1) No Plans To Burn Mosque: GIDI Tolikara President

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President of the Evangelical Church in Inonesia (GIDI), Rev. Dorman Wandikmbo, said the unrest was initially caused by the police shooting indiscriminately at residents who asked Muslims practice Eid prayers without loudspeakers.

Unhappy with the drastic response, some people vented their anger by burning kiosks, which are located not far from the mosque.

"There was never any desire to burn the mosque. Some youths who annoyed anger lashed out to nearby stalls, to show resistance against the repressive attitude of the police. No one ever thought that the fire rapidly spread to the houses and mosque," said Dorman when contacted by Tempo on Saturday, July 18, 2015.

The incident began when GIDI initiated an international meeting near the location of the incident. Earlier, about three weeks before implementing the event, local church officials had issued a notification letter claimed to have been approved and recognized by the local government and local army and police.

"When the day came, we were surprised that the police and army allowed worship to carried out in the field and using loudspeakers. We have already conveyed (our plans) in the letter," he said.

Dorman said, the speakers made the seminar uncomfortable. The distance between the loudspeakers at the venue of the seminar is only about 250 meters, he said. Therefore, some youths took the initiative to ask the people to pray inside the mosque. But, he said, police dispersed the youths with gunfire.

After the shooting, the situation became chaotic and uncontrollable. "People at the seminar became involved and ran helter-skelter, leaving the location," he said. Upset with repressive treatment, they burned kiosks as a form of resistance.

"So it was not burning of the mosque. People need to know that even homes of non-Muslim Papuans also caught fire. No one thought the fire would quickly spread and burned the mosque," he said.

According to Dorman, the most responsible party in this incident was the police and military. "When we coordinate with the mosque staff, they said they never got a notice from the police and military that the field that will be used for the seminar," he said.

He also said that for Muslims in Tolikara are used to worshipping inside the mosque without loudspeakers. "They have understood and never protested. With the efforts of this provocation, we also pity them. However, we are more sorry that Papuans are considered anti-tolerant,” he said.