Story number 1 for 26 Jun 2000

We begin today in Indonesia where the government has banned travel to the Maluku Islands. That, after mobs exchanged gunfire in Maluku’s capitol city and set fire to a Christian university. Far East Broadcasting Company has offices in that country. Agency President Jim Bowman says he’s concerned. “In spite of the fact that Indonesia has guaranteed freedom of religion, the fact is the Muslims are doing everything possible to try to turn it into a Muslim state. So, we’re very concerned. When we see these outbreaks in shows how widespread that kind of violence is. That moves it up in the Spice Islands to the Island in the North of Ambon. And, so you have these groups of people going in specifically to target Christians.” Bowman says it almost appears to be government endorsed. “The authorities claim that a lot of the violence against Christians, they say that it’s just Hooligans. But, Christians constantly point out the fact that Mosques never get burned down, only churches. The fact is the authorities don’t do much to stop it.”