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MAR 20, 1999 (from Straits Times) |
First, the exodusMPs from the province they fled to are discussing their homecoming and if their assets have been safeguardedAMBON -- Up to 34,000 settlers who fled riot-torn Ambon now want to return to the eastern Indonesian city, MPs from neighbouring south-east Sulawesi province said yesterday. A nine-member team of provincial MPs met Maluku province Deputy Governor Renyaan at her office to discuss the possible return. "We ask that the small shops that they built and had been torched could be returned to their rightful owners," Mr Muhammad Saleh, head of the delegation said. "The exodus to south-east Sulawesi is temporary in nature." He did not say when the refugees might return, and was also unclear whether the demand for repatriation originated from those who fled, or if it was a local government initiative. The south-east Sulawesi government had counted 34,069 refugees in the town of Baubau alone. "That does not even include those that came back to south-east Sulawesi by sailboat," he said. Ms Renyaan assured the MPs that the assets of Buton residents in Ambon would be protected and returned by the Maluku regional government. Tens of thousands of Muslim settlers in Ambon come from Buton. Major-General Suaidy Marasabessy, head of a special task force sent to Ambon, was quoted by Ms Renyaan as saying that the military had been protecting property that survived the riots, including that belonging to those from Buton. The Jakarta Post reported yesterday that Muslim leader Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid and other religious leaders planned to go to Ambon to promote harmony among the religious groups. "I will visit Ambon at the invitation of the people there," Gus Dur said, but did not give a date. He said he would be accompanied by representatives from the Muhammadiyah Muslim group and the Communion of Churches in Indonesia. The situation in Ambon has eased since the military poured fresh troops into the Maluku islands and launched an intensive drive to disarm the civilian population. However, some 100 public minibus drivers picketted the military headquarters yesterday to protest that they were still being stopped by some residents in a Muslim neighbourhood. Maj-Gen Marasabessy ordered a temporary re-routing of traffic to avoid some riot-sensitive areas. Violence between Christians and Muslims in Ambon broke out in mid-January and raged almost uncontrolled until early this month, leaving more than 200 people dead, and over 3,000 homes and scores of churches and mosques burned. AFP
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