All faiths asked to help rebuild torched churches

All faiths asked to help rebuild torched churches

By Ainur R. Sophiaan and Sirikit Syah

SURABAYA (JP): A religious minister called on people of all
faiths here yesterday to help rebuild dozens of churches and
buildings in East Java which were torched in religious riots last
week.

Wismoady Wahono of the Indonesian Communion of Churches said
it would be good if the churches were rebuilt in a spirit of
friendship among all religions. He was speaking after witnessing
the signing of a joint-statement by several religious
organizations.

The statement of concern over religious tension in Situbondo
and several small towns in East Java was signed by Fuad Anwar of
the provincial branch of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Moslem
organization, Choirul Anam of Ansor Youth Movement of the NU and
Paul Tahalele and Thomas Santoso of the Communication Forum of
Surabaya Christians.

Also at the ceremony was NU Chairman Abdurrahman Wahid, known
as Gus Dur.

"We regret the incident, which included the burning of
religious houses and other buildings, as an act which deviates
from the Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution," the organizations
said in a five point statement.

The statement said it trusted the government and security
forces were committed to investigating the incident and helping
restore order in Situbondo.

The statement called on religious leaders to work together for
harmony between the country's diverse religions.

A riot erupted in Situbondo when thousands of Moslems got
angry over what they considered was a lenient jail sentence for a
Moslem man, Saleh, accused of blasphemy.

Angry mob

The angry mob burned the court house down and torched several
churches, believing the defendant was hiding inside.

Wismoady, Abdurrahman Wahid and other religious leaders held a
meeting before signing the statement.

Abdurrahman said the riot would not have happened if people in
Situbondo understood religious tolerance.

"We must have a commitment that Islam as the majority religion
does not want to rule. We must speak openly, otherwise other
tragic incidents will occur," he said.

Abdurrahman rejected some journalists' suggestions that the
riot might have been engineered to tarnish his name and weaken
his position as NU chief.

"How? NU members there seem to be alright. I only see it (the
riot) as a lack of understanding between residents, I haven't
seen any other motives. Let the appropriate authorities
investigate it," he said.

Separately, Situbondo District Court chief H. Firman Tanri
said the court was deciding whether to proceed with the trial of
Saleh.

"We'll see how the situation develops," he told The Jakarta
Post on Wednesday.

There's only one room in the court building undamaged by fire
and vandalism. This will be used for trials until the court is
rebuilt, Tanri said.

"My staff now work at my house. It's our temporary office," he
said.

He worried about the documents destroyed in the fire: "For
criminal cases, we can borrow documents from the prosecution
office and make copies. But for civil cases, where people usually
keep the documents, it will be difficult to contact them all," he
said.

Situbondo, some 160 kilometers east of Surabaya, looks like a
ghost town: churches, cinemas, shops, schools and other public
buildings have been destroyed.

And there is still tension. Residents reported that security
personnel were guarding much of the town.

"The officers are easily upset, maybe because they are tense,"
one source said.

A reporter from Forum Keadilan magazine said he had to run and
hide inside a building after he was chased by a soldier. "I was
taking pictures, and he became so angry he chased me. I wanted to
save my film and myself," the reporter said.

Two rolls of my film were confiscated and destroyed by a court
official, he said.

A correspondent for Sinar magazine said he was chased by
soldiers after taking some pictures.

"I was saved because I hid among the crowd in a market," the
reporter said.

Local sources said 53 people were in custody at local police
stations.

East Java Governor Basofi Sudirman said 40 people had been
detained. Some of those arrested have been released but they must
report daily to police.