ASIA/EAST TIMOR - Two killed and four injured in clashes outside church in Dili. Priests and religious work to restore social harmony

Dili (Agenzia Fides) - On Sunday 22 October, while East Timor’s prime minister Ramos-Horta was on his way to Europe, for a visit during which he will also meet Pope Benedict XVI, two people were killed outside a church in Dili where evening mass was being said. In clashes between rival gangs, two people were killed, four were injured and the church building was slightly damaged.
Local clergy and religious are working hard to mediate in a situation of rising tension in recent months with fighting between different military factions since 600 soldiers were dismissed from the army. Before he left Jose Ramos Horta said he intended to invite Pope Benedict XVI to visit East Timor, the most Catholic country in Asia, to encourage the people to work for harmony, hope and reconciliation. Ramos-Horta has always said that the Church is the only solid institution in the country, involving it in the peace process and recognising the effort of the bishops and clergy and church institutions to heal wounds and promote reconciliation as well as social, cultural, spiritual and moral progress.
The situation precipitated in East Timor in the Spring of this year 2006, when the then Premier Mari Alkatiri dismissed 600 army soldiers on strike to protest against ethnic discrimination and an international peacekeeping force led by Australian peacekeepers was called in to restore calm. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 24/10/2006 righe 37 parole 371)