CRISIS CENTRE DIOCESE OF AMBOINA
Jalan Pattimura 32 - Ambon 97124 - Indonesia
Tel 0062 (0)911 342195 Fax 0062 (0)911 355337
E-mail: comamq@ambon.wasantara.net.id
Ambon, November 13, 2001
THE SITUATION IN AMBON / MOLUCCAS - Report no. 209
1. INVESTIGATION ON BOMB BLAST - One of the two involuntary suicide victims of
the bomb explosion in the neighbourhood of Tanahtinggi, Ambon city, on November 9,
turned out to be a soldier named Pattiiha from the unit Bek-Ang (Perbekalan dan
Angkutan = Forage & Transport), Kodam XVI Pattimura, Ambon. The other one was a
still unknown civilian. The military chief commander up to now has not provided any
clarification.
2. FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ATTACK ON WAIMULANG - "Siwalima" daily
newspaper reports that, when an attack was launched on the christian village of
Waimulang, on the south coast of the island of Buru on November 1, 2001 (See
Report 206 no.2), not two, but four residents were killed. One of these, Petrus Tasane
(70), is said to have been burned alive in the church, another, named Joel Hukunala,
was shot and consequently cut into pieces.
Apart from these four casualties two others were seriously wounded. The total number
of houses destroyed or badly damaged is 222. Two churches and a dispensary were
destroyed as well. When retiring, the attackers took with them various possessions of
the villagers, including cattle and three longboats. Nine soldiers (not five as we earlier
reported) of the "Armed VIII" battalion were taken hostage by the aggressors;
however, five of these have been released meanwhile. It was the third and most
disastrous attack on the village of Waimulang. Earlier assaults on this village took
place on March 2 and 22, 2000.
3. ONCE AGAIN AUTOMOBILE ASSAILED - In the early morning of November 12, a
truck was coming down Galunggung road, entering the city of Ambon. From a
motorbike a grenade was thrown into the cabin. However, the driver managed to kick it
out just in time. It exploded on the road, injuring a passing muslim university student.
Local muslims, supposing the driver threw the grenade to the student on purpose,
halted and burned a following minibus with 11 eleven passengers, three of whom
military servicemen. In this incident a civilian and a military got injured.
4. AGAIN VICTIMS OF TERRORIST ATTACK - At about 11.00 a.m. on November 12,
a package was deposited at an electronics shop on the Said Perintah street,
town-centre of Ambon. Not long afterwards it exploded, killing the Chinese christian
shop owner, Mrs. Paulina Shong Ling (55) and her son Roby Thebez (29), and injuring
19 others, some of whom seriously (one of them had a leg amputated).
5. VICTIMS AT SEA - This morning - November 13 - a christian speedboat on its way
from Galala to Gudang Arang, at the west end of the city, while passing the muslim
neignhbourhood of Waihaong, was attacked by another (supposedly muslim)
speedboat. Three of the passengers are reported to have been killed, four others
injured.
6. GPM UTTERS CONCERN - Last night on local TV, the chairman of the GPM
Synod (GPM = Protestant Moluccan Church) was given the opportunity to read a
statement of the GPM Synod regretting various recent actions of terror, complaining
about the inadept handling of the worsening situation in Ambon and on the island of
Buru. He blamed the governor as the Responsible for the Civil Emergency State for
not taking appropriate measures in tackling the recent acts of violence and abstaining
from all clarification to the public. He said that human rights is the predominant care
of the GPM: "We strive that the people in the Moluccas, both muslim and christian,
should have the opportunity to live peacefully and without any disturbance".
Meanwhile muslim friends warn the Crisis Centre to take heed of certain military
servicemen, who - according to them - are at the root of most of the recent terrorist
acts of violence.
7. VARIOUS SHORTAGES - Ambon (at least the christian neighbourhoods) has
shortage of fuel, which is especially felt by the housewives who desperately try to find
a bottle of fuel for their cooking-stoves. Electricity is also rationed. Those that have an
electric generator have difficulty to find petrol to run it. Besides, the internet has been
cut off for already one month now, restricting the possibility of sending messages
outside.
C.J.Böhm MSc,
Secretary of Crisis Centre Diocese of Amboina
Received via e-mail from : Crisis Centre Diocese of Amboina
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