On Tuesday 27 April hundreds of Muslims descended on a building site belonging to a Christian education foundation in Cibeureum, in the Bogor regency of West Java. They ransacked and set fire to the building, and destroyed other property. Residents claimed that the rioters were from outside the village, which suggests that the attack may have been orchestrated. Muslim leaders had accused the foundation of reneging on an agreement not to create a Christian education centre in a mainly Muslim area and of planning to build a chapel there. Incited by these reports, Muslim residents took matters into their own hands. A spokeswoman for the foundation denied the rumours, saying that the building was intended as a meeting-place.
Police completely failed to prevent the attack. In the afternoon of the same day the local government directed that construction of the building should be postponed until further notice.
An Indonesian church leader said that acts of destruction and anarchy should not be tolerated. “Isn’t this country based on the law?” he asked. “Why have this country’s people behaved like thugs recently?”
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar