Bloody Easter in Atambua

Chaos broke out in Atambua, capital of Belu regency in the East Nusa Tenggara - Timor Leste border region, on Easter Sunday, following the killing of Paulino Lopes, a resident and former East Timorese refugee by allegedly drunk youths on the eve of Easter.

East Nusa Tenggara Police spokesman Commissioner Marthen Radja on Sunday night confirmed the incident, but he said he did not know exactly how it happened, as he was still contacting the Belu police chief for details.

In the meantime, ANTARA learnt from various sources in Atambua that when Lopes was going home from church on the eve of Easter, he was stopped by a group of drunk youngsters, who asked him for some money to buy more alcoholic drinks, but he refused. They then clubbered and kicked him, but Lopes managed to break lose from their grip and ran away to his family in Atambua.

Earlier, near the church on that Saturday evening, the youngsters made all kinds of noises, and Lopes told them to stop.

It appeared that they were not satisfied with what they had done to Lopes, whom they described as "big shot" when he told them to stop all the noises on that evening.

The unfinished fight was continued on Sunday (Easter), and being outnumbered, Lopes was several times hit with an iron rod on his head, and eventualy stabbed in the neck with a knife.