparts. But the indigenous Muslim community is being divided, too, as more and more have opportunties to study Islam outside Papua and come home with ideas that are at odds with traditional practices. It would be in the interests of all concerned to support a network of state Islamic institutes in Papua that could produce a corps of indigenous religious scholars and reinforce the moderation long characteristic of Papuan Muslims.
Several mechanisms are available for dialogue among religious leaders in Papua, including the working group on religion of the Papuan People’s Council (Majelis Rakyat Papua, MRP), a body set up to preserve Papuan rights and traditions, but they do not necessarily have any impact at the grassroots. More effective might be programs designed to identify communal hotspots and work out non-religious programs that could benefit both communities.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
To the Central Government:
1. Avoid supporting faith-based activities with an overtly political agenda, so as not to exacerbate existing problems, and instruct the armed forces and police to ensure that Papua-based personnel are not seen as taking communal sides.
2. Identify new approches to addressing communal tensions at the grassroots level, going beyond the often ineffectual promotion of interfaith dialogue among elites.
3. Work with the provincial governments to support the State Islamic Institute (STAIN) in Jayapura and facilitate close links with the State Islamic University (UIN) in Jakarta to ensure that Papua develops its own indigenous scholars and teachers able to interpret universal Islamic values in ways that are in harmony rather than conflict with customary traditions.
To Local Governments:
4. Ensure that government funding of or contributions to religious activities are transparent and independently audited, with amounts and recipients easily available on websites or in public documents.
5. Avoid funding any groups that preach exclusivity or enmity toward other faiths.
6. Ensure public debate on the percentage of jobs for Papuans and the impact on further in-migration of non-Papuans before agreeing to any further administrative division.
7. Reject discriminatory local regulations.
8. Work with donors to identify areas of high tension where conflict might be defused by non-religious projects involving cooperation for mutual benefit across communities.
To Donors:
9. Support conflict-resolution training for Papua-based organisations, including the Majelis Muslim Papua and the religious working group of the Papua People’s Council (Majelis Rakyat Papua, MRP).
Jakarta/Brussels, 16 June 2008

2008-07-03T19:51:00.000-07:00

Click here to view the full report as a PDF file in A4 format.For more information about viewing PDF documents, please click here. This document is also available in MS-Word format
Papua: The Dangers of Shutting Down Dialogue
Asia Briefing N°47 23 March 2006
To access this briefing in Indonessian, please click here.
OVERVIEW
There is serious risk the long-awaited Papuan People's Council (Majelis Rakyat Papua, MRP) is about to collapse, only five months after it was established, ending hopes that it could ease tensions between Papuans and the central government. The MRP was designed as the centrepiece of the autonomy package granted the country’s easternmost province in 2001. Almost as soon as it came into being, however, it was faced with two major crises – stalled talks over the legal status of West Irian Jaya, the province carved out of Papua in 2003, and violence sparked by protests over the giant Freeport mine – while Jakarta marginalised its mediation attempts. To revive genuine dialogue and salvage the institution before autonomy is perhaps fatally damaged, President Yudhoyono should meet the MRP in Papua, thus acknowledging its importance, while the MRP should move beyond non-negotiable demands and offer realistic policy options to make autonomy work.
Papuan leaders had envisaged the MRP as a representative body of indigenous leaders that would protect Papuan culture and values in the face of large-scale migration from elsewhere in Indonesia and exploitation of Papua’s natural resources. Jakarta-based politicians saw it as a vehicle for Papuan nationalism and deliberately diluted its powers, then delayed its birth. By the time it emerged, the province had been divided into two, many Papuans were disillusioned with autonomy and some were already questioning how the MRP could function under such circumstances.
The MRP’s authority remains uncertain. If it can manoeuvre its way through these two crises, it may yet be able to take on other outstanding grievances and become what Papua has always lacked, a genuinely representative dialogue partner with Jakarta. If it fails, not only will its own legitimacy be diminished, but local resentment against the central government will almost certainly increase.
The signs are not good. As negotiations between the MRP and the central government were underway to resolve the disputed legal status of West Irian Jaya (Irian Jaya Barat, IJB), Jakarta suddenly authorised gubernatorial elections there, cementing its status as a separate province outside autonomy. The MRP, despite its hard-line rhetoric, had begun to show signs of willingness to compromise, but rather than reciprocate, the central government sidelined it. The MRP is now grappling with whether continued negotiations are possible, and if not, whether it should disband. But with large local turnout in the West Irian Jaya elections, and the local support that implies for the province, the bigger question is whether the MRP is still a relevant actor.
Meanwhile, student-led demonstrations in Papua and by Papuan students in Java and Sulawesi demanding closure of the Freeport mine in Timika and the withdrawal of military forces there, which had been escalating since late February, culminated in a violent clash in Abepura on 16 March, in which four police and an air force officer were killed and several civilians seriously injured. The subsequent police sweeps have been heavy handed, and the atmosphere remains tense. The MRP's attempts to engage the central government on this issue were quickly brushed aside.
Successful MRP mediation of these tensions is becoming more crucial as the chances of it happening become more remote. The MRP has not made its own case any easier but it is now up to the central government to bring it back on board. If sufficient trust can be reestablished to resume dialogue, a compromise on West Irian Jaya is still possible, building on the baseline consensus reached by the central government and top Papuan provincial leaders in late November 2005. The essence of that agreement was that Papua would remain a single economic, social, and cultural entity, regardless of the administrative division. That is, there would be a single MRP, and the autonomy funds from the central government and revenues raised in each province from resource exploitation – from the gold and copper of the Freeport mine in Papua and from the BP natural gas project in West Irian Jaya – would be shared by both.
Since the elections, the MRP’s bargaining position has been further weakened, but it is critically important now to reach a compromise on the issue – not just in the interests of resolving two crises, but to make the MRP a functioning institution. Failure to bolster the MRP would almost certainly deal a fatal blow to an autonomy package in which many Papuans are already losing faith. Given the current volatility in Papua, it is in everyone’s interests to make sure this does not happen.
Jakarta/Brussels, 23 March 2006

2008-06-24T22:34:00.000-07:00

The Story of "Mission of Hope, Bolivia"By Cindy Thacker
My first involvement with Bolivia was through adoption. My husband, John, and I adopted three boys from an orphanage in Santa Cruz. Through these adoptions, we were introduced to a young man named Marcelo and heard about the Children’s Hospital.
Marcelo grew up in Santa Cruz in a very poor family. When he was 11 years old, he developed a life-threatening infection in his leg. He was taken to the Children’s Hospital, a government-run hospital for the poor. His leg was amputated because his mother had no money for antibiotics to treat the infection.
Marcelo stayed in the Children’s Hospital for almost two years, until he was adopted by a family in Mississippi. After three years, the adoptive family had a change of heart. They called the adoption agency and told them to send Marcelo back to Bolivia. The adoption agency called us, and Marcelo came to live with our family in 1995.
In 1997, I began taking donations of medical supplies to Santa Cruz for the Children’s Hospital. The director of the hospital gave me permission to tour the treatment rooms, the operating rooms, and the recovery room. I was struck by how bare the rooms were. The supply cabinets contained very few supplies, and much of what they had was old and out of date. There were no packages of sterile gloves. The nurses had to wash used gloves and use them again and again, even though they were intended for only one use. When the gloves got so thin that they would tear, the nurses cut them into strips and used them as rubber bands, because they had no rubber bands.
Each time I visited the Children’s Hospital, I became increasingly aware of how depressing it was. It was dirty, there were no pictures on the walls, and it was badly in need of paint. In 1998, my family, including Marcelo, decided to go to Santa Cruz for a week at Christmas and do what we could to brighten up the hospital for the children. We agreed to paint six of the children’s rooms, including the very large 16-bed room where all the children go after surgery, and we took gifts for all of the children.
In order for us to paint, the nurses would push the beds toward the center of the room. Most of the time, the children stayed in the rooms with us and watched us paint. As my daughter, Katie, and two friends were painting teddy bears on the wall of one room, a nurse came in and took the IV out of a baby’s arm. Katie and her friends just assumed the baby was well and was being discharged. A short time later, the mother came back into the room, crying. She said that the IV had been taken out because she did not have any more money to pay and that her baby was still sick.
In the "burn room," where all the children stay that have been burned, I was shocked to find out that the children did not receive pain medication unless the parent had money to pay. The same was true for the children even after having surgery. Also, the children did not receive antibiotics unless the parents had money to buy them, and many children were dying from secondary infections.
During our week of painting in the Children’s Hospital, I had many opportunities to speak with the nurses privately. It was very disturbing to find out that many of the donations I had given to this hospital in recent years had simply "disappeared" after I returned to the States. It was also troubling to find out that after I left, patients were charged for supplies that I had donated to be given to them. I realized that my efforts to help in this hospital were not effective and that the children were not receiving the benefit of my donations.
In May of 1999, I went to Santa Cruz with my pastor and another man from my church. We went to the Children’s Hospital to visit with the families and pray for the children. Usually, the children have a parent or family member staying with them. One father told us his toddler had been playing in the yard, and a chicken had plucked out the child’s eye. He said they lived out in the country about an hour and a half from Santa Cruz. They had sold everything they owned to have enough money to bring the child to the hospital. The child needed x-rays. Several days later, I saw the child’s doctor. The x-rays still had not been done because the family had no money to pay for them. The doctor said that without the x-rays, they could do nothing to help this child.
As we went into another room to pray for a very sick baby, the mother told me there was no milk in the hospital that her baby could drink. The baby was allergic to the one formula they had in the hospital. She said she had been breastfeeding, but now she had no breast milk and nothing for herself to drink. It was Sunday evening, and all the grocery stores were closed. We prayed for the baby, and I told the mother I would be back in the morning with milk for the baby.
A few weeks later, I woke up in the middle of the night. I could see the face of this mother as clearly as if she were standing right in front of me. In that moment, I realized that this mother had probably not eaten for days and that I had not given her anything to eat. If she had no money to buy milk for her sick baby, she probably had no money to feed herself. Then I realized this was probably true for most of the families in that hospital. If they did not have the money to buy the medicines their sick children needed to get well, they probably did not have money to feed themselves. As I lay there thinking about all of this, I was overcome by sadness. I felt that the Lord was telling me to go to Santa Cruz and start a Christian hospital there. It would be a place where the poor could come and receive good medical care and medicine. It would also be a place where the poor could be fed with good, nourishing food, and be fed spiritually by hearing the Word of God.
In July of 1999, I went with a medical team from Kansas to work in Cochabamba, Bolivia. We stopped in Santa Cruz on the way, and I had lunch with Dr. Ruth Turner, a Christian doctor who has lived and worked in Santa Cruz for many years. She has a big heart for the poor and often treats them without charging any money. I shared with her my vision to start a Christian hospital in Santa Cruz. She was very excited about the idea and told me that she had just seen a hospital "for sale" that week in Santa Cruz.
Dr. Ruth also told me of a story that had been on the TV news that week about a little boy whose leg had been badly burned. They were asking people to donate money to buy the needed antibiotics for this child. We went to the Children's Hospital to talk with the mother. She told us that unless she had 6 vials of injectable antibiotics by Monday, the doctors were going to amputate the child's leg. The child was 3 years old. It was Saturday afternoon. I immediately thought of Marcelo and how much he had suffered because of his leg being amputated. So, we went in search of the antibiotics, bought them, and took them to the mother.
Dr. Ruth and I went to see the hospital for sale. As I looked at it, I realized it was perfect for what we wanted to do. The hospital was centrally located and very accessible by bus, which is the main mode of public transportation.
After much thought and prayer, I made the decision to step out in faith and form a non-profit, tax-exempt organization to be called "Mission of Hope, Bolivia." The Lord provided a Christian lawyer who did all of the paperwork to establish "Mission of Hope, Bolivia" at no charge. He also provided a Christian accountant who worked to prepare the long and complicated IRS application at no charge. The IRS approved our application in only 3 weeks time, and Mission of Hope, Bolivia became a non-profit, 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt organization.
In July of 2001, Mission of Hope, Bolivia bought the hospital that was for sale in Santa Cruz, paying cash for the full amount. In July of 2002, we officially opened an outpatient clinic in Santa Cruz. We are currently taking care of about 500 patients every week. The patients are receiving excellent medical care at no charge, as well as free lab work and free medicines. We have a full-time pastor working with us. Patients are hearing the Word of God every day as they sit in our waiting room, and thousands have prayed to receive Christ as Savior!
Donations are needed for the on-going support of this mission hospital. Together, with your prayers and financial support, we are making a difference, both physically and for eternity! Praise the Lord!!

2008-06-24T21:19:00.001-07:00

Online Biblical Hebrew 101
Biblical Hebrew 101 is a computer-centered, self-paced, introductory study of the basic elements of biblical Hebrew, including elementary Hebrew grammar and vocabulary, and translation exercises. The 55 modules include animation, audio, and interactive components. Students quiz themselves after completing each module and, based on their performance, will either be advanced to the next module of study or be directed to specific places in the current module where further review is necessary. This configuration allows participants to learn at their own speed, in their own way, and at locations convenient to them. Students have up to two years to complete the course. A translation exercise will be manually administered by means of proctors at the middle and again at the end of the course to ensure that an appropriate level of reading proficiency has been attained. The course is assigned six quarter hours of academic credit. Textbook for the course is Thomas O. Lambdin's Introduction to Biblical Hebrew. For more information, read the Intro. to Online Biblical Hebrew (pdf) by Professor Williams.
The course utilizes the web and e-mail as the primary means of access to the course information and communication with the professor and tutors. Students and visitors must have adequate computer hardware and a good, and preferably fast, internet connection and e-mail capability.
System requirements:
Internet browser
MS Word (or MS Word document viewer - course contains link to download)
Windows Media Player or RealTime Player (course contains link to download)
Flash (course contains link to download)
The course is open to visitors as well as students wishing to take it for credit, but it is not available for audit. Visitors will not have the benefit of consultation with the professor or tutors. Those taking it for credit will have guidance from the professor and/or tutors just a mouse-click, e-mail, or phone call away.
Students have up to two years to complete the course, but must submit the first quiz within two weeks from the start date and must have all work submitted before the end of the fall quarter of the year in which they wish to register for OT 113.
Tuition Costs:
Tuition cost is 6 hours times the current tuition rate for M.Div. and MTS courses published in the seminary's Catalog. The tuition rate for 2008-2009 (beginning July 1, 2008) is $263.00 per credit hour ($1578 total, $789 first half, $789 second half).
Tuition for the first half is billed upon completion of the first quiz.
Tuition for the second half is billed upon completion of quiz # 28.
Students must submit the first quiz within two weeks from being enrolled in the course.
Students who withdraw before completing 10% of the course (quiz #5) will receive a 90% refund of tuition;
before completing 25% (quiz 14), a 50% refund;
before completing 50% (quiz 28), a 25% refund;
Students who complete at least 50% of the course and 1) drop the course, or 2) fail to complete the course within the two year time period, will not be entitled to any refund of tuition and will be recorded as failing the course.
Students who have completed less than 50% of the course by the end of the two-year time limit and fail to drop the course, will receive a failing grade for the course and no refund of tuition.

VisitorsVisitors may register for the course at the Continuing Education website: The visiting fee is $100.00.

Calvin Theological Seminary studentsStudents currently enrolled at Calvin Theological Seminary wishing to take this course for credit may register for the course at any time by going to the online registration site.

Applicants to Calvin Theological SeminaryApplicants intending to enroll in Calvin Theological Seminary's Master of Divinity or Master of Theological Studies program who desire to take this course for credit may register for the course if they have one year or less remaining in their college studies. Such persons are encouraged to submit a formal application on the seminary's website by clicking on Applications. They may also contact the seminary's Director of Recruitment for that purpose. Upon admission, communication from the Registrar's Office will include instructions on how to register for the course.

Take for credit elsewhereStudents headed for or currently enrolled at other seminaries wishing to take this course for credit (and credit transfer) may register for the course if they have one year or less remaining in their college studies. Such persons must first complete an "Application for Online Hebrew Course - Non-CTS students" (pdf) form. This application form, together with transcripts of previous academic work must be sent to the Registrar's Office together with a $25.00 application fee. Upon admission to "unclassified status," such students will receive a communication from the Registrar's Office with instructions for registration.
Registrar's OfficeCalvin Theological Seminary3233 Burton St. SEGrand Rapids, MI 49546

2008-06-24T21:15:00.000-07:00

Admissions
Welcome!
We're glad you're visiting this website and excited about your interest in Calvin Theological Seminary. Our desire is to help you develop the gifts and abilities God has given you for a lifetime of effective ministry.
As you sense God calling you into ministry, we would like to enter into that conversation with you. Our Pastor for Discernment, Rev. Heidi De Jonge, and I are always available to walk with you through that process. Together, we'll help you discover not only where God is leading you, but also how Calvin Theological Seminary can help you prepare for the ministry to which God has called you. You could also watch an invitation video (real) from President Cornelius Plantinga, Jr.
We also want to invite you to visit the campus personally. You can come for a Seminary Preview Day or, if you prefer, a personal visit.
Please feel free to contact me by e-mail or phone at 1-800-388-6034 . Let Calvin Theological Seminary be part of your preparation for ministry.
Greg Janke, M.Div.Director of Admissions
About UsLearn about our history, mission and vision.
AdmissionsInformation about application requirements and deadlines.
AcademicsInformation about Formation For Ministry, Degrees and Programs and academic policies.
CommunityInformation about the Calvin Seminary community as well as greater Grand Rapids.
Discerning Your CallHelp with better understanding your particular calling in ministry.
Financing Your EducationInformation about scholarships, financial aid, budgets and related matters.

The External Environment

2008-06-23T19:56:00.000-07:00

The External Environment
And China Factor: Implications for Indonesia

Mari Pangestu

INDONESIA is still a small open economy whose growth and development will continue to be impacted by and vulnerable to changes in the external environment. First and foremost is, of course, the demand for its goods in the global market and the competition it faces in the region. This is dependent on the global economic prospects and affected by uncertainties that will accentuate vulnerabilities. A crucial and dynamic factor that is affecting not only Indonesia but the rest of the Asia Pacific region and the world, is the impact of China.

The good news on the external front is that world economic recovery is more robust. The bad news is that the pattern of economic growth is becoming increasingly unbalanced meaning potential tensions in the future and only countries which undertake the right policies and structural reforms can be pulled along by the center of dynamic growth, called China. There is also the looming issue of energy security as the race for energy by India and China shows.

GLOBAL PROSPECTS

According to the World Bank and IMF (2004), there are stronger signs of a global economic recovery. Global economic growth was 2.6% in 2003 compared with 1.8% in 2002, while various forecasts for 2004 now fall between 3.5-4%. The main underlying factors for the recovery are in the US, the stimulus from fiscal and monetary policies, and higher rates of growth of productivity. Japan’s decade of stagnation appears to be finally broken with expansionary monetary policy, abatement of deflationary pressures, stronger private sector demand, and strong export growth of 10% due to world economic recovery and the dramatic increase in China’s demand.

Lower returns in developed countries and improved creditworthiness in emerging markets have in turn led to capital outflows. Private capital flows to emerging markets increased from US$124 billion in 2002 to US$188 billion in 2003, the highest since the peak of the Asian crisis. Capital flows have been directed mostly toward portfolio equities and bonds. More than half of these investments were destined to East Asia as a result of improved creditworthiness due to a number of factors: (1) changes made in its policies and institutions since the Asian crisis; (2) more stable macroeconomic indicators; (3) buoyant trade growth; and, (4) lower levels of short term debt that was one of the major sources of vulnerability during the Asian financial crisis. Improved creditworthiness is evident in the decline in spreads between emerging market instruments and developed country benchmarks. This in turn resulted in sharp gains in equity and financial asset prices, which strengthened their currencies.

EXPORTING INFLATION

Concerns about China exporting deflation with prices of products it exports being driven down due to its lower cost, have now turned to concerns about it exporting inflation. China’s huge and growing appetite for commodities, coupled with strong global economic growth, have led to a dramatic rise in world commodity prices, steel and scrap metal in the last two years.

China accounts for around 16% of commodity production and demand in the world; and it has become the world’s largest market for many commodities and metals. As such prices of steel and non-ferrous metals have been driven by China’s growth in industrial activity and construction of infrastructure. China has become the world’s largest steel market with growth of over 20% a year over the 1984-2003 period, and accounted for 20% of world supply and 24% of world demand in 2003. The price of non energy commodity prices rose about 23% over the 2002-mid 2003 period, and further increased up to February 2004. Metal and mineral prices, for instance, have increased by 39%, with some metals, such as copper, lead and nickel rising by 70-80%.

This has benefited commodity exporters like Indonesia which saw export growth at 7% in 2003 compared to the previous year, mostly because of commodity exports. Given that Indonesia is richly endowed with natural resources, it has been able to enjoy the ride of higher commodity prices. However, given that it is also importing oil, the net effect of higher commodity prices are varied. The sustainability of natural resources as a buffer and continued source of windfalls in the future will also be questionable without an integrated approach. The latter is required in order to ensure that new investments will come in to exploit resources further in the most efficient and effective manner for recovery-yielding revenues for the government (central and local) and in a sustainable way for the renewable resources.

What goes up also can go down as supply increases and slower growth comes into place as countries try to avoid overheating, especially China which is hoping for a soft landing with growth one or two percent lower than currently. Commodity prices should stabilize and even begin to go down. They could even fall dramatically in the case of the steam running out of the US recovery because of political tensions and increased protectionist pressures of a hard landing in China.

Therefore, commodity exporters like Indonesia should be aware that export growth, economic growth, as well as the growth in certain regions and areas, should not be buoyed by high wave of the commodity boom alone. We learnt our lesson well in the diversification process away from oil to non oil in the post-oil bust period of mid 1980s. sustainability of export and economic growth requires a broader basis. The key is to stimulate the real sector, manufacturing and agriculture, as well as the services sectors. This can only come about from new investments, addressing issues of competitiveness such as productivity, quality of human and physical infrastructure, policies, institutions, and transparency.

REGIONAL OUTLOOK AND THE CHINA FACTOR

East Asia has benefited from the global economic recovery. Robust growth in East Asia itself has been an important source of growth for the countries in the region. According to the World Bank (2004), growth in East Asia (excluding Japan) is estimated to have reached 7.6% due to the 9.1% growth in China, 7.2% in Vietnam and 6.3% in Thailand. In contrast, Indonesia along with the Philippines have only experienced growth rates in the 3-4% range. Whilst, there is some expectation of a slow down in growth in 2004 as China tries for a soft landing, the estimated growth for 2004 is still expected to be in the 7-8% range (IMF 7.2%, World Bank 7.7%), with continued global recovery and stronger domestic demand being the sources of growth.

Indonesia’s growth is expected to approach the 4-5% range, but this is still lower than in China and Vietnam, or in its other Southeast Asian neighbors (except the Philippines). The main reason for Indonesian’s lower growth path continues to be lack of export growth compared to its neighbors, and in turn the lack of new investments to elicit the supply response and other factors contributing to its decline in competitiveness. Indonesia’s lack luster export growth of 1.5% in 2002 and close to 7% in 2003 can be contrasted with China’s 22.4 and 34.7%, and Thailand’s 5.7 and 17.1% over the same period.

China is a big factor in contributing to the growth in East Asia. China’s import growth has been high in the last two years and in 2003 import growth reached 40% which is much higher than the 29% export growth. Imports from East Asia increased by 40%, with Korea, Singapore and Thailand experiencing an increase of around 50%, a doubling in the Philippines, and a relatively lower 23% growth for Indonesia.

There are indications of financial imbalances. There are also signs of overheating and inflationary pressures creeping in East Asia, especially in China which will necessitate governments to use monetary and fiscal policy instruments to manage growth. As such, the forecast for growth in East Asia for 2005 will be lower at 6.8%.

The China factor is crucial. China’s growth in 2003 was 9.1% and import growth was 40%. Since 40% of china’s imports come from East Asian countries, consequently it has a huge impact on these countries’ exports.

Increased private sector fixed investments is a key to recovery and sustainable growth. This has not been occurring in East Asia, except for China and Vietnam, until 2003 with Thailand showing an increased investment of 12% better capacity utilization, low interest rates, corporate restructuring, and healthier banks.

An important trend to note with respect to the China factor is the growing integration between the countries in East Asia, with China at the core. Around 46% of China’s imports comprise machinery and transport equipment in 2002 compared with 39.4% in 1996. Out of this about 20% comes from Japan, and one third from East Asia.

Within East Asia the dominant suppliers are Taiwan and Korea. However, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand have increasingly become important suppliers. Indonesia and Vietnam are only a small part of this regional production center. In the case of Indonesia, it would appear that lack of competitiveness, high cost of labor and other costs, and less than conducive investment climate have prevented Indonesia from being part of this regional production center which is partly driven by investment and trade networks surrounding multinational companies and their suppliers. Indonesia’s comparative advantage vis a vis China is increasing in natural resource and commodity related materials, but declining in manufacturing and low labor cost intensive products.

Another factor which has affected the price competitiveness of Indonesia’s exports is the appreciation of the Rupiah that has appreciated by some 20% since the beginning of 2002, which is still lower than the appreciation experienced by the Euro of 40% but higher than Korea and Thailand at 10%, Taiwan at 5% and China and Malaysia with fixed exchange rates. Given that the exchange rate is an instrument of price stability, other efforts to reduce costs and improving investment and operational environment for exporters need to be undertaken to offset the effect of the relative appreciation of the Rupiah.

DOWNSIDE RISKS

What are the downside risks? First is that potential increases in the interest rate and correction of risks could lead to a slowdown in capital outflows to developed countries.

Of course as interest rates rise overseas and spreads correct itself, then there could be outflows. The dangers of these excess liquidity being used to increase consumer borrowing and investments in property fueled by increases in asset prices are all too reminiscent of the pre Asian crisis situation. Any outflows or correction of the exchange rates will have a dire effect.

Second are the global imbalances, especially arising out of the US current and fiscal deficits, and its impact on exchange rates and interest rates. The US current account deficit has gone up to 5% of GDP and given low returns, private investors are not financing the deficit as evidenced by capital outflows. This has led to the weakening of the US dollar against major currencies. This situation is likely to continue in the next six to 12 months as the US goes through its election cycle, expectations that whoever becomes President will take time to resolve the imbalances, and continued geopolitical risks in the Middle East.

The deficit has been financed by foreign central banks using their accumulated reserves in US treasury bills. Foreign exchange reserves of developing countries rose US$276 billion in 2003 and total reserves being US$1.2 trillion or four times their short-term external debt. Interdependence of developed and developing world increased as a result. Interest rate increases are likely drawing back capital from developing countries and this volatility needs to be monitored.

Third geopolitical uncertainties also remain heightened as the process of restructuring Iraq indicates and there are continued concerns with security and terrorist attacks. Conflicts between the major countries continue on how to manage these risks. In turn, this has introduced businesses to have these risks as a factor.

A final risk is a hard landing in China. Most predictions indicate that China is in for a soft landing of a lower growth rate closer to 7 rather than 8%. China is and will continue implement a number of policy instruments to cool down over-investments, such as raising reserve requirements, limiting land use, measures to prevent speculative property investments, limiting credit and administrative “controls” to limit the expansion of infrastructure by regional governments. Of course a crucial component is continued reforms in the banking sector, dealing with the non-performing loans, and the restructuring of their state owned sector.

IMPLICATIONS FOR INDONESIA

Despite the better external environment, last year Indonesia has not benefited as much as it could, compared with other countries in the region. The blame continues to be laid on domestic political, institutional and economic constraints. Under the new government and leadership, this should no longer be used as an excuse. In order for Indonesia to get back to the growth path pre crisis, one that will create jobs and alleviate poverty, growth needs to be broader based. There has to be revitalization of the real sector and new investments in all areas ranging from infrastructure to increased productive capacity. The financial sector needs to be sound and regain its intermediary function to ensure funds are flowing to productive investments and the investment climate needs to be attractive to attract quality and quantity investments.

Indonesia’s growth has been propelled mainly by consumption growth. Higher growth and broader based growth needs to be based on renewed investments and exports. Compared with the other East Asian economies, Indonesia’s supply response to strong global and regional economic recovery, including taking opportunities in China’s dynamic growth, has been much lower compared with other East Asian economies. The exception is natural resources and even that has not been used to its full potential. It has not been able to benefit from the stronger world recovery as it should have, as evidenced by the lower export growth compared with other Asian countries.

Furthermore, most of the growth has been driven by higher commodity prices. The growth of non commodity exports has been low in the last few years indicating declining competitiveness in the global market as well as in the fastest growing market in the region, China. Indonesia’s exports to china grew at high rate of 23%, but this is half of the growth rate of other countries at 50%.
The challenge for Indonesia’s new leadership is how to improve Indonesia’s competitiveness and attract new investments – beginning with the return of quality domestic investments and hopefully then followed by foreign investment.