organization was rushing aid to Indonesia’s mainly Christian town of Tentana where it claimed two bomb blasts killed 27 people, including a pastor, the previous day.Saturday’s first bomb ripped through a crowded Saturday morning market around 8.15 am local time.
"Then, as people rushed to the aid of the wounded, a second more powerful bomb exploded killing many more including pastor Demi Doelelia, two policemen, and a small child," VOM Australia said in a message to BosNewsLife News Center.
MUSLIM MILITANTS
There have been no claims of responsibility for the bombings in Tentena, about 60 kilometers (38 miles) south of the tense coastal town of Poso, but observers in the region believe Muslim militants were responsible.
VOM Australia said its Indonesian partner organization Bless Indonesia Today and International Friends of Compassion are "providing immediate emergency medical supplies" to the Tentena hospital to help deal "with the overwhelming number of casualties, both adults and children."
It urged supporters to "pray for the community of Tentena, and for people such as Rev. Rinaldy Damanik who are endeavoring to give Christian leadership in the midst of fear and chaos."
PASTOR AMID TENSIONS
Damanik, President of the Central Sulawesi Christian Church, was released from prison in November 2004, after serving a 3 year sentence on trumped up charged of "carrying illegal weapons," VOA Australia said. "Damanik’s reputation as an outspoken advocate for peace in the region has won him both friends and enemies. There are some religious extremists, as well as elements within the police and military, who would prefer to see the [religious] conflict [between Muslims and Christians] reignited," the organization
added.
Church watchers and reporters in the region said Saturday’s bomb attacks in Tentena were "the most powerful" to rock Indonesia since the Bali bombing in October 2002 and it was the first time a direct attack has been launched on Tentena.
"The placement and timing of the bombs was intended to inflict as much loss of life as possible. No doubt the bombers are hoping that by such wanton acts of destruction, they can provoke the Christian community to retaliate and so reignite the conflict in Central Sulawesi that caused the loss of 2000 lives between 1999 and 2002," VOM Australia said. (With Stefan J. Bos, BosNewsLife Research and reports from Indonesia and Australia).
