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Ten suspects named behind Aceh church burning
Scared and weary: People displaced by Tuesdayâs clash triggered by the burning of their church in Aceh Singkil, Aceh, rest at a shelter in Madumas, North Sumatra, on Thursday
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Scared and weary: People displaced by Tuesdayâs clash triggered by the burning of their church in Aceh Singkil, Aceh, rest at a shelter in Madumas, North Sumatra, on Thursday. Thousands of mainly Christian people still traumatized by the attack launched by Muslim mobs who deem their church illegal have opted to remain in neighboring North Sumatra.(JP/Hotli Simanjuntak) (JP/Hotli Simanjuntak)
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span class="inline inline-center">Scared and weary: People displaced by Tuesday's clash triggered by the burning of their church in Aceh Singkil, Aceh, rest at a shelter in Madumas, North Sumatra, on Thursday. Thousands of mainly Christian people still traumatized by the attack launched by Muslim mobs who deem their church illegal have opted to remain in neighboring North Sumatra.(JP/Hotli Simanjuntak)
Police have named 10 people suspects for their alleged role in burning a church in Aceh Singkil regency, Aceh, an incident that has triggered an exodus of thousands of residents leaving to take shelter in neighboring North Sumatra.
National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Agus Rianto said on Thursday that the Aceh Singkil Police had named 10 suspects since the church burning on Tuesday.
'The total number of suspects is 10. Three have been detained while the remaining seven are on the run,' Agus said at the National Police headquarters in South Jakarta.
All 10 suspects could be charged with vandalism and property damage under the Criminal Code, he added.
'We are still determining who is the mastermind [behind the clash],' Agus said.
Meanwhile, thousands of Aceh Singkil residents were still staying in shelters and houses in regencies in North Sumatra on Thursday, reluctant to go home despite government guarantees of security.
'I'm safer here than if I go home. We are afraid there will be violence in the future,' Nuraini Berutu, a resident of Pertabas village, Aceh Singkil, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
Nuraini is among 2,500 residents staying in a Catholic school in Tumbajae village, Central Tapanuli regency, North Sumatra.
'Many people are still coming from [Aceh Singkil]. We are still collecting data. Many of them have not been recorded,' Jimmy Tarigan, a coordinator of Tumbajae shelter, told the Post.
According to data from the North Sumatra administration, about 7000 Aceh Singkil residents have taken shelter in Central Tapanuli and Pakpak Bharat regencies.
The residents, mostly Christians, left their homes after almost a thousand people grouped under the Islamic Youth Movement attacked Suka Makmur village and burned down the Huria Kristen Indonesia (HKI) church. One of the attackers was shot dead and three others were injured when the residents tried to defend their church. The church is one of 10 opposed by the group.
Despite lingering fears, Central Tapanuli Regent Sukran Jamilan Tanjung said that some 4,280 residents in the regency would return home on Friday.
'The residents who took shelter here are willing to go home. According to the plan, they are to go home at 2 p.m. tomorrow,' Syukron told the Post on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said that the situation in Aceh Singkil had returned to normal after the police and Indonesian Military (TNI) members secured the conflict zone on Thursday.
'The Singkil incident is an old problem that flared up in 1979, 2011, 2013 and now. The evacuees who fled to the Pakpak region have been asked to return home,' Luhut told reporters at the KPK headquarters on Thursday.
After finding that the conflict was sparked by a building permit policy discriminatory toward Christians, the National Police have instructed the local administration to review the regulation. 'The National Police chief has said that the local administration should evaluate existing local regulations to ensure there are no future violations,' Luhut added.
Meanwhile, Interfaith Harmony Forum (FKUB) chairman Lipiyus Biniluk asked the government to immediately rebuild the church burned down in Aceh Singkil.
'We hope the house of worship or church will be rebuilt immediately after the incident and handed over for use by the community,' Lipius Biniluk said at a meeting of religious leaders facilitated by Papua Police chief Ins. Gen. Paulus Waterpauw in Jayapura on Thursday.
The country was rocked by an incident on July 17 when a Christian mob attacked the Islamic community in Tolikara regency, Papua, setting fire to kiosks, with the blaze spreading and destroying an Islamic house of worship.
Apriadi Gunawan, Haeril Halim and Nethy Dharma Somba contributed to the story from Medan, Jakarta and Jayapura
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