CRISIS CENTRE DIOCESE OF AMBOINA
Jalan Pattimura 32 -- Ambon 97124 -- Indonesia
Tel 0062 (0)911 342195 Fax 0062 (0)911 355337
E-mail: crisiscentre01@hotmail.com
Ambon, April 25, 2003
THE SITUATION IN AMBON/MOLUCCAS - Report No. 364
1. THE KASUI CASE – One may remember the islamisation that – starting towards
the end of November 2000 (Report 96 sqq., 132) – took place on Kasui, a small
island South-East of Seram island, involving some 800 Christians. Their forced
islamisation became world news then. Last February, a JRS team (JRS = Jesuit
Refugee Service), stationed in Ambon, went there to see whether the situation could
be considered safe enough for the Christians – most of whom now live as refugees
spread over a number of villages on the island of Kei Kecil – to return to their
homesteads at Kasui (Report 354).
The responsible parish priest, Fr. Joseph Kuda Makin SVD, now reports from Masohi,
that several meetings between local Muslim Raja-s ("Kings") and a delegation of
Christian Kasui refugees from Kei Kecil were held under supervision of the Bupati
(precinct chief) of the Central Moluccas, Ir. Abdullah Tuasikal, in Masohi, capital of
the Central Moluccas. One of the discussed topics was the demand by the Muslims
that the Christians should apologize for their making it worldwide known that they had
been islamized. The Christians were reluctant to make such a bold apology, but they
agreed to a general admission of guilt, especially that they had returned to the
Christian faith. After much discussion all of those present agreed on a ten-point
statement, in which among other things was asserted that both parties (Muslims and
Christians) agreed to forgive each other and to return to living together in peace. The
Bupati then was requested to go and visit Kasui island first, in order to ascertain that
indeed nobody there objected to this agreement. Now the only obstacle to restoring
normal relations between the two parties may be the stance of the only Muslim chief
that was not pesent at the meeting, i.e. the village head of Tamher Warat, who is
notoriously anti-Christian.
2. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MOLUCCAS AGREEMENT PUT IN DISCUSSION –
The momentous Moluccas Agreement as a result of the meeting of 35 Muslim and 35
Christian representatives in Malino (South Celebes) on February 12, 2002 –
commonly called "The Malino-II Agreement" – should end the conflict and restore
normal relations in the Moluccas by the implemetation of eleven items of mutual
agreement (see Report 235). However, up to now a number of these items still wait to
be implemented. So on April 24 an informal meeting was held by a number of these
delegates together with acting Governor Sarundayang and the Chiefs of the Police,
the Military and the Juridical department. One of the points of discussion was the lack
of any report on the investigation that was carried out by the Independent Inquiry
Team, starting on July 10, 2002 (Report 299). On his occasion Sarundayang also
suggested to drop the expression "Moluccas Delegation of Malino", replacing it by
"Dialogue Forum" (Forum dialogis), thus reminding the 70 delegates' ongoing task of
further comprehensive dealing with the aftermath of the conflict.
3. VARIOUS HAPPENINGS IN CONNECTION WITH THE 25 APRIL RMS
SEPARATIST MOVEMENT COMMEMORATION – Though military and police forces
and also many civilians were in full alert, they apparently could not prevent the
hoisting of some twenty flags of the RMS separatist movement on the eve of the 53rd
anniversary of the RMS. Most of these flags were raised in the village of Passo and in
the Ambon neighbourhood of Kudamati. No persons behind these recent actions have
been arrested up to now. In Passo some dozen of local residents were taken to the
police office for interrogation.
Paulien Joel-Parera reports that on April 23 seven RMS activists were arrested in the
Ambon neighbourhood of Karang Panjang while distributing RMS-stickers. The police
also discovered 13 RMS uniforms at a tailor's workshop in Ambon. Apparently the
uniforms had been ordered by a member of the police forces. This person admitted
that he had received his orders from FKM leader Alex Manuputty, who is in custody in
Jakarta.
C.J.Böhm msc,
Crisis Centre Diocese of Amboina |
