Easter mass run smoothly in East Timor

DILI, East Timor (JP): Up to 700,000 Catholics joined solemn Easter mass across East Timor on Saturday night, shrugging off the clash between protesters and security forces that left 37 people injured on March 23.

Dili bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo led mass at the Immaculata Conceptio cathedral, while his counterpart, Bishop Basilio do Nascimento, led mass in Baucau about 130 kilometers east of here.

Mass in the predominantly Roman Catholic East Timor were led in the local language, Tetum, and the national language, Indonesian.

Easter was celebrated by Christians nationwide. Catholics and Protestants make up some 10 percent of the country's population of 200 million: the majority are Moslem.

The government recognizes Good Friday as an official religious holiday but not Easter Sunday.

No incidents were reported here after the mass which ended at midnight.

About 200 youths demonstrated in Dili the Sunday before last, marring a visit by the United Nations special envoy Jamsheed Marker. A clash occurred when security officers tried to stop the youths meeting Marker. Twenty-four of the youths are being detained.

On Thursday, the National Commission on Human Rights said it deplored the security officers' use of force against the youths. The commission's delegates Clementino dos Reis Amaral and Albert Hasibuan had just finished a fact-finding mission in Dili.

Belo, who shared the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize with separatist leader Ramos Horta, called on East Timorese in his sermon to maintain their composure and stick to their faith in the wake of their problems.

"Let's give the blend of our suffering, disappointment and harassment to our human dignity to Jesus Christ who has awakened from death," Belo said in speech broadcasted by local state radio RRI.

A local Catholic publicist, Ponciano da Crus Leitte, said this year's Easter celebrations should encourage East Timorese to empower themselves for a better life.

"Easter should lead the people here to a fair and peaceful life," Ponciano said.

But he told Christians not to be over zealous in their religion during Easter celebrations.

East Nusa Tenggara Governor Herman Musakabe announced that all civil servants could leave their offices four hours earlier Saturday and start work two hours later today for Easter.

The province's population of 800,000 are mostly Christian.

A spokesman for the provincial administration, Mell Adoe, said after reading Herman's announcement that the Easter holidays would not adversely affect the productivity of civil servants.

"The civil servants can finish their left-over work on Monday or Tuesday," Adoe said. (33/amd)