Ahead Of The 2023 Christmas Worship, The Central Java Pemalang Police Sterilized The Church

Pemalang Police personnel are conducting church sterilization, Friday (12/22/2023). (ANTARA/HO-Humas Pemalang Police)

Pemalang Police, Central Java, carried out church sterilization to ensure the safety and solemnity of Christians in carrying out the 2023 Christmas service. Pemalang Police Chief AKBP Yovan Fatika Handhiska Aprilaya said church sterilization was carried out before the worship activities took place. "In sterilization activities, personnel conduct sweeps into every corner of the building, both indoors and outdoors using metal detectors, mirror detectors, and sniffer dogs," he said in Pemalang, as reported by Antara, Friday, December 22. His party deployed a sterilization team from the Samapta Unit that had attended training at the Central Java Police. "The sterilization of this church is for the safety and comfort of Christians at the 2023 Christmas celebration. We hope that the public can maintain security and order so that the 2023 Christmas and 2024 New Year celebrations take place safely and comfortably," he said. Regarding the readiness to secure the 2023 Christmas and 2024 New Year celebrations, he said the Resort Police had established a number of service posts and security posts, including the Santo Lukas Pemalang Church. He appealed to the public to come together to maintain security and order at the 2023 Christmas and 2024 New Year celebrations, especially now at the same time as the campaign stage activities. "Let's maintain security and security and harmony between religious believers so that safe, orderly, and comfortable conditions can be created," he said.

Secretary of the Pemalang Paryak Pectoral Council, Eko Purwanto, expressed his gratitude to the Pemalang Police for carrying out sterilization to churches. "We assess that the officers have carried out security properly so that Christians can carry out worship safely," he said.