The Sydney Morning Herald, October 1, 2006 - 8:12PM
Indonesian Christian 'stabbed by Muslim mob'
Muslims dragged a Christian man from a bus and stabbed him on Sunday, a witness
and nurse said, amid rising religious tensions in central Indonesia following the
executions of three Roman Catholic militants.
The victim was hospitalised with wounds to his back, said Yeni, a nurse, who like
many Indonesians uses only a single name. She described his condition as "serious".
About 20 men wearing black masks blocked a road in Poso town on Sulawesi island
that was the main battleground for fighting between Muslims and Christians from 1998
to 2002 that left about 1000 people from both faiths dead.
They stopped a bus and forced five passengers to get out, intimidating them and
stabbing one before police arrived, said a witness who gave his name as Arman.
Communal tensions have risen on Sulawesi since the executions last week of three
Roman Catholic men convicted of leading a militia that carried out attacks in 2000,
including an assault on an Islamic school that left at least 70 dead.
Human rights groups allege their trial was unfair and questioned whether religion
played a role in the sentencing. Few Muslims were punished for the four years of
unrest, and none to more than 15 years in prison.
Overnight in Poso, unidentified people detonated two small bombs that caused no
injuries or damage. Soon after, a Muslim mob set fire to a partially constructed church
in the Muslim-dominated town, said police Captain Wayan.
On Friday, more than 100 Christians youths, angered by the September 22
executions, torched a police station and hurled rocks at a helicopter carrying a police
chief, state news agency Antara reported.
Indonesia is a secular nation with the world's largest number of Muslims, about 190
million. In Sulawesi and several parts of the country's east, Christian and Muslim
populations are roughly equal.
AP
Copyright © 2005. The Sydney Morning Herald.
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