Five killed in attacks on East Java churches: Govt

Five killed in attacks on East Java churches: Govt

JAKARTA (JP): Five people died when a mob attacked several
churches and Christian schools in the East Java town of Situbondo
on Thursday, but order has been restored, according to the
government.

"The government regrets the incident and hopes that it will
never be repeated in any other part of the country,"
Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono said at his office yesterday.

Moerdiono called on the public to exercise restraint and
ignore provocative rumors.

"This incident could ruin the peaceful religious coexistence
that we have been building...as taught by the state ideology
Pancasila," Moerdiono said.

"Freedom of religion is a basic right, not something that the
government or any group grants, therefore the government calls on
all religious leaders to increase their efforts to guide their
congregations so that such an incident will never happen again,"
he said.

Moerdiono said the riot broke out Thursday during the trial of
a local Moslem of an obscured sect who is accused of blasphemy
against Islam.

Reports said that when the prosecution requested the court to
sentence defendant Saleh to five years in prison, a mob of around
3,000 people outside the court building were enraged. The crowd
demanded the court mete out the death penalty or hand the
defendant over to them.

Sources said the crowd then ran amok, setting the court
building alight and then turning on a nearby church after someone
reportedly shouted that Saleh was hidden there. They continued
attacking other churches as they saw them.

The crowd also burnt cars, Christian schools and shops in the
violence which reportedly lasted five hours before troops from
the 514th infantry battalion were deployed.

"The riot has caused some damage, including the burning of
some office buildings, houses of worship, schools, shops and an
orphanage," Moerdiono said.

"Thanks to the cooperation of the local administration and
community leaders, peace and order has been restored in the
city... those who were responsible will be sanctioned," Moerdiono
said.

Armed Forces (ABRI) Chief of Sociopolitical Affairs Lt. Gen.
Syarwan Hamid said yesterday that 120 people had been arrested
for taking part in the rampage.

ABRI Commander Gen. Feisal Tanjung and Chief of National
Police Lt. Gen. Dibyo Widodo visited the town yesterday, some 160
kilometers east of Surabaya. Roads are now tightly guarded and
Catholic schools have been closed.

Sources said that 70-year-old Pentecostal priest Nim Sia Shin,
his wife, daughter, niece and a servant died in the riot. They
died inside their church.

The authorities are yet to release details on the number of
buildings damaged in the riot. There have been varying reports,
but the Communion of Churches in Indonesia said that churches
were also burned in nearby towns, Besuki, Panarukan, Banyu Putih,
Asem Bagus and Wonorejo.

The Communion of Churches also said the crowd damaged a
Buddhist temple, a Catholic school and a Protestant school. It
said the number of people killed was six, adding a church
employee to the official death toll.

Sources said that security, several local police officers, at
the hearing seemed inadequate given the disturbances in previous
court sessions. The court's first session was marred when the
crowd grabbed Saleh from his guards and beat him up. The second
session lead to an attack on the prosecutor's office.

Sources said yesterday that "although it is calm, most of the
shops in Situbondo are still closed."

The media in Surabaya have reportedly been terrorized by
mysterious callers asking why they did not publish the riot
story yesterday.

Indonesia's 200 million population on its 17,500 islands is
more than 85 percent Moslem, but the state ideology preaches
religious tolerance and recognizes five main religions.
(27/15/swe)