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April 27th 2001
REMEMBER THE CHRISTIAN CAPTIVES OF THE MOLUCCAS
Jubilee Campaign U.K has obtained reliable information from Moluccan Christian sources regarding the continued captivity of thousands of Christians in the Moluccas islands of Indonesia who have been forced by Islamic militants to convert to Islam. It is crucial that these Christians be evacuated by the Indonesian authorities to a place of safety so that they can return to freely practising their Christian faith.
As one Moluccan pastor pointed out, the longer it takes to evacuate them the more likely that the impressionable Christian children who were forced to convert will be heavily indoctrinated in Islam. This means that it may be harder for these children to return to the Christian faith even after they are rescued.
The Christians who were forced to convert to Islam are made to regularly perform the Muslim prayers and read the Koran. They have also been forcibly circumcised by the militants. This has amounted to mass female genital mutilations being carried out on girls as young as one year old. One victim described how the same razor was used to circumcise 50 women without any attempt to disinfect the instrument. Although after much international pressure the Indonesian authorities evacuated Christians who were forced to convert to Islam from Kesui and Teor islands, there are still at least three other areas - Bacan, Buru and Seram islands - where the Christians urgently need to be evacuated and the Indonesian government has so far been reluctant to take any action, probably for fear of upsetting the more fundamentalist Islamic elements in Indonesian politics.
Furthermore, several Moluccan Christian women and children have been kidnapped by Muslim militants in the course of the conflict and their whereabouts are still unknown. The Indonesian authorities have not tried to locate and rescue them from their Muslim captors.
Over 5000 people have died since sectarian conflict in the Moluccas began in January 1999. Although there has been a relative reduction in the level of violence since the beginning of this year, this peace may not last for very long if the Islamic militants from the group, the Laskar Jihad, are permitted to continue to enter the Moluccas islands. (This militant group has been responsible for many of the atrocities against the Christians and have said they are waging a jihad or so-called holy war against the Moluccan Christians. Laskar Jihad is comprised of Islamic fighters from other provinces of Indonesia and even from foreign countries such as Afghanistan.) Many sections of the Indonesian military and police have co-operated with the Laskar Jihad, permitting them to enter the Moluccas and even helping to arm them.
Please pray that: 1) All those Moluccan Christians forced to convert to Islam are evacuated to a place of safety as soon as possible. 2) All those Christian women and children who have been kidnapped are safely reunited with their families. 3) There will be peace and reconciliation in the Moluccas and that the Islamic militants from the Laskar Jihad will be removed from the Moluccas islands.
Do get others to remember these Christian captives in their prayers as well.
In addition to prayer, you can also ask your Member of Parliament or Congressman to write to the Indonesian ambassador in your country, urging the Indonesian government to evacuate the captive Moluccan Christians.
Below is a suggested letter which you can write to your Member of Parliament or Congressman, more details about the situation are contained in this letter.
SUGGESTED LETTER
Dear (name of MP or Congressman),
I am deeply concerned that although there has been a relative reduction in the level of violence in the Moluccas islands of Indonesia there are still a number of urgent issues which remain unresolved. First is the mass forced conversions of Moluccan Christians. Thousands of Christians forced to convert to Islam still remain under the control of the Islamic militants. I am informed that despite desperate appeals for help from Moluccan church leaders the Indonesian authorities have yet to evacuate these Christians to a place of safety.
Details of Christians forced to convert to Islam are as follows:
1. Seram island - About 1500 Christians forced to convert to Islam.
2. Bacan island - More than 1200 Christians forced to convert to Islam.
3. Buru island - Especially in the northern part of the island, about 800 Christians forced to convert to Islam.
I am informed that there are probably other areas as well where Christians have been forced to convert and have not yet been evacuated so this list should not be treated as exhaustive. Thus at least over 3500 Christians forced to change their religion still live under the Islamic militants' control and should be evacuated by the Indonesian authorities to a place of safety as a matter of urgency.
The second unresolved issue is that many Christian women and children have also been abducted by Muslim militants in the Moluccas. For instance, after the massacre of about 250 Christians in the village of Duma on June 19th last year, several Christian women and children were taken away by the Islamic fighters and their whereabouts are still unknown. Nothing appears to have been done by the Indonesian authorities to try and locate and rescue these kidnap victims.
Finally, it seems unlikely that the current relatively low level of violence in the Moluccas will last much longer if the influx of fighters from the Laskar Jihad is left unchecked. There are disturbing reports of fresh troops being trained by the Laskar Jihad and being sent to fight in the Moluccas. Unless they are stopped they will continue to wage war against the Moluccan Christians, perpetuating the cycle of violence.
I urge you to write to the Indonesian ambassador, calling on his government to take the following action as a matter of urgency: 1) Evacuate to a place of safety all those Christians forced to convert to Islam in Bacan, Seram, Buru and elsewhere in the Moluccas. 2) Rescue the Moluccan women and children who have been kidnapped by Islamic militants, including those abducted after the Duma massacre. 3) Remove all the Laskar Jihad from the Moluccas and prevent any further influx into those islands of the Islamic fighters and 4) Bring to justice those soldiers and civilians responsible for atrocities in the Moluccas.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
Received via email from: Masariku@yahoogroups.com
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