Singkil, Another Preventable Clash

The vandalism and burning of the Indonesian Huria Christian (HKI) churches in Aceh should shame our country's leaders. As the administrators of the state, they have once again failed to preserve interfaith harmony. And this is not the first time.

The violence broke out last Tuesday. A group of people came to the Deleng Langan HKI Church at Gunung Meriah, Aceh Singkil. After vandalizing and burning the building, they moved on to the Pakpak Dairi Protestant Church in Dangguru, 10 kilometers away. But the church was being protected by the security forces. Violence broke out, resulting in a person being killed. Around 4,000 inhabitants of Singkil fled across the provincial border seeking safety in Central Tapanuli.

October 20, 2015