Christians and Muslims attend pastor's funeral in Palu
The burial of Reverend Kongkoli, who was murdered on Monday, took place yesterday. Human rights activists held a protest and Christian leaders called for transparent inquiries and "no scapegoats".
Palu (AsiaNews/JP) Thousands of Christians and Muslims yesterday attended the funeral of a Christian pastor killed in Palu in the Indonesian province of Central Sulawesi. Motorcycles, cars and a crowd of people accompanied the body of Reverend Irianto Kongkoli to the cemetery in Telise subdistrict, Palu, under the watchful eyes of hundreds of police officers.
The 40-year-old pastor was killed by a bullet in the nape of his neck on the morning of 16 October. The man, who was chief of the Central Sulawesi Churches of Synod (GKST), was a strong opponent of the execution on 22 September of three Catholics, who were found guilty of masterminding some of the bloody sectarian clashes that rocked Poso in 2000.
Activist groups staged a day-long protest outside the Central Sulawesi Police Headquarters, demanding the police arrest the shooters. The Police chief Brig. Gen. Badroddin Haiti asked protesters to be patient: "Don't blame anyone for this murder. Let me handle this since I'm the one responsible."
To date, more than 10 people have been interrogated in connection to the pastor's death. The police said one of them, identified as Kh, could have links with the murderers.
Reverend Renaldy Damanik, Kongkoli's predecessor at the helm of the
GKST, praised the commitment of the police but said that despite the large number of officers deployed in Palu and Poso, "they were still unable to prevent the shooting". He said he hoped investigators were not just searching for a scapegoat and that the results of the inquiry would be made public. "We fear these attacks are being carried out by a trained group eager to disrupt security."
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