ASIA/ EAST TIMOR - The Bishops call the people to keep calm and demand the riots to end. The split in the Timorese society is still not healed: it is necessary to work for reconciliation.

Dili (Fides Agency) - The Church condemns all forms of violence. The Government should intervene to recover the situation, stopping the people responsible for the riots. The people should go back home, without letting themselves be drawn into acts of indiscriminate violence. These are the points of a joint release issued by the two Bishops of East Timor, Msgr Ricardo Da Silva, Bishop of Dili, and Msgr Basilio do Nascimento, Bishop of Baucau, while on the streets of the Capital, Dili, the situation is still tense and the soldiers continue to patrol the area intensively.
The recent disorders were caused by contrasts between the armed forces and 591 soldiers dismissed by the government in February this year, who organised a protest claiming they were victims of unjust discrimination. The social tension spread, causing five victims, several wounded and about a hundred fires in Dili. The soldiers said they were dismissed because accused of being supporters of the pro-Indonesian militias during the risings for independence from Jakarta. The event shows that within Timorese society the “wound” is still open: the split that opposes the people pro and against independence from Indonesia is still not over and it is still necessary, according to the local Church, to work hard toward reconciliation.
In the meanwhile, the Salesian Society of Dili-Comoro, including a parish, a communication centre, a centre for professional training and a shelter, in the last few days has welcomed about 5000 people, mostly families who left their homes in fear of the riots and the fires. The Salesians, called the Ans Agency, have become the largest refugee centre in the city. Others have grown close to the airport, the American Embassy, the police station and the community of the Daughters of Our Lady Help of Christians. The Salesians gave them a place to stay, water and food, when the basic goods started to lack. Salesian Laypersons and volunteers have responded to the emergency, while the priests continue to perform their ministry in the different parishes of the city even in this crucial moment. (Fides Agency 5/5/2006)