Mob burns church in Depok

Mob burns church in Depok

JAKARTA (JP): A throng of some 400 unidentified men burned a
church in Beji, Depok, south of Jakarta in the early hours of
Tuesday, a police report revealed.

The mob, armed with sharp weapons, set fire to the Western
Indonesia Protestant Church (GPIB) of the Shalom congregation at
about 3 a.m. using Molotov cocktails, the report said.

The police report also stated that the attackers claimed
themselves as members of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI).

None of the FPI executives could be reached last night for
comment.

Police officers also refused to comment but said that the case
and the motives of the burning were still under the investigation
of the local police.

The entire roof of the church was burned in the fire.

Residents living near the church told reporters that the
assailants were not local people. "We've never seen them before,"
said a resident who requested anonymity.

"My Muslim neighbors even tried to stop them," said another
victim, "but the mob threatened him with a long sword."

Residents also said that they had no problems with the church
or its congregation since it began in 1995.

However, a congregation member indicated that it might have
been caused by a building permit problem. The church failed to
acquire a permit although it was allowed many years at the
location.

"I don't know why the city was so hesitant in issuing the
building permit," he said.

The church evolved from a very simple shack, made of woven
bamboo with roofings of thatched leaves, into a permanent
building. The congregation built the church gradually from their
own donations, locals said.

"We donated whatever we had, from sacks of cements to floor
tilings," a member of the church sadly told reporters. (05)