Dili riots stem from social injustices: Bishop<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): East Timor Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo
\nsays last week's flurry of religious and ethnic violence were
\nonly the tip of the iceberg and that the locals' frustrations
\nstem from numerous social injustices.<\/p>\n
\"Students who went on the rampage on the streets of Dili had,
\nin their minds, tales told by their parents, relatives and
\nfriends about how frustrating conditions in East Timor have
\nbeen,\" Belo said in an interview with The Jakarta Post in Dili on
\nWednesday.<\/p>\n
He said that while the incidents were indeed regrettable,
\nthey sent a strong message to the whole nation on how sensitive
\nmatters concerning race and religion are in the youngest
\nprovince.<\/p>\n
Belo, an influential figure in the predominantly Roman
\nCatholic province of about 800,000 people, said that many
\nindigenous people are frustrated to find more skilled migrants
\ndominating political and economic activities in the territory.<\/p>\n
Then people come who propagate other religions, he said.
\nOften, the propagators lure the natives with money to change
\ntheir religion.<\/p>\n
In an incident prior to the Dili rioting last week, angry mobs
\nreportedly set fire to a number of mosques and Protestant
\nchurches. In the worst incident in Dili, protesters -- who were
\nmostly high school students -- burned down the Komoro market,
\nwhere migrants dominated trade.<\/p>\n
\"Now, places of worships (of other religions) are built
\neverywhere without official permits. While Catholic churches
\nstill have roofs of palm leaves, Protestant ones are built of
\nbrick,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The bishop suggested that the government return to the drawing
\nboard and rethink its development policies in the former
\nPortuguese colony which integrated with Indonesia in 1976.<\/p>\n
He said he is optimistic that if the government enforces law
\nindiscriminately in East Timor, the natives would be more open to
\nmigrants and more law-abiding.<\/p>\n
\"It is important that the government give special status to
\nthe territory so that the people's aspirations can be handled
\nbetter,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile in Yogyakarta, political observer Riswandha Imawan
\nsaid in a seminar on East Timor that the Timor question drags on
\nbecause it integrated into Indonesia only \"administratively\" in
\n1976.<\/p>\n
\"It's not total integration. It's an uneasy integration like
\nthe (1973) merger of Moslem parties and Christian-nationalist
\nparties into PPP and PDI,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Besides, he said East Timor and Indonesia has such different
\nhistorical backgrounds that they cannot totally merge.<\/p>\n
\"Furthermore, the military presence in East Timor is so
\nconspicuous,\" he said. If the condition doesn't change, similar
\nincidents will happen again in the future.\" (yac\/02\/pan)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/dili-riots-stem-from-social-injustices-bishop-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}