Balinese Christians suffer terror attack

Balinese Christians suffer terror attack

Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar

A group of unidentified people on Wednesday night ransacked and
torched four houses belonging to seven Christian Balinese
families in the hill village of Katung, Kintamani, some 45
kilometers north-east of here.

The incident resulted in Christian resident I Ketut Kirim
suffering serious injuries. He is still in intensive cure in
Sanglah General Hospital in the city.

"This incident really surprised us. The local Balinese
Christians and Hindus have been able to co-exist peacefully ever
since the arrival of Christianity in this village in 1984. No
single incident has ever taken place since then. And, now, all of
a sudden we have this mess," Kintamani Police subprecinct chief
First Insp. Komang Supartha said, shaking his head in disbelief.

The angry mob stormed the houses at around 11.00 a.m. local
time. Initially, they threw stones at the houses, but later
torched them. Eventually, they managed to burn down four houses
and other buildings, two cars and a motorbike.

"The panicked Balinese Christian families had no choices but
to run away. They were hiding in the nearby woods, and it was not
until Thursday morning that we were finally able to evacuate all
of them to a safer place," Supartha told.

Supartha said that these 21 Christians were currently being
sheltered in a church in the regency capital Bangli.

Bali police spokesperson Adjutant Senior Commissioner Yatim
Suyatmo confirmed the incident, adding that an extensive
investigation was underway to find out the nature and cause of
the violence.

"All we have right now is a probable motive. The house
compounds were erected on plots of land that belonged to the
traditional customary village of Desa Adat Katung. Those who live
on Desa Adat properties must carry out their duties and
responsibilities as dictated by the Desa Adat's customary laws.

It was reported that the Balinese Christians had been
neglecting their responsibilities to the Desa Adat,"
he said.

He stressed that the incident was not religiously motivated,
and also vehemently refuted a rumor that one of the damaged
buildings was a church.

Nyoman Parwata, a preacher who has been serving the Christian
community in Katung for one year, supported Suyatmo's statement.

"We don't have a church building, yet. We planned to build one
soon, but, currently we are still in the process of negotiating
with the local Hindu community on that matter. What we have here
is a building we called a faith cultivator post, and the
rampaging mob did not touch a single brick of the post," he said.

The post was, indeed, still intact as of Thursday afternoon. A
yellow police line encircled each of the compounds.

Meanwhile, dozens of local villagers were seen congregating in
front of the burned buildings, and dozens of fully-armed riot
police officers were still in evidence.

Separately, an unscheduled meeting was held on Thursday
afternoon between top Bangli regency officials and local
Christian and Hindu leaders to discuss the incident. On the same
day, the chairman of Bali's Association of Protestant Churches,
Bishop Suyaga Ayub, paid a visit to the provincial legislative
council in Denpasar to report on the incident.