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Church partners in Indonesia have issued appeals for prayer, humanitarian aid, and an international presence in the Maluku Islands in Indonesia as fighting between Muslims and Christians continues in the region. On June 19, more than 100 people were reported killed by a Muslim attack on a Christian village in the island of Halmahera, while at least 60 have since died in the city of Ambon. Women and children have also been reported kidnapped. According to a report by Reuters, Semmy Wailerunny, a lawyer for the Communion of Churches in Maluku said that the latest violence escalated with the arrival of more than 2,000 Muslim fighters from the main island of Java who have declared a holy war. Known during the Dutch colonial period as the Moluccas, or the Spice Islands, the region had previously been touted as a model of religious tolerance. While the population of Indonesia is about 90 percent Muslim, the Moluccas archipelago has been predominantly Christian. But the situation has become more volatile with the increasing flow of Muslim migrants into the islands. Analysts claim that this has intensified the anxiety of the Christian population about eventually becoming a minority in one of the few places in the country where it dominates. An argument between a Christian bus driver and his Muslim conductor in January, 1999, apparently sparked the current conflict. The argument led to fighting, rioting, and burning in Ambon, and quickly spread to the other islands. More than 2,500 people of both faiths have died as a result of the conflict. Firearms and ammunition have been stockpiled, container loads of guns smuggled in, and ammunition warehouses ransacked, according to the Rev. Samuel Titaley, moderator of the Protestant Church in Maluku, in a conversation on June 23 with the Rev. John Barr, secretary for Indonesia of the Uniting Church National Assembly in Australia. Titaley also said that three churches and a Christian university had been reduced to rubble. Of the Universitas Kristen Indonesia-Maluku (UKIM), which, according to eyewitnesses, was set on fire by thugs backed by armed military gunships, only the library remains. In his conversation with Barr, Titaley asked for prayers that the conflict in the Maluku islands might end. Barr appealed that action be taken for the purpose of disarming all the warring parties; for emergency humanitarian aid; and for an international presence on the islands. He said Titaley is scheduled to meet with UN human rights commissioner Mary Robinson in Geneva later this month as part of an ecumenical delegation of Catholic and evangelical church leaders from the area. They will discuss with Robinson how the international community can help end the violence in their homeland. On June 26, Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid declared a state of civilian emergency in the Maluku islands. This allowed the military to impose curfews, set up blockades, and detain suspects indefinitely. According to reports, Wahid said he knew who was orchestrating the violence and promised tough action. But Ambon's Roman Catholic bishop Joseph Tethool said that Indonesia's military was incapable of enforcing peace because of its incompetence and bias. A June 28 news release by Amnesty International stated that there were serious allegations of military and police involvement on both sides of the conflict--a situation leading to more violence. Reminding governments with military links to Indonesia of its obligation to uphold human rights in that country, Amnesty declared that governments which enthusiastically provide the Indonesian security forces with modern weapons and training have a responsibility to ensure that such transfers are not being used to commit human rights violations in the Moluccas. On June 26, the U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Reeker urged the Indonesian government to take immediate and effective measures to stop the bloodshed in the Moluccas, noting that the security forces have proven either unwilling or unable to stop the violence. Mr. Rick Santos, acting interim director of the National Council of Churches/Church World Service Southern Asia Office said that his office supports efforts to reduce the violence in the Maluku Islands. He expressed some reservations, however, about the likelihood that declaring a state of emergency would stop the violence in the region. July 7, 2000 | Top | Global Connections: Indonesia | |