Mob burns 10 churches in Mataram

Mob burns 10 churches in Mataram

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): Ten churches were either torched or
damaged in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, on Monday when a mob ran
riot after a gathering to protest sectarian violence in Maluku.

The unrest broke out after 5,000 people grouped in Islamic
Solidarity for the Ambonese gathered at an open field in front of
the 162 Wirabhakti military headquarters in the main town of
Mataram.

The gathering, held to show concern for continuing violence in
Maluku, was originally planned as an interfaith meeting.

"A dispute suddenly occurred during the rally and triggered
the arson," Udayana Military spokesman Lt. Col. Bambang Budi
Lelono said.

By the afternoon it was confirmed that at least four churches
-- Immanuel Church, Maria Immaculata Church, Pantekosta Church
and another on Jl. Bung Karno -- were razed by fire.

The Panini restaurant, which rioters suspected was used for
Christian services, was also set on fire.

A member of the Indonesian Red Cross in Mataram, Lalu Iwan,
said that 25 people were injured and taken to Mataram General
Hospital.

Udayana Regional Military Commander Maj. Gen. Kiki Syahnakri
immediately flew from Bali to Lombok to review the situation.

According to Kiki, 10 churches were either pelted by stones or
destroyed by fire.

"No fatalities were reported in the fray," he said.

"The riot was triggered by a small number of people. This is
evident from the fact that many Muslims were active in protecting
their Christian brothers and sisters," Kiki told The Jakarta Post
by telephone in the evening.

He added that Catholic families took shelter in a Islamic
boarding school and Muslim youths guarded a Catholic hospital to
deter attacks.

Kiki said security forces brought the situation under control
by the afternoon.

A total of six police and military companies were quickly
deployed to quell the unrest. A special cavalry platoon based in
Tuban, Bali, was also put on standby.

At least 20 people were detained but it remains unclear what
sparked the unrest.

Bambang believed the riot was led by provocateurs, not the
demonstrators who came to express concern about Maluku.

Kiki said that people shouted incendiary slogans during the
gathering.

There also were reports that flyers urging people to join the
mass rally and embark on a holy war in Maluku and North Maluku
were circulated in the area beginning on Saturday.

The unrest in Lombok is fueling mounting concerns of sectarian
strife spreading from Maluku to other areas.

Last week thousands gathered in Jakarta for a mass rally in
which there were calls for a holy war following reports of the
killing of Muslims in Maluku and North Maluku.

The sectarian unrest in Maluku has lasted for more than a
year. Although primarily limited to Ambon for most of 1999, the
violence spread to North Maluku after Christmas, bringing the
total number of dead to some 2,000.

Mainly Muslim Lombok also has large Hindu and Christian
populations, while neighboring Bali is predominantly Hindu.

Scores of people, including staff of the World Wild Fund for
Nature (WWF) in Lombok, reportedly left for Bali through the port
of Ampenan. A source at Mataram airport said flights continued as
usual and the last flight departed for Bali with several empty
seats.

Residents of Bali feared the riots may spread to their island.

"Lombok is very close to Bali. We also fear that many refugees
will throng Bali because it is always considered a safe haven," a
local, Ruscitadewi, said. (zen/edt)