A statue of the Virgin Mary in Degolan Hamlet, Bumirejo Village, Lendah District, Kulon Progo Regency, Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY) was covered with a tarpaulin on Wednesday, March 22, 2023. The closure was carried out after the statue in the resident’s house was visited by a community organization. ).
The incident went viral on social media. The narrative on social media said that the closure was carried out after a religious-based mass organization visited on the basis of inconvenience. The closing ceremony was also attended by the police. At least 5 members of the Lendah Polsek were said to be present. The Sasana Adhi Rasa Prayer House stands adjacent to the mosque.
The Head of the Kulon Progo Police, AKBP Muharomah Fajarini, acknowledged that the closure of the statue of the Virgin Mary was carried out after the presence of members of the mass organization. According to him, the closing of the statue was not done under pressure.
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“Some who were present there admitted that they were indeed from mass organizations. But the delivery conveyed the input of the residents. There is no pressure to close the statue of the Virgin Mary,” said Fajarini at the Kulon Progo Police, Thursday evening, March 23, 2023.
He emphasized that the arrival of the mass organization conveyed input from residents. Although, he did not mention the name and where the organization came from. He considered that the assumption that the public forced the closure of the statue of the Virgin Mary, including on social media, was wrong.
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“Especially using tarpaulins, so this (the assumption of coercion covering the statue of the Virgin Mary) is wrong,” he said.
The closing of the statue was done the day before entering the month of Ramadan. Fajarini refused when the closing of the statue of the Virgin Mary was linked to approaching the month of Ramadan.
“That’s an assumption. From the party that owns the prayer house, the party that ordered the tarpaulin. Those who ordered the tarpaulin are the owner of the prayer house who is domiciled in Jakarta. The tarpaulin is sent to Jogja by train,” he said.
He guarantees that the security situation in the location is conducive. He asked the public not to be provoked by viral news on social media.
The prayer house belongs to Yacobus Sugiarto who lives in Jakarta. The prayer house is occupied by a resident named Sutarto. After meeting with the police, FKUB, the Regional Office of the Ministry of Religion of Kulon Progo Regency, and the Kulon Progo Police, Sutarto said that the closure of the statue of the Virgin Mary was the initiative of his older brother, Yacobus Sugiarto. He said there was no compulsion to close the statue.
“What my brother built there has not been completed, it is still administrative work. To complete everything, it was temporarily closed. There was no coercion from any element, this was at the initiative of Mr. Jacobus Sugiarto from Jakarta,” he said.