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JAKARTA - Religious leaders accused on Tuesday "third parties" of inciting the renewed violence in Ambon, Maluku province, and urged police to take firm action where necessary.
Muslim, Protestant, Catholic, Hindu, Buddhist and Confucian leaders from the Indonesian Committee for Religion and Peace said that "provocation" was the best explanation for the violence that had killed over 30 since Sunday. In the past few years people in Maluku have been wary of any signs of the violence that led to thousands being killed since 1999.
After their meeting at the office of the country's second-largest Muslim organization, Muhammadiyah, which committee member Din Syamsuddin leads, he said, "We call on people to resist being provoked by third parties" that have a "political motive". He said the leaders demanded that the police and intelligence bodies identify and seek the perpetrators, "who do not want peace in Maluku". Chairman of the Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI) Nathan Setiabudi said the leaders did not believe that the violence over the past few days was a religious conflict.
"We don't believe that the burning of the Muhammadiyah high school building in Ambon was committed by Christians. If we find that it was we shall hand them over to the police," Nathan said. Sigit Pamudji of the Bishops Council of Indonesia (KWI) also said that, based on experience, "certain parties" had tried to create the image that people in Maluku could not solve their own problems, and provoked the conflict for their own benefit. "We suggest local leaders be more proactive in solving the conflict peacefully," he added.
Sociologist Thamrin Amal Tamagola said the clash, which started on Sunday, was the culmination of several problems. The trigger was not the hoisting of the flag of the separatist Republic of South Maluku (RMS) movement, he said, but because "the police were not professional when they guarded the separatists during the rally as they celebrated the RMS anniversary in Ambon's main street," adding that initially the clash was not between Christians and Muslims. Some Muslims were irked by the police guarding the rally of RMS supporters, who were mostly Christian, confirming earlier suspicions that the police, particularly those from Ambon and Seram islands, sided with Christians, he said.
Thamrin suggested that police from other ethnic groups be sent with riot control capabilities. "Don't send soldiers; that would ruin everything," he asserted. Another problem, he said, was that Jakarta had neglected to follow up the government-sponsored truce in February 2002. Thamrin called on the government to improve conditions in Maluku, where survivors were trying to return to normality. Meanwhile, the House of Representatives (DPR) has sent a team to get first-hand information on the conflict in Ambon. Other parties, including House Speaker Akbar Tandjung, also blamed the police and other security personnel for their failure to control the situation.
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