Location of Special Region of Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia. (TUBS, Creative Commons)
SURABAYA, Indonesia (Morning Star News) – More than a dozen Christian graves at three cemeteries in the Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia were vandalized from May 16 to 19, according to published reports.
On the island of Java, at least 10 Christian graves at the Ngentak Public Cemetery in Baturetno village, Banguntapan, Bantul Regency, Yogyakarta were damaged. Five other graves at the Baluwarti Public Cemetery in Kampung Kembang Basen, Purbayan village, Kotagede, Yogyakarta, also sustained damage, according to BBC.com.
“As a wife whose husband has passed away, I am sad,” said Sri Hana Sukarti, whose husband’s body was buried in the Ngentak Public Cemetery, according to Kompas.com. “I only found out about the destruction of the grave on Sunday after coming home from church.”
A relative had discovered the desecration while cleaning the grave of her husband’s grandmother, she said.
“When he saw my husband’s grave, he saw that it was severely damaged,” Sri Hana Sukarti, in tears, said in a Kompas.com report appearing on YouTube. “Other non-Muslim graves were also damaged.”
Police reported that at least two Christian graves were also vandalized elsewhere in Yogykarta. Two gravestones of non-Muslims were damaged in Jaranan Hamlet, Panggungharjo village, Sewon District, Bantul Regency, said I Nengah Jeffry Prana Widnyana, Bantul Police spokesman, on May 19, according to Tempo.co.
In addition to breaking wooden crosses of the two graves in Jaranan hamlet, the perpetrator also broke concrete crosses and gravestones and damaged ceramics on the graves, leaving open holes and debris, BBC.com reported.
Police arrested the perpetrator of desecrations at all three cemeteries on Wednesday (May 21), according to CNNIndonesia.com. The perpetrator was a male student at a public junior high school in the Bantul area who was not religiously motivated, the Kotagede police chief, identified only as Basungkawa, reportedly said on Tuesday (May 20).
“From the results of the investigation and the perpetrator’s statement, we did not find any indication that the motive was related to ethnicity, religion, race and inter-group [Suku Agama, Ras dan Antargolongan or SARA, referring to social and political problems],” Basungkawa said at a press conference. “This was purely an individual act, and the perpetrator was unaffiliated with a particular group or ideology.”
Rather than being motivated by hate or intolerance, Basungkawa said the suspect was suffering from a mental disorder, according to detik.com. He carried out his actions alone and used only stones, he said.
The official website of the Yogyakarta Special Region Government jogjaprov.go.id. states that hatred and intolerance were not the motives of the desecrations.
Putu Praba Darana, a novelist turned pastor of Indonesia Bethel Church (Gereja Bethel Indonesia, GBI) in Surabaya, suggested that there might have been a religious motive.
“I think there is a religious sentiment element in this case,” Putu told Morning Star News. “But we have to investigate whether the perpetrator was drunk or on drugs.”
A psychology expert from Gadjah Mada University, Lucia Peppy, urged the public to be careful in responding to this incident, according to BBC.com.
Past Incidents
Vandalism and desecration of Christian graves in the area first occurred in December 2018, when the top of a cross at the gravesite of a Catholic, Albertus Slamet Sugiardi, was cut into a T shape at the Jambon Cemetery in Purbayan village, Kotagede, Yogyakarta, according to Tempo.co.
In addition to removing any Catholic symbols from the cemetery, the community expressed a desire to designate it exclusively for Muslims.
In response to this incident, the governor and Sultan of Yogyakarta, Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X, denied the perception that Yogyakarta is intolerant.
On April 6, 2019, several crosses at the Bethesda Mrican Cemetery complex on Gejayan Street in Sleman, Yogyakarta, were pulled out and partially burned. After investigating the case, local police informed media that while the motive for this cemetery desecration had yet to be determined, there was no evidence of wrongdoing, and that they would continue investigating.
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- Location of Special Region of Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia. (TUBS, Creative Commons)
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