Nun's testimony clears local Moslems, say youths<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): An association of religious youth groups
\nyesterday revealed new findings from their investigation into the
\nrecent attack on Situbondo churches in East Java, including a
\nnun's testimony that those who started the fires were not local
\nMoslems.<\/p>\n
Chatibul Umam Wiranu of the Islamic University Students
\nMovement and his friends from Christian and other groups, said
\nhere yesterday it was impossible that Moslems initiated the Oct.
\n10 attack on the churches.<\/p>\n
Chatibul said the Catholic nun told them that the rabid
\narsonists were not local residents, but outsiders connected with
\n\"a big political power (the students) would not dare to mention.\"
\nHe did not identify the nun, either.<\/p>\n
The investigators were from the Indonesian Association of
\nChristian Intelligentsia, the Christian Youths Movement, the
\nIslamic University Students Movement, the Nationalist University
\nStudents Movement, the Christian University Students Movement and
\nthe Association of Catholic Students.<\/p>\n
They were joined at the press conference announcing their
\nfindings by leaders of the youth wing of Indonesia's largest
\nMoslem organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) whose Situbondo members
\nwere reported to have been involved in the attack.<\/p>\n
These groups with other organizations set up a joint committee
\ncalled \"Solidarity for Situbondo.\"<\/p>\n
Chatibul said the team had also discovered how wrong it would
\nbe to accuse local ulemas of instigating the attack.<\/p>\n
\"We found that no ulema was involved,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"We have visited three pesantren (Islamic boarding schools),
\ntalked to ulemas, and read their instruction books,\" he said. \"We
\nlearned how deeply religious the students of the pesantren were,
\nhow they were taught 'religious morality', and brotherhood by
\ntheir ulemas.\"<\/p>\n
\"There is nothing in their book that teaches hatred of other
\nreligions and their symbols,\" Chatibul said.<\/p>\n
Situbondo is a predominantly Moslem regency, and is widely
\nknown as a stronghold of the 30-million-strong Nahdlatul Ulama
\nled by prominent Abdurarahman Wahid.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman had immediately apologized for the attack which he
\nbelieved may have involved NU local members. Another NU leader,
\nAchmad Bagdja, had expressed regret over the incident but
\nasserted that the organization was not behind the riots which
\nclaimed five lives.<\/p>\n
Yesterday, Chatibul and his friends reiterated their
\nconviction that the attack could not have been fueled by
\nreligious hatred. The youth leaders agreed that \"political
\ninterests of a group or an individual\" were behind the attack.<\/p>\n
They did not elaborate, but Chatibul said the ill-informed and
\npoor people of Situbondo were gullible and vulnerable to the
\nmachinations of \"those acting for their own political interests.\"
\n(26)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/nuns-testimony-clears-local-moslems-say-youths-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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