One killed, 86 homes burned in latest East Timor's riot

DILI, East Timor (JP): One person died and 86 houses and six vehicles were burned when a frenzied mob of 6,000 Ambeno regency residents went on a rampage yesterday over a slight against a local priest.

Mahmud Abuh, aged 30, was stabbed to death, according to Regent Filomeno Da Costa Misquita. The regency is 200 km west of here.

The unrest started at about 6 a.m. local time and lasted until well into the afternoon. The predominately Catholic community was reportedly enraged over what it perceived as an insult against priest Lazaurus Mau of the Ambeno parish during a post-Idul Fitri gathering Wednesday.

The regent said that during the gathering held at the Ambeno military district base, guests, that included civilian, military and religious leaders, were served lunch in boxes.

The priest, however, was reportedly given a box containing leftover food. He returned the box, but not before a parishioner saw it and took offense.

Stories about the incident quickly circulated among the Catholic community, even in villages far removed from the capital of Ambeno, Pantai Makasar.

On Thursday, a number of people started to protest against the insult, but security forces were able to control the crowds.

Yesterday, however, the number of protesters swelled to more than 6,000, according to Filomeno. The protest deteriorated into a riot and an assault on the migrant Moslem Bugis community from South Sulawesi.

It was only contained after the priest himself went out and calmed the rioters.

"The unrest stopped after the priest told the rioters to go home," Filomeno said. "The security officers had not been able to control the masses. The rioters ignored the officers.

"The priest helped us restore the situation. Right now, the city of Pantai Makasar is back to normal. We are calling on the public not to create any more unrest. Ambeno had always been safe up to now."

The local military and civilian leaders met yesterday to discuss the unrest, and agreed to work together to ease the tension. The police began to investigate the incident immediately.

Officials at the Ambeno military command refused to discuss the situation. Neither East Timor Police Chief Col. Yusuf Mucharam nor Ambeno Police Chief Maj. Gusti Made Putu could be reached for comment. (33/swe)