Religious sensitivities in East Timor

East Timor is a province of Indonesia with a very distinct sociocultural background. Just by looking at its roots we can understand why acts of violence and the way they are handled are so different compared to our other provinces. Even the falling of a leaf, in a manner of speaking, is heard by the international community and attracts attention. This is what is at present happening in East Timor, irrespective of whether the trouble was caused by religious sentiments, envy among the local people towards newcomers, frustration among high school graduates who fail to get jobs in the civil service, systematic efforts by insurgents, or possibly some political game the nature of which we do not yet know.

By pure chance this time religious factors played a predominant role in fueling the violence. Because of this we highly appreciate the stance taken by Bishop Filipe Ximenes Bello, who -- to quote the chief of the Udayana military command, Maj. Gen. Adang Ruchiatna -- apologized to the East Timor community. Because of the actions of a few unruly Catholics, according to Bello, Protestants and Moslems suffered considerably.

It is to be hoped that the religious factor in this latest incident in East Timor was purely coincidental. As it was, this particular factor played such a big role that the violence went well beyond its logical boundaries. In such a situation the role which religious leaders like Bishop Bello play could be of the greatest help in persuading adherents to heed the true teachings of their religion.

-- Republika, Jakarta