AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, Tuesday April 30, 2002 3:17 PM
'Ninjas' prowling Christian quarters in tense Ambon city,
witnesses say
Tensions between Muslims and Christians in the religiously-divided Indonesian city of
Ambon remained high with rival groups stoning each other and "ninja-style" intruders
reported prowling through Christian quarters, a local priest said.
Antagonism between local Muslims and Christians, who had signed a peace pact in
February to end a bloody three-year conflict which has claimed more than 5,000 lives,
has resurged since Sunday's massacre of 13 Christian villagers.
The pre-dawn slaughter, by masked attackers clad in black and in military uniforms
and hollering "Allah Akbar" ("God is great"), capped several days of unrest
surrounding the anniversary last Thursday of a small separatist movement.
Fears of further attacks were heightened on Monday night when several intruders
dressed as "ninjas" were seen prowling through Christian neighbourhoods, said
Ambon-based Dutch priest Father Cornelius Bohm.
"Ninjas wearing all black were seen in at least three Christian areas. Residents
chased them and several escaped but several were arrested," Bohm told AFP by
phone.
"The people wanted to kill them but the security forces managed to take the ninjas
away to the police station."
Police could not immediately be reached for confirmation.
Bohm said residents feared a repeat of attacks last year by masked black-clad
attackers who raided Christian and Muslim neighbourhoods, knocking on doors to
wake people up then killing them.
Monday night's intrusions by similarly dressed prowlers coincided with a scheduled
power switch-off in the Christian quarter.
Early Tuesday, Muslims and Christians were throwing stones at each other near a
military hospital at the border between the Muslim and Christian zones, Bohm said.
Shots were fired at two public speedboats crossing Ambon Bay on Tuesday morning
but there were no casualties, the Antara news agency said.
Boats in the bay have often been shot at since sectarian clashes first erupted in
Ambon in January 1999.
The fragility of the February accord was underlined early in April when a bomb
exploded in Ambon, killing at least four people. Mobs then torched the nearby
governor's office.
The latest tensions follow last Thursday's anniversary of a small, outlawed separatist
movement.
The Republic of South Maluku (RSM) was only revived in Maluku in 1999, almost half
a century after its founding.
It numbers less than 300 people, according to Bohm.
But its 52nd anniversary on April 25 attracted enormous attention after Maluku
authorities banned foreigners and journalists from the province, imposed a news
blackout and extended a nightly curfew.
The tough measures failed to prevent both violence and news reports.
RMS supporters clandestinely sent a handful of their banned flags aloft on balloons,
triggering angry demonstrations by Muslims opposed to the predominantly Christian
movement.
Several blasts exploded around the city, troops fired warning shots to disperse
protestors, and mobs torched a Protestant church, which was being rebuilt after it
was razed in 1999.
Jakarta is now contemplating declaring martial law in the province.
Bohm said residents were more concerned by inaction against the leader of an
Islamic militant group than the prospect of martial law.
The commander of the Laskar Jihad militia, Jaffar Umar Thalib, had implored local
Muslims to fight "RMS Christians" two days before the Sunday slaughter, the priest
said.
Police have promised to investigate whether Laskar Jihad members were involved in
the attack.
Copyright © 2001 AFP. All rights reserved.
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