The Old Catholic Church of Great Britain

Three Christian Schoolgirls Beheaded in Indonesia

“Doing Hard Time for God” crusade of the Old Catholic Church of Great Britain Releases details of Saturday’s murders of Christian school children.

The Most Reverend Father, Archbishop Gary Beaver has released details of Saturday's shocking murders of three teenage girls while they walked through a plantation to reach their Christian high school near Poso, Indonesia.

Six masked men armed with machetes attacked them, hacking off the heads of three of girls and brutally wounding a fourth. The survivor, identified as 14-year-old Noviana Malewa, was rushed to hospital.

Local Community leaders have attempted to downplay religion as a motivating factor in the crime, although witnesses stated that the severed head of one of the girls was found several miles from the scene of the attack, outside a Christian church.

The timing of the attack may also be significant, coming just days before the end of Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month. Numerous attacks on Christians in Indonesia over the past years have occurred during Ramadan.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has suggested that some elements in the Sulawesi city of Poso were bent on "maintaining the hostility and conflict of the past.

This attack  has taken place the week that  a group called Indonesian Churches Together sent out an "SOS" message urging Christians around the world to pray for those in Indonesia facing an "escalation of terrorism, intimidation and persecution," the Assist news service reported.

"Some Indonesian Christians are doubtful about how much will be achieved, given the security forces' record of reluctance to protect Christians or to bring their attackers to justice," reported the Barnabas Fund, a Christian organization which works closely with Christians in Indonesia and other Muslim countries.

Archbishop Gary Beaver has entered into official communication with the Indonesian Government calling for justice and interfaith dialogue to stem the rising tide of Christian persecution.

Contact the Indonesian Embassy in your country and voice your opinion. United States Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia Ambassador Soemadi D. M. Brotodiningrat 2020 Massachusetts Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20036 Fax: 202.775.5365 Political Affairs - made.mastra@embassyofindonesia.org Economic Affairs - ehutabarat@embassyofindonesia.org Information Affairs - information@embassyofindonesia.org Indonesian Embassy UK 38 Grosvenor Square London W1K 2HW Tel. (020) 7499 7661 Fax. (020) 7491 4993 Indonesian Embassy Canada Post Mail: 55 Parkdale Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario K1Y 1E5, Canada Phone: (613) 724-1100 Fax: (613) 724-1105 http://www.indonesia-ottawa.org Indonesian Embassy Australia 8 Darwin Avenue, Yarralumla, ACT 2600 AUSTRALIA Phone : (+61 2) 6250 8600 Fax : (+61 2) 6273 6017 email : indonemb@kbri-canberra.org.au Indonesian Embassy Germany Lehrter Str. 16-17 10557 Berlin, Germany Tel: 49-30-4780- 70 Fax: 49-30-4473- 7142 Indonesian Embassy France Ambassade d’Indonésie - 47-49 rue Cortambert, 75116 Paris | Tél: 01 45 03 07 60 Fax: 01 45 04 50 32 Indonesian Embassy (South Africa-Pretoria) P.O. Box 13155 Hatfield 0028 t: 012.342.3350/1/2 f: 012.342.3369 e-mail: indoemb@lantic.co.za http://www.indonesiasouthafrica.co.za/ Indonesian Embassy Switzerland Indonesia Embassy Elfenauweg 51, Bern 3006 Tel. (031) 352.0983, 352.0984 Fax. (031) 351.6765 http://www.indonesia-bern.org/about_us1.htm Indonesian Embassy Sweeden Postal Address: Box 12520, 102 29 Stockholm Tel: 08-545 55 880 Fax: 08-650 87 50 E-mail: subidpen@indonesiskaambassaden.se http://www.indonesiskaambassaden.se