News Brief

Church congregation attacked in Indonesia

-19/4/04

A church congregation in Indonesia has been sprayed with bullets as they were singing hymns on Easter Saturday two Christian human rights groups have reported today.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide and the Barnabas Fund said that masked gunmen attacked Christians at the Tabernacle Church in Kilo village, Poso district, injuring seven Christians including a four-year girl.

The attack follows three recent incidents in which Christians have been shot. On March 30, Reverend Freddy Wuisan was killed by unknown attackers behind the Membuke Church in Poso Pesisir district on Sulawesi. Eyewitnesses reportedly saw two people driving away on a motorcycle.

Earlier that same day Rosia Pilongo, the Dean of the Law Department of Sintuwu Maroso University, was shot in the head by two people on a motorcycle. She was rushed to hospital and remains in a critical condition. Students and lecturers of the University suspended academic activities.

Snipers shot dead another Christian, Jhon Christian Tanalida, on March 27 close to Poso city.

Tensions have been rising in Central Sulawesi, an island in eastern Indonesia, since militants launched a large-scale attack against Christian villagers in October 2003. During this time there have been sporadic attacks and drive-by shootings targeting the Christian community.

In a report published in February 2004, the International Crisis Group (ICG) documented the extensive involvement of Jemaah Islamiyah and other militant groups in the Central Sulawesi conflict. They confirmed many observersí fears that the area remains a recruitment and training ground for extremists.

The Indonesian government has responded quickly to the latest incidents. There are already some 3,500 police and military personnel stationed in the region and additional security forces were sent to the areas where the attacks occurred. The police believe the earlier attacks were perpetrated by the same group of people. Whilst peace is clearly fragile, the government maintains the Malino peace agreement is still functioning in Central Sulawesi.

Tina Lambert, Advocacy Director of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, said: ìThe increasing incidence of such attacks should be taken as a serious warning of possible future and more widespread violence. While the swift action taken to apprehend those responsible is commendable, it fails to address the underlying causes of the violence and particularly the presence of militants in the area. CSW calls on the Indonesian government to address these concerns and calls on the international community to urgently assist reconciliation efforts in the region.î

Between 1999 and 2001 anti-Christian violence in the area around Poso claimed some 2000 lives. It ended with the Malino Peace Accord in December 2001, but sporadic violence has continued ever since.

Analysts say that several of the recent attacks are being carried out by a particularly violent local Islamic group called Mujahideen Kompak. They are a subgroup of the militant group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) that operates in many countries of South-East Asia with the aim of setting up an "Islamic Super-State" under the rule of shari'a (Islamic law). JI were said to be responsible for the Bali bombings and for the church bombings on Christmas Eve 2000 which killed 18 Christians.