Makassar terrorists linked to Filippino Islamic radicals
One of the terrorists who tried to blow up the cathedral belonged to the Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (Jad) group, famous for carrying out the attack on Jolo Cathedral in 2019. Some members of the group were arrested in Sumbawa, in the province of West Nusa Tenggara. The condemnation of President Widodo, of the Minister for Religious Affairs, of the Protestant Churches. Vicar General of Makassar: Thanks to the police commitment. It is important to support the Catholic community and "promote the spirit of fraternity among all Indonesian citizens".
Jakarta (AsiaNews) - The suicide bombers of Makassar Cathedral are linked to groups of Islamic radicals in the Philippines.
Indonesian Police Chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabow confirmed last night that at least one of the two terrorists belonged to the Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (Jad) group.
"The Jad group - said Prabowo – carried out the bomb attacks in Jolo, in the Philippines". The reference is to the attack of January 27, 2019, when two bombs exploded in the cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Jolo (Sulu).
At the time, the Philippine administration had declared that an Indonesian member of the group, which is linked to ISIS, had participated in the attack. Jad, based in Indonesia, is responsible for several attacks on churches in Indonesia and the Philippines.
Yesterday's suicide attack only killed the two suspected terrorists, a man and a woman, and wounded 20 faithful, as well as the security guard who stopped the two attackers who wanted to enter the church, at the very end of the Palm Sunday service. It is unclear whether the two were husband and wife.
If the guard, Cosmas, hadn't been able to stop the attackers, it would have been a massacre. Instead, Cosmas became suspicious and headed towards the two at the entrance to the side gate of the church and the two immediately detonated the bomb contained in a pressure cooker.
Yesterday there were arrests of members of the group in Sumbawa, in the province of West Nusa Tenggara.
Condemnation
Condemnation of the attack has arrived. In a video message, President Joko Widodo said he had ordered the police to unmask the terrorist network "to its roots". He added that terrorism is a crime against humanity and is not linked to any religion. "All religions are against terror ... The state will not allow such acts of terror to happen again" (photo 3).
Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, minister for religious affairs, said this bomb attack obscures the tranquillity of social life. He hopes that the police force will reveal the mind of this hateful act as soon as possible.
The president of the Communion of Churches in Indonesia (PGI), the Rev. Gomar Gultom, said this attack adds to the list of acts of violence and terror in Indonesia.
More complaints and condemnation came from various Catholic organizations such as PMKRI, Pemuda Katolik, WKRI, FMKI
The response of the archdiocese of Makassar
The archbishop of Makassar, Msgr. John Liku Ada’s, has so far not spoken about the attack, but the vicar general, Fr. Joni Payuk, CICM, reiterated the firm condemnation of the Christian community against “this act of terror. Whatever the underlying reason, this gesture is not right”.
He had words of appreciation for "the good work of the local administration, the police and the armed forces in dealing with the incident by investigating the case, carrying out searches and searches, trying to rebuild the feeling of social security in Makassar".
“We also want to support the morale of our Catholic community- he added - so that it is active in promoting the spirit of fraternity among all Indonesian citizens. This is very important to ensure national unity and exclude any ideology or thought that endangers the social harmony of our society ".
According to Fr. Willem Tulak, pastor of the cathedral, there are 1,400 faithful in the city of Makassar. "80% are of Chinese descent, while the rest come from different areas and ethnic groups: Toraja, Manado, East Nusa Tenggara, Java".
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