Recent Kupang riot political, not religious, says governor

JAKARTA (JP): Riots of Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 last year in East Nusa Tenggara in which dozens of mosques and churches were vandalized in the capital of Kupang resulted from political conflict rather than strife rooted in Muslim-Christian conflict, Governor Piet Alexander Tallo said on Saturday.

Religious strife never existed in the sociocultural history of the province, according to Tallo as reported by Antara.

He aired his views during a meeting with bishops and Christian religious leaders from all over the province.

The Kupang incident forced thousands of migrant Muslims to flee the province and return to their hometowns after a riot with religious connotations rocked parts of the province, a few days after a similar riot occurred in Jakarta's Ketapang area.

Fourteen Christian Ambonese were killed in the Ketapang unrest.

A subsequent series of what were seemingly retaliatory riots rocked the capital of South Sulawesi, Ujungpandang, shortly after waves of returning Muslims from Kupang arrived, resulting in a similar scale of destruction both physically and morally.

There were no reports of fatalities in the last two incidents.

High-ranking government officials, including Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto, despite coming under fire for their inability to restore order, blamed the riot on "provocateurs".

On Saturday, Tallo also said: "There are certain parties who do not wish to see us living harmoniously and peacefully as neighbors.

"They tried to shatter the foundation of our long-knitted sense of interreligious harmony through the Kupang tragedy, and they kept blowing (divisive) rumors."

Tallo, who was accompanied by provincial legislature speaker Simon Petrus Soliwoa, failed to mention the parties.

Attending the meeting were, among others, Kupang Bishop Mgr Petrus Turang, Ende Bishop Mgr Longginus Abdon da Cunha, Larantuka Bishop Mgr Darius Nggawa, Ruteng Bishop Mgr Eduardus Sangsung, Weetebula Bishop Mgr Cherubin Parera and Atambua Bishop Mgr Anton Painratu.

He expressed annoyance at some of his "dishonest" regents.

"I am really annoyed that there are several regents who are dishonest in reporting on the food condition of their people. We must concede (if there is difficulty). Never cover it up, because these (food) problems are directly related to the problems of humanity," he said.

He also said the church had helped the local administration alleviate poverty and famine plaguing people in the province's remote villages. Crops often fail in the dry province. (aan)