months ago in Indonesia, was anticipating another difficult Sunday, April 10, as it still does not know whether he is dead or alive, a well informed Christian news agency reported.
Jokran Ratu, who is the pastor of a Gereja Pantekosta di Indonesia (GPdI) church in Labuang village on the remote Buru island in the Malukus, was abducted on the night of December 3, 2004, by "masked intruders", Compass Direct said. No ransom demand has reportedly been received and police have not apprehended the kidnappers.
"We always ask the police whether they [the police] have made progress or found Mr. Jokran’s body," Compass quoted Rev. Henry Lolaen, a pastor from nearby Ambon island as saying.
FEARS OF ANNIVERSARY
It comes as police are preparing for the April 25 anniversary of a Malukan separatist group as last year an illegal flag-raising ceremony led to violent clashes between Muslim and Christian communities in Ambon, with at least 20 casualties and scores of buildings burned to the ground, Compass Direct reported.
Violence between Muslims and Christians in the Malukus first erupted in January 1999, partly as the result of a government resettlement policy. The Malukus were previously a majority-Christian region, but huge numbers of Muslim settlers changed the ratio and led to bitter land disputes and thousands of deaths.
There are fears that amid all police activities to prevent more violence, investigations are stalling to find the eight masked gunmen who managed to enter Ratu’s house at 2 a.m. on December 3, last year. When the door was opened, masked intruders pointed a gun at Ratu and his wife and asked for money, Compass Direct said.
RECEIVING DONATION DANGEROUS
Rev. Henry Lolaen, head of the GPdI in Ambon, reportedly said that Ratu had just received a donation of 10,000,000 rupiah ($1,086) for the construction of a new church building.
The pastor told the intruders that he had already deposited the funds in two bank accounts, at the Bank Mandiri and the Bank Negara Indonesia.
The gunmen asked for the two bank deposit books, which were later found lying on the ground in Labuang village, before taking Ratu away with them and assuring his wife that they intended to release him, the news agency said.
Villagers who later searched for their pastor reportedly found only the red T-shirt he was wearing that night, marked with what appeared to be three bullet holes, abandoned on the beach. Police arrested one suspect immediately after the kidnapping. However, the man was released after questioning and police have taken no further action against him, Compass Direct reported.
EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS TARGETED
Evangelical Christians in South East Asia have increasingly become a target for extremists, human rights watchdogs suggest. Even in mainly Catholic Philippines for instance a small group of Christians from the Sama tribe in the southern part of the country are living in fear after a fellow church member was reportedly murdered in late February.
"Mr. Angelada was killed by unknown assailants following his involvement in a land dispute with Muslims of the Tausug tribe," Compass Direct said.
The Sama community lives on land the government loaned the tribe years ago. Meanwhile another Muslim-background believer, shot in November 2004, is still recovering after a bullet lodged in his lower spine, leaving him partially paralyzed, the news agency said.
(With: Compass Direct and reports from Indonesia and the Philippines)
