Christians in Java uneasy after 'orchestrated' attacks on churches

February 09, 2011

Indonesian police have stepped up security around Christian churches in Java in the wake of a series of attacks by Muslim militants, amid complaints that the government has not provided adequate protection for religious minorities.

Bishop Petrus Canisius Mandagi, who heads an inter-faith dialogue commission for the Indonesian bishops’ conference, charged that “religious minorities have been left without any protection from the state.” Archbishop Johannes Pujasumarta of Semarang, in whose archdiocese the violence erupted, said that the mob violence was “planned and orchestrated” by extremist groups from outside the area. And Father Ignazio Ismartono, a Jesuit priest involved in inter-faith dialogue, agreed that the rash of violence suggests “dark forces who want to fuel tensions in society.” the rest