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Churches to be fixed in time for Christmas
The Central Maluku administration has pledged to finish the reconstruction of churches and houses set ablaze during rioting last week in Masohi
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The Central Maluku administration has pledged to finish the reconstruction of churches and houses set ablaze during rioting last week in Masohi.
Reconstruction work began on Saturday, marked by the laying of a cornerstone by Central Maluku Regent Abdullah Tuasikal at Syiloam Church, which was burned down during the riot, in Letwaru district.
“We are committed to finishing the reconstruction of homes and churches before Christmas, so Christians won’t have to celebrate it in temporary shelters,” Tuasikal said Monday.
To accelerate the reconstruction, Tuasikal instructed the Letwaru district head to list all construction workers in the subdistricts in his region and ask them to take part in the project.
The regency administration is also allowing Muslim contractors from outside Letwaru to help in the rebuilding the damaged homes.
“We will first ask the workers whether they can get the job done by Dec. 24 at the latest. We will put 10 workers at a time on one house if needed,” Tuasikal said.
He added his top priority was to ensure every affected family would be able to return to their homes in time to celebrate Christmas.
Anthon Seriholo, head of the Maluku Public Works Agency, told The Jakarta Post earlier that the provincial and regency administrations had allocated Rp 2 billion (US$187,000) from their annual budgets to rebuild the houses and churches.
Sixty-seven buildings were burned down in the rioting. They include 64 houses, two churches and a village hall.
Maluku Police chief Brig. Gen. Mudji Waluyo said two-thirds of Central Maluku Police personnel would be deployed to maintain security during Christmas and New Year’s Eve celebrations.
This is in addition to military troops from the 731st Kabaressy infantry and the 1502 Masohi Military Command to be deployed for the same purpose.
Mudji added the police were still investigating the riot, which broke out after a teacher at an elementary school in Masohi allegedly insulted Islam during an extracurricular tutorial for sixth-graders.
Three people have been named as suspects in the riot. They are Welhelmina Holle, the teacher, Asmara Wasahua and Muhammad Patty.
