Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X says the time for dialogue with the group that recently attacked a Catholic prayer group in Sleman has passed
ogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X says the time for dialogue with the group that recently attacked a Catholic prayer group in Sleman has passed.
'There's no need for dialogue anymore. Acts of violence should be legally and firmly addressed,' Hamengkubuwono said on the sidelines of a national coordination meeting for the presidential election in Bogor, West Java on Tuesday.
Hamengkubuwono acknowledged he was aware that several violent organizations were located in Yogyakarta and said the organizations were mostly made up of people from outside the province.
'I cannot stop them from coming here, but I must emphasize that the Yogyakarta public don't like violence. Violence has never been part of this strong community,' he said as reported by kompas.com on Tuesday.
Yogyakarta has long been known as a province that upholds and honors pluralism. The governor was given an award that recognized his role in supporting pluralism in Yogyakarta.
Rights activists have protested over what they deem as the authorities' slow response to the attack that injured five people. The activists said Hamengkubuwono's latest award as a leader supporting
pluralism should be retracted in the event he did not deal with the incident.
To date, the police have only arrested one man identified as KH, who is suspected to be one of the assailants.
The May 29 attack injured Julius Felicianus, the director of the Galang Press and owner of the house where the attack took place, and four others. Kompas TV journalist Michael Aryawan's camera was also
taken by the assailants. (fss/dic)
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