PEOPLE CONDEMN ATTACK ON CHURCHES

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Feb 8 (ANTARA) - Various quarters have condemned Tuesday's attack on houses of worship in the Central Java city of Temanggung where three churches were destroyed and nine people were injured (four seriously) by a group of people who were dissatisfied with the prosecution's sentencing demand for a defendant in a religious blasphemy case.          Condemnations among others came from youths, religious leaders, state officials and the president who asked that the perpetrators should be brought to justice immediately because their anarchic acts could fuel wide spread violence.          "Religious issues are sensitive. The faiths of both the minority and the majority should be respected," Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam said in an short text message to ANTARA.          General chairman of GP Ansor, the youth wing of the country's largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Nusron Wahid condemned the attack. "Houses of prayers are scared places for followers of a religion. It is our obligation to protect houses of worship from disturbance, no matter from whom or from where it comes," Nusron Wahid said on Tuesday.          Groups of people took to the street and torched  two churches and vandalized another one in Temanggung on Tuesday because they were dissatisfied with the five-year jail term demanded by prosecutors for Antonius Richmond Bawengan, the defendant in a religious blasphemy case in the local district court.          Antonius has been detained since last October when he was arrested for distributing books and pamphlets containing materials insulting Muslims.          Nusron said  the riot was a barbaric act and intolerable, legally and morally, in a country where religion and morality play a significant role in the people's life. "There is no single religion which tolerates anarchic acts even if they are committed in the name of religion," Nusron said.          He said that the state should not be helpless in protecting its citizens,  let alone if it only faces a group of people who committed anarchic acts on the pretext of implementing a religious order.          "This should serve as a serious correction for the state and its apparatuses. On Sunday followers of the Ahmadiyah were killed but were ignored. Now churches were set ablaze. So, where is the state protection against citizens' civil rights, properties and after all houses of worship?," he questioned.          On Sunday, three followers of the Ahmadiah Islamic sect were killed when they were attacked by thousands of local residents in Pandeglang district, Banten province.          Religious leaders also condemned the attack on houses of prayers in Central Java's Temanggung city.          Priest Rawis MTh of the Betel Indonesia Church in Manado, North Sulawesi urged the government to thoroughly investigate the destruction churches in Central Java because the perpetrators of the incident disturbed religious harmony.          "Anger should not always be aimed at houses of worship because such an act is an  intolerable form of deed," Rawis said.          He said that the Indonesian people should respect the plurality of religions existing in Indonesia.  "Religious plurality is a form of religious diversity that should be respected and preserved, not disturbed," Rawis said.          Therefore, Chairman of the executive board of NU, Said Aqil Siroj, called on the government to be more serious in protecting citizens from violence which of late often took place such as that in Pandeglang which claimed the lives of three Ahmadiyah followers.          "The state is obliged to protect every citizen. It should take firm action against perpetrators in accordance with the law in force," Siroj said.          He said that security officers were very slow in anticipating violent cases within society. "I regret police for not been able to act fast, even if they are smart, have the facility and intelligence networks," he said.          Secretary General of the Ministry of Religious Affairs Bahrul Hayat also deplored the attack on the churches in Temanggung, saying it could have wide implications. "We deplored the incident. No one would like such an unlawful deed to happen," he said.          He said that blasphemy of religions and their symbols with certain motives would have implications and wide reactions to religious followers.          "We call on the people to realize that religions and their symbols are sensitive matters. It would draw strong reactions if there is a party who tries to insult or offend them," he said.          In the meantime,  President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has also denounced the anarchic acts, according to Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto.           He said that the president has ordered the Central Java Police chief to investigate the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice. "The president also instructed that those involved in the anarchic acts  be processed based on the law soon," he said.          The president also instructed security officers and regional government officials to increase their detection efforts, take preventive measures and firm actions against the perpetrators of the anarchic acts.          "The incident should thoroughly be investigated and those behind it should be acted upon firmly," the chief security minister said.          In the meantime, the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) deployed officers to help maintain peace after clashes in Temanggung.           "There are about 700 military officers who are deployed to help maintain peace in Temanggung," National Police Spokesman Senior Commissioner Boy Rafli Amar said.           He said that in order to provide preventive efforts the TNI was involved in safeguarding the Central Java city of Temanggung.          The police spokesman said that the incident was linked to sensitive religious issues (SARA) so that everybody was expected to play a role (in preventing the spread of the violence).           "We know the potential of a SARA conflict where this issue is extremely sensitive so that it is necessary to call on the people to maintain peace and preserve conducive conditions," he said.      (T.A014/A/HAJM/21:45/A/S012)08-02-2011 22:05:2