The Jakarta Post, April 06, 2002
Racing between peace and war in Maluku
The "Malino II" agreement that was signed in February between Maluku's conflicting
groups was supposed to have ended the communal violence which has killed
thousands of people there since January 1999. But challenges to peace attempts
have constantly dogged Maluku, incluing a blast days after the agreement.
The latest challenge occured on Wednesday when an explosion killed four and
wounded 58 people. The Jakarta Post's Ati Nurbaiti talked to Ihsan Malik, a facilitator
of conflict resolution, who was involved in the Baku Bae people's movement based in
Ambon, which started in 2000.
Question: How did you react to Wednesday's blast?
Answer: I was shocked at the extent of the destruction and the apparent
sophistication of the bomb; it's no longer possible to just blame "radical" groups. It's
more frightening now that small groups can work so effectively. The intention was
clearly terror.
Resistance was, however, predictable because of the manner in which Malino II was
imposed. Official statements have made it look like it's the law, that anyone who
disagrees will have to face up to authorities. The agreement was signed after only a
few days of talks between the conflicting groups.
Disagreement started to brew up in the days after the agreement was signed. There's
less of a problem in the general population except for a few groups who felt
unrepresented.
But there were victims among the Muslims who opposed Malino (Muslims had earlier
wanted a Christian apology), and talks in the churches had a low turnout among
Christians.
Hasn't the problem so far been that crucial points of the agreement, such as
reinstating the judiciary as a means of law enforcement, have lacked follow-up
measures?
More importantly, the civilian emergency government has no autonomy and is
dependent on Jakarta. Coordination is greatly lacking between the governor, the police
and the military.
There is still arrogance on the part of the military. They don't feel they're leading in
security matters, as this has become the police's responsibility. Besides, the TNI
(Indonesian Military) and police still have problems at the national level.
(Following the promise of Minister of Justice Yusril Ihza Mahendra regarding the
judiciary) after Malino the president of the district court has returned and an
instruction has been issued, but little else has happened.
What do people really want?
People still want the main actors of the violence to be brought to trial. Christian and
Muslim lawyers have stated that people are still demanding that the state be held
accountable for this violence through a human rights tribunal. This is so as to counter
the opinions voiced by officials that the violence is the result of intracommunity
problems.
But to try the perpetrators of so many incidents, we could need up to 2,000 judges,
and the process could take years.
At the local level it would be more realistic to try to adopt a South African-style
confession and forgiveness mechanism based on available customs.
Religious leaders, including those from the largest Muslim organizations Nahdlatul
Ulama and Muhammadiyah, are planning to come to Maluku. Will they be able to help
the situation?
We've also been trying to bring the conflicting groups together. First, trust must be
built and any perception that religion is a source of conflict must be discussed. If the
meetings between the two camps break up because they can't reach an agreement,
that's fine. Try again. You can't have talks with one group after the other. All attempts
at bringing the parties together will help.
What would be the most urgent step towards achieving peace?
All people's initiatives must come together. Baku Bae is also complementary to
Malino. Because of Malino we have changed our schedule. For instance, next month
we're starting investigations (through the appointment of a special team) into a number
of incidents, the results of which will be handed over to the law enforcers.
Investigations (as part of the efforts at law enforcement) were earlier planned to take
place at a much later stage, about 2004 (after the campaign to stop violence and
efforts to reinstate basic services).
We must negotiate together to reach a new agreement. It is impossible to achieve full
representation of all the people. However, Baku Bae has tried in the past few years to
weave together the threads between the victims of both sides.
What can unite people?
Access to basic requirements has proved to be the main promoter of solidarity. The
neutral zone in Ambon, which is becoming larger and larger, is the place where
people can conduct trade; people still need better education and health services.
Fortunately, now the Ambon mayor Yoppie Papilaya is doing a lot.
What has Malino helped to do despite shortcomings?
It has given a feeling of authority to law enforcers though disarmament is still going
slowly. The police are now more active and the earlier partisanship among security
officers (defending either Muslims or Christians) has declined.
But you just can't have an agreement signed after a few days and disburse billions
and leave. We first spent 20 days trying to bring six Muslim and six Christian warlords
to sit down together for a civil discussion.
What else can be done?
The local council must draw up two regulations: One on conflict resolution so the
authorities don't get confused again if further conflicts happen. In such an event, the
local council would have to immediately meet those involved and the governor would
be authorized to settle the unrest; Jakarta would only support the process, not like in
the past.
Another regulation should be issued on the rehabilitation of victims and relocation.
What's important is how to manifest state responsibility for some 360,000 displaced
people, not to mention problems where Muslims have taken over Christian homes and
the other way round.
It's all about a race between those who advocate war and those who cry for peace.
There's still high unemployment and a lack of functioning schools. Strangely, from
initially four newspapers there are now 13. From a little over 100 speedboats, there
are now some 600. And security services are continuing ...
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