ABC AUSTRALIA, 28/07/2004 17:01:19
Treason trial underway in Indonesian city of Ambon
The trial of 17 people charged with treason has begun in the Indonesian city of
Ambon.
Prosecutors accuse the group of plotting against the state with the aim of secession.
The defendants are accused of taking part in a separatist rally in Ambon on April 25.
Authorities say the rally caused an outbreak of Muslim-Christian violence in which 38
people were killed.
The rally, by mainly Christian separatists, demanded the release of colleagues
arrested after a separatist flag raising ceremony earlier that day.
Hundreds of homes and other buildings were torched in subsequent days.
The 17 are accused of promoting separatism by supporting the separatist South
Maluku Republic.
Mostly Christian residents proclaimed the republic in 1950.
28/07/2004 17:01:19 | ABC Radio Australia News
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