Gus Dur laments attack on churches

KEDIRI, East Java: Chief of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Moslem organization Abdurrahman Wahid said last month's attacks on 10 churches in Surabaya were triggered by economic, educational and sociocultural disparities.

Gus Dur, as Abdurrahman is popularly known, said his 30- million member organization is trying to help solve the conflict, which he said was not religiously-motivated.

"We have held talks with other religious groups," he was quoted as saying by Antara yesterday.

The attacks, which occurred on one day, have sparked concern about diminishing religious tolerance in Indonesia. The government has moved to play down the incident by saying that it was purely a criminal act.

Various Christian and nationalist student groups warn that religious hatred should not have a place in multi-religious and multi-ethnic Indonesia.

Gus Dur concluded from his discussions with Moslem leaders and government officials that economic, educational and social disparities should be blamed for the incident.

He called for more talks to prevent further violence from endangering national unity. (pan)