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Yogyakarta in spotlight as more crosses desecrated
At least 11 wooden crosses at the Bethesda Hospital cemetery were found either missing, damaged or partially burned on Sunday.
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Hatred: Unidentified people pulled out wooden crosses at Bethesda Hospital’s cemetery in Yogyakarta. Some of the crosses were set on fire. (The Jakarta Post/Bambang Muryanto )
Yogyakarta resident Asmono could not fathom what exactly had happened to his wife’s grave.
On Wednesday, he went to the grave, located in a cemetery next to Bethesda Hospital in Sleman regency, only to find that the cross that marked the final resting place of his wife, Sri Wiyanti, had mysteriously disappeared.
He later found the marker among at least six other crosses that had been pulled out from their graves. After finding the marker, the 59-year-old returned the cross to his wife’s grave.
On Sunday, he went back to the grave and found that the marker was missing again. “I can’t find the [cross] anymore,” Asmono told The Jakarta Post.
“There is no way a madman could have done this.”
At least 11 wooden crosses at the Bethesda Hospital cemetery were found either missing, damaged or partially burned on Sunday. The wooden markers are usually used for the first 1,000 days after the funeral of the deceased.
After that, the wooden grave marker is usually replaced by a more permanent gravestone made from stone or concrete.
