Places of worship vandalized in Kupang

Places of worship vandalized in Kupang

JAKARTA (JP): Six mosques were burned or vandalized by a group
of people in Kupang, the capital of East Nusa Tenggara, in
apparent retaliation for the burning of churches in the Ketapang
area of Jakarta on Nov. 22.

There were no reports of casualties, but several buildings
were destroyed during the rampage.

East Nusa Tenggara Governor Piet A. Tallo quickly condemned
the violence, as did local and national religious leaders.

"I regret and apologize for the incident. I call on the local
authorities to probe the case and to make sure that it will not
happen again," Kupang Archbishop Petrus Turang said in Jakarta.

"This is very regrettable," the chairman of the Indonesian
Council of Churches Sularso Sopater said.

The incident began initially as a gathering of local people to
protest the burning and vandalization of around two dozen
churches in Jakarta last month.

Governor Tallo said that the people of Kupang, who are
predominantly Christian, had no right to use the Ketapang
incident as an excuse to burn mosques.

"I regret and condemn the destruction of houses of worship.
There will be a thorough investigation... the government will
rebuild all the burned and damaged mosques," Tallo said in an
interview with private TV station RCTI.

Antara reported that the mob burned three mosques, a haj
dormitory house and a market. They also vandalized three mosques,
the residence of a local imam, an Islamic school, four cars and a
restaurant. The news agency reported that riot troops were
helplessly outnumbered during the rampage.

According to residents, Kupang remained tense on Monday night.
(prb/edt)