Calm returns to East Timor after riots
DILI, East Timor (JP): The military says tension has dissipated and daily activities returned to normal after the rioting which caused dozens of people to flee their homes earlier this month.
Local military commander Col. M. Simbolon told The Jakarta Post here on Saturday that the situation had improved and that trading activities had resumed in the Komoro marketplace.
The market was burned down during one of the riots, while government buildings and private houses were also damaged.
Simbolon said a battalion of the Police's Mobile Brigade had been dispatched from Jakarta and were currently posted in Dili, Maliana and other cities in East Timor.
A team from the National Commission on Human Rights launched an investigation on Wednesday into the riots, which the authorities say targeted migrants.
The riots were reportedly sparked by a remark made by a prisons official that denigrated Roman Catholicism, the main religion in East Timor. Sources say tension has been mounting between religious groups for some time in the territory.
A total of 81 Moslem "refugees" fled the province to Surabaya, East Java, during the rioting. Most returned home earlier this week.
PPP
Meanwhile, in Jakarta, the executive boards of the Moslem- based United Development Party (PPP) and the ruling Golkar have expressed concern over the East Timor developments.
"We regret deeply the incidents which originated in the incident and which have disturbed security and relations between religions in the province," PPP chairman Ismail Hasan Metareum said in a statement made available to the press on Saturday.
"This was a violation of human rights," he said.
Ismail also urged the government to "investigate in a transparent manner the people responsible for the incidents, and take punitive measures against them."
The party leaders called on Moslems not to be easily agitated by rumors and not to resort to actions "which will harm Moslems themselves, the nation and the country."
The party called on religious leaders in East Timor to approach and guide the people in developing a strong tolerance toward each other coexisting peacefully.
Leaders should also refrain from "behaving exclusively by placing the religions (they adhere to) in the forefront and disregarding other religions," the statement added.
The PPP called on the government to restore the province to a situation conducive to efforts to develop peaceful coexistence among religions.
In doing so, the government should avoid favoring one religious group over another, the statement said.
Golkar also expressed deep concern over the rioting and called on all parties to "learn a lesson from the incidents about how to foster tolerance...among people of the diverse nation."
In a statement signed by Golkar Chairman Harmoko and Secretary-General Ary Mardjono on Friday, Golkar urged the people to develop coexistence, within religious groups, among separate groups and with the government.
Golkar praised community members who displayed self-control and were not provoked by actions, launched by some parties, which threatened national unity and political stability.
"This shows that our nation has become more mature in dealing with situations such as the one that developed in East Timor," the statement said.
Golkar praised the Armed Forces and local officials who "have managed to bring the situation in East Timor under control." (yac/swe)