The Jakarta Post, March 4, 2002
Peace returns to Ambon after clash
Oktovianus Pinontoan, The Jakarta Post, Ambon
A minor clash on Saturday failed to prevent Muslims and Christians in the city of
Ambon in Maluku province from continuing to mend fences after years of violence.
Public activities across the town returned to normal on Sunday, with people from both
communities gathering in small groups and talking with each other.
The roads leading east out of Ambon via the Galunggung and Batumerah areas, which
had been closed due to the violence, were reopened. City minibuses and other
vehicles were able to use the roads with no trouble.
And Christian motorists were able to pass freely along roads leading west out of the
city via the Pohon Mangga and Airsalobar areas.
This allowed residents the opportunity to visit the resort area of Latulahat village,
several kilometers west of Ambon.
In the city center, particularly the areas along Jl. A.M. Sangadji, Sultan Hairun, Dr.
Tamaela and Diponegoro, many Muslims and Christians mixed in small groups,
sitting together, talking and laughing.
The Pos Kota crossroads area located on Jl. A. Y. Patty, which was the site of the
violence on Saturday, was calm, with Christians staging a convoy of cars and
motorcycles on the road.
The city's shopping centers, including Ambon Plaza -- which has been a favorite
gathering spot for Muslims and Christians since last Thursday -- were flooded again
by the once-warring people.
At least five people were wounded and four motorcycles were burned on Saturday
after a group of drunken school students pelted stones at participants of a peace rally
in Ambon.
The attack was apparently an attempt to disrupt the peaceful celebrations by Muslims
and Christians, who were marking a recent peace accord with a parade.
Local authorities and leaders of the two religions, who signed the pact on Feb. 12,
blamed the mayhem on provocateurs. They pledged not to stop their joint efforts to
restore peace in Maluku despite a small group of people who oppose the agreement.
They also condemned the violence and demanded that the perpetrators who incited
the incident be identified.
"The incident was not between groups of Christians and Muslims. This was proven
when Christians trapped in Ambon Plaza were protected by their Muslim brothers,"
Maluku Governor Saleh Latuconsina said on Sunday.
He said the provocateurs exploited schoolchildren to spark the unrest by providing
them with free liquor.
"The facts obtained in the field show this to be true. The students were provoked to
foment violence after being given alcohol free of charge."
The governor said he would ban the distribution of liquor in the province and appealed
to locals to suspend convoys and parades for an indefinite period.
He also said efforts would continue to spread the details and the outcome of the
peace agreement, although these efforts might face yet another challenge from a
small group of people.
As the chief of the civil emergency status in Maluku, Saleh ordered the local military
and police to arrest passers-by found carrying sharp weapons in the streets and other
public places.
Daud Sangadji, one of the accord signatories from the Muslim side, urged the Maluku
civil emergency authorities to publicly announce the masterminds behind the incident
on Saturday, who he said exploited the peaceful celebrations to provoke the people for
their own political interests.
"It was not a conflict between the two communities, but it involved only a handful of
people who do not want to see peace in Maluku," he said.
Two Christian leaders, Emang Nikijuluw and Femmy Souisa, who were also among
the signatories of the peace pact, made a similar demand.
They said the provocateurs must be identified as they had incited the people for their
own political gains.
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