Sutiyoso donates money to churches

Sutiyoso donates money to churches

JAKARTA (JP): Governor Sutiyoso handed over donations totaling
Rp 97.5 million (US$13,000) on Tuesday to 19 of the 22 churches
which were burned or damaged during the Nov. 22 rioting in West
and Central Jakarta.

Kristus church on Jl. KH Zainul Arifin received the largest
portion, Rp 25 million, followed by Santapan Rohani church on Jl.
Taman Sari Raya which got Rp 20 million and Pantekosta church on
Jl. KH Zainul Arifin which received Rp 10 million. The three were
among the four churches burned during the riots.

The fourth church burned by was Bunda Hati Kudus church on Jl.
KH Hasyim Ashari. As it did not sustain much damage, it received
only Rp 2.5 million.

The 15 other churches were also given Rp 2.5 million each. A
donation of Rp 2.5 million was also given to the Khiril Biqa
mosque, which was vandalized before the start of the riot.

Sutiyoso said on Tuesday that the donations were intended
mainly to help rebuild the damaged churches.

"These are the only funds we can provide. The city
administration is currently short of funds as it has been forced
to set aside part of its budget for the renovation of public
facilities damaged or burned by the mid-May riots and also the
Nov. 13 to Nov. 14 chaos," he said.

After the May riots, he said, the city administration was
forced to set aside Rp 12 billion from its budget for renovation
of public facilities. Calculations for similar damage incurred
from rioting after the People's Consultative Assembly's (MPR)
Special Session, however, have not yet been finalized.

After inspecting three of the five most severely damaged
churches, the governor symbolically handed over the donation to
the priests at the Petojo Utara subdistrict office in Gambir
district, Central Jakarta.

The governor warned people at the ceremony that the city would
be in serious economic turmoil as a result of the rioting. He was
therefore left with no choice but to "instruct security personnel
to take whatever stern action was necessary," to prevent further
rioting, vandalism, looting or robberies.

The Nov. 22 riot, which was sparked by a clash between
residents of Ketapang and guards at a local amusement center,
which people thought functioned as a gambling den, ended with the
burning and vandalism of 22 churches and five Protestant and
Catholic schools.

Sutiyoso admitted that he was ashamed when he was reminded
that he was governor of Jakarta.

"Where's the pride of governing a city whose people enjoy
murdering others as if they are killing pigs, looting and
robbing?" Sutiyoso asked.

"People are not only killing, but also robbing motorists
heading to Soekarno-Hatta Airport along the toll roads. Some of
the robbery victims have connections with embassies here.

"They call up the embassies, their families abroad and tell
them not to come to Indonesia. Tell me, where should I put my
face as a governor of such a city."

He said that even though 98 percent of the Jakarta population
was Moslem, Moslems were a minority in other cities like Dili and
Kupang, the capital of East Nusa Tenggara.

"There, Moslems can easily be vanquished if riots occur. Is
this what you Jakartans want? Do you want the entire country to
destroy itself?"

The governor was referring to Monday's burning and vandalizing
of six mosques by a mob in Kupang, said to have been in apparent
retaliation for the burning of churches here on Nov. 22. (ylt)