Jakarta (AsiaNews) – A total of four persons were killed in two different attacks in an area near Poso, a city in the Central Sulawesi Islands. Two of the victims were Protestant Christians, while the other two were Hindu immigrants from Bali.
An unknown group of gunmen entered a Protestant church in Marowo located in borough of Ulu Bonka, opening fire and killing Rusian Terampi and Ritin Bodel, 33 and 36 years of age respectively. The incident occurred on Saturday Nov. 29 and caused four others to be wounded while in church praying. There names were and respective ages were: Lumin Layagi (26), Sandra Pinkar (37), Yusmin (23), and Yunan (46).
That same day in the Balinese immigrant village of Kilo Trans, 50 km north of Poso, an unidentified group fired shots at villagers around 7:00 p.m. One man, Imade Simson, was killed upon gunshot. The other, Iketu Sarma, was seriously wounded, but then died the following day.
An eyewitness named Udin said: "We never thought people from Bali could be victims of attacks. Until now, we have never been involved in any acts of violence."
The Sulawesi and Molukas Islands have been the stage for hostility among Protestant Christians and Muslims since 1999. Ethnic-religious clashes have produced thousands of deaths and tens of thousands of refugees. In 2001 a peace treaty had signaled an end to violence. New eruptions of violence, however, broke out last October.
The Kilo Trans attack is the first of its kind on the Balinese Hindu community. According to some observers, this is a sign that such conflict –to which military and fundamentalist factions are no strangers –aims at destabilizing relations not only between Christians and Muslims, but the whole fabric of Indonesia's multi-ethnic population.
Police forces have been largely increased for extra security. In the meantime, however, there is no end in sight to violence, though since October, 6 attackers were killed and 16 arrested. (HM - SF)
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