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VISIT TO AMBON
PRELIMINARY REFLECTION
8 April 2001
Dear Friends,
Recently I travelled to Ambon with a colleague, Ms Joy Balazo (Secretary for International Human Rights, Uniting Church in Australia). We arrived in Ambon on Tuesday 27 March and then left on Sunday 1 April for Makassar (Ujung Pandang) and Manado. A report shall be prepared on this visit however I am conscious that I need to think through the issues and undertake some careful reflection. On the other hand, I am also aware that a number of people are keen to receive news and hear something of my experiences in Ambon. Thus I have prepared this short report for interested people in my Maluku network. This report is very much a preliminary reflection and I enclose it for your interest, concern and information. My full report will follow after Easter.
During our time in Ambon Joy Balazo and I visited refugee camps in Halong and then in Hukurilla. I was also able to visit the destroyed campus of the Christian University in Ambon (UKIM), the Ambon Crisis Centre (based at the Catholic Cathedral in Ambon) and a number of other areas including the site of Silo Church (which was burnt down on 26 December 1999). I was also able to be driven close to the site where the conflict first started in Batu Merah in January 1999 while I then travelled by boat to a point about 1 km from the burnt out complex of the state university (this area is controlled by Jihad) .
While Joy Balazo and I were in Ambon an important meeting was organised with the new synod executive of the Gereja Protestan Maluku (Protestant Church in Maluku). This meeting was covered very positively by local Indonesian television and local press. I was then able to attend an official ceremony at Maranatha Church involving the commissioning of the new synod executive. The new executive, headed up by Rev Broery Hendricks (Moderator of the GPM), raised important issues concerning reconciliation and peace in the Maluku. At their request, Joy and I were asked to meet with members of the MUI Maluku (Islamic Council in Maluku). A meeting was arranged and we were taken in a Christian vehicle to the Red Cross Headquarters where a vehicle from the Muslim section picked us up and drove us across the tragic divide between Christian and Muslim to a home near the Al Fatah Mosque complex. Discussion then took place with the Executive Secretary and the General Secretary of MUI with the purpose of building relationships between Muslim and Christian. Our discussion was warm and very open as the MUI leaders raised their concern about how religion is being used to "legitimise" killing and violence. In the words of one of the leaders...."God in Ambon is like one holding a sword in his hand".
The leaders went on to confirm their deep concern about the presence of "provokateurs" who come "like the wind....like shadows......they must be stopped because our young people are being slaughtered" (many. many young Muslim men have died in the Malukus). The local Muslim leaders believe Maluku people (Christian and Muslim) have the local cultural resources to deal with the issues. However these issues can only be resolved if outside interference, in the form of constant provocation, is stopped.
Both the GPM and MUI Maluku have recently declared their intention to work together on peace and reconciliation in Ambon. This is a difficult, challenging and somewhat controversial process because the situation in Ambon is so uncertain. I believe local Christians and local Muslims do want peace in Maluku however it is quite clear the violence in being deliberately provoked through the presence of a Jihad force that comes from Java and other parts of Indonesia. Also it is clear that powerful sections of the Indonesian military are involved while radical Muslim elements related to both internal factions within Indonesia and also with the wider international Muslim community do seem to be involved in a radical agenda to "Islamise" Indonesia.
Such a scenario is imposing a reign of terror on both Christian and local (moderate) Muslims alike. While Joy and I were in Ambon a number of killings took place involving the brutal mutilation of bodies. It seems as though these acts of terror are designed to further raise tensions, provoke emotions and break down any trust that has been established in the local community.
Also a very small section of the Christian community is declaring their support for a separate state and they have threatened to raise the flag of an independent South Maluku Republic on 25 April 2001. My impression is that the overwhelming number of Christians (and local Muslims) simply want peace and a positive future in a democratic, pluralist Indonesia that provides adequate security for all people. Clearly the Protestant Church (with the Catholic Church) and MUI Maluku have a significant role to play here. Most Christians do not want to be seen as being "separatist" (Jihad warriors claim that their rationale for being in Maluku is to stop "Christian separatism" and to preserve the unitary state of Indonesia).
Meanwhile the stories I heard and the people I spoke to helped confirm much of the information I have received from Ambon. A large section of the city has been destroyed. Constant attacks involving sophisticated weaponry have taken place (I saw evidence of the weaponry used) and innocent people have clearly been targeted and killed. Buildings (including churches and mosques) have been bullet-ridden and trashed while people are often shot randomly. More than 8,000 Indonesian troops are said to be stationed in the Ambon region while the Ambonese people are fearful that this present "neutral" security force (a combined force of various Army Battalions and the Marines) will not be allowed to continue to provide adequate non-partisan security. Past experiences with partisan "Kostrad" troops (who were largely pro-Muslim) provide a basis to this fear. There are strong rumours that another 3,000 Jihad warriors have arrived in the area and are preparing to attack Ambon city sometime in April.
Refugees spoke to me about forced conversions to Islam on the island of Bacan while I was able to talk to a number of people from Buru Island whose communities had been attacked and burnt by Muslim people assisted by the Military. We are aware that many Christians are still isolated and trapped in the islands (Buru, Seram) while I am very concerned about the future of refugee camps in and around Ambon. In Halong we visited one particular camp of 1,400 people that is virtually surrounded by hostile communities (Jihad controlled). Our only access to the camp was by speedboat under the close guard of armed Indonesian Navy patrol boats. What happens to these people if the Jihad are able to attack them? They simply have nowhere to go. Indeed, if attacked again, all of the people of Ambon have nowhere to go.
My deep felt impression is that the situation in Ambon and Maluku is very complex and indeed extremely critical. It is unwise to portray the scenario as simply being a Muslim-Christian conflict or a "religious war". The issue has to be seen in a much larger context that involves local perspectives together with a "macro" perspective that takes into account political rivalries and political manoeuvres taking place in Jakarta. Economic interests and access to wealth and resources also are part of the equation. I must add that it seems as though powerful military factions have a particular interest in portraying this tragedy as a "religious war". This is because the military is searching for an opportunity or a rationale to oppose recent democratic reforms. Their aim is to re-introduce military rule throughout Indonesia on the basis that religious factions and ethnic rivalries cannot live within the context of such democratic reforms.
Five days in Ambon did not make me an expert on the issue. However it is clear to me that a local culture, a local people involving both Christian and Muslim, has become the victim of violence, dislocation and political power play that cannot be ignored by the world community. Ambon and Maluku is a tragedy that should concern us all. The Uniting Church in Australia works in partnership with the Protestant Church in Maluku and the Evangelical Christian Church in Halmahera (North Maluku). These communities are our primary contact with the area and both Christian communities have declared their commitment to work together with local Muslim communities to bring about peace, reconciliation and a safe environment in their homeland. A number of strategies were discussed involving Uniting Church support for this process and we are committed to supporting our partners in this way. Details shall be outlined in my forthcoming report.
Thank you for your time and interest in this issue. Your continuing prayers for Ambon and all the islands of Maluku are deeply appreciated.
Yours sincerely,
Rev John Barr
Secretary for Indonesia
Uniting Church in Australia National Assembly
PO Box A2266 Sydney South 1235 Australia
Phone 02 8267 4251; 0408826742
Fax 02 8267 4222
Email: jbarr@nat.uca.org.au / johnbarr@bigpond.com
Received via email from: Rev. John Barr <jbarr@nat.uca.org.au>
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