Presbyterian Church Attacked by Gunmen in Indonesia

Five unidentified gunmen burst into the Effata Presbyterian church at Palu, in Central Sulawesi province of Indonesia, on Sunday whilst the evening service was going on. After overpowered a security guard, the five attackers fired at the preacher and congregations.

The 29-year old female minister, Reverend Susianti Tinulele, died at the scene after preaching a sermon. A worship team member was also killed. Three others were wounded and around 100 churchgoers escaped safely.

Being widely reported in local and international newspapers, Central Sulawesi police spokeman Batara said the motive was not known, “but clearly they want to disturb security as it has been relatively safe recently.”

In an interview with Reuters, Chief Security Minister Hari Sabarno was questioned without indicating if any specific group was suspected. He admitted that the person who killed the priest giving a sermon was inhuman.

“When the target is a religious leader from a specific religion, people may think this was done by another religion,” said Sabarno.

About 85% of Indonesians are Muslims, and in the past Christians were frequently persecuted by other religions. However, as in particular area in the eastern part like Palu and Poso, the Christian and Muslim populations are about equal in size, the conflict between two faith groups is even more critical. This is the fifth attack on Christians in Central Sulawesi this year and at least 1,000 people have been killed in Muslim-Christian unrest in the province over the past five years.

Despite efforts of the Government to cease the violence between Christians and Muslims, the gunmen were suspected to spark fresh religious tension. Both religious leaders urged for restraint and asked people to shun revenge.

Some Christians are furious with the Government’s incompetence in resolving interfaith conflicts. Frederik Latupeirisa, a former secretary of the Sulawesi Church Youth Commission said, “The national police chief should be removed because they could not ensure that Christians are able to perform their religious rituals in peace within the country.”

Before the investigation was revealed, it was too early to condemn any faith groups. Mission Network News (MNN) called for the worldwide prayer support for the Christian ministries in Indonesia. Missionary Berglund from New Tribes Mission speaks to MNN, showing his hope on local Indonesians to take up mission. He said, “We have lots of Indonesian co-workers and people we’re discipling as church planters. And, we trust the Lord to do tremendous things through them in the future. We are investing heavily in discipleship and training of those who can carry the torch in the event that something would change about the situation in Indonesia.”