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, December 26, 2005
THE SITUATION IN AMBON/MOLUCCAS - Report No. 499
1. VISITS BY MINISTERS - Regular visits by cabinet ministers from Jakarta confirm
the sincere concern of the central government in relation to the situation in the
Provinces of the Moluccas and the North Moluccas.
Communication and Information Minister Sofyan Djalil recently came to Ambon on a
one-day visit and called on the people to maintain the peace and harmony that has
prevailed in the province lately. He expressed his admiration for the positive things and
progress which had been achieved after succeeding in putting an end to the prolonged
communal conflict that began in January 1999.
Speaking in the Al-Fatah Mosque, he said: "I urge the Muslim community to live in
harmony with other religions' followers, to avoid violence and to be open and forgiving
to each other".
He asked the people of the Moluccas to follow the example of South African Leader
Nelson Mandela who had been magnanimous and forgiving to those who had hurt him.
Another Minister that came to visit the Moluccas, was State Minister for Acceleration
of Development in Disadvantaged Regions, Syaifullah Yusuf. The government is
currently paying close attention to the many hundreds of Indonesian islands and islets
on its borders. One such island is the island of Kisar, only a few miles North of the
sovereign state of East-Timor and not far from Australia either. Arriving at Kisar
together with Governor Karel Albert Ralahalu, he learned that most of the local people
are living in poor economic conditions, whilst some 50% of the population is afflicted
by diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis. He affirmed that he would see to it that
poverty alleviation and economic development on the island would be high on the
central government's list of priorities. He also surveyed medication efforts by a
combined Moluccas team, which is taking place from 23 to 27 December on the
island and on the nearby islands of Leti, Moa and Lakor ("Lemola").
The minister celebrated Christmas with the local people "as a manifestation of the
central and provincial government`s concern and attention for the impoverished people
in the disadvantaged regions".
On this occasion the Minister brought with him 20 thousand Christmas packages as a
token of national solidarity, each containing 5 kg of rice, 5 kg of sugar, 10 packets of
noodles, a tin of milk and a botol of frying oil at a total value of Rupiah 55.000,- (5
Euro), which would be obtainable ad only Rupiah 5.000,- a package. In Ambon a
similar (unfairly executed?) distribution recently led to demonstration and protest by
the poor (and habitually "disadvantaged").
2. POLICE ON HIGH ALERT - Like all over Indonesia, in the Moluccas, too, all police
personnel is on high alert on occasion of the Chrismas celebrations. Via TV and
Radio broadcast and also via the pulpits of churches and mosques, people are being
urged to abstain from any fireworks. However - typically Ambonese - we seldom heard
so many firecrackers as during this Christmas night: all night long, up to 0.400 a.m.
there was a terrible noise of exploding crackers. Worth noticing: just across the road
is Police Headquarters, but in such cases police is seemingly scared to interfere. The
Ambon cathedral seemed to be considered as a main target of potential terrorists, for
no fewer than thirty police personnel guarded the compound during Christmas Eve. As
many as four TV-crews (commercial stations from Java) came to report on the
Christmas Celebration, led by Msgr. P.C. Mandagi, bishop of Amboina.
3. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This report may be the last one of 2005. We are grateful to those who have supported
us in various ways, encouraging and enabling us to continue sending out worldwide
these simple reports on the situation in the Moluccas. Internet in Indonesia is still a
slow-moving and expensive business. So we are most grateful for the financial
assistance from notably Misereor-Aachen and Cordaid-The Hague and from some
private persons as well. This financial support enabled the Crisis Centre also to cope
with various other expenditure, mostly on behalf of resettling and returning IDP-s.
Wishing you a peaceful New Year.
C.J.Böhm msc,
Crisis Centre Diocese of Amboina |
