ASSOCIATED PRESS, Mon Apr 29, 2002 6:11 AM ET
Christians call for crackdown on Muslim group suspected of
slayings in Indonesia's Maluku province
AMBON, Indonesia - A Christian church leader on Monday called for a crackdown on
a paramilitary Muslim group suspected of involvement in the brutal killings of 12
Christians in Indonesia's Maluku province.
Several religious leaders have claimed the Laskar Jihad, or Holy War Troop, was
behind Sunday's attack in Soya, a Christian village on the outskirts of Maluku's
provincial capital, Ambon.
The slayings threaten to undermine a fragile peace pact, signed in February and
meant to stop three years of sectarian violence that has killed up to 9,000 people in
Maluku, which is divided into Christian and Muslim sections.
About a dozen men armed with guns, grenades and daggers attacked Soya before
dawn Sunday, torching at least 30 homes and a church. A six-month-old child was
among the 12 victims. Initial reports said 14 villagers had been killed.
"We need a crackdown on Laskar Jihad," said Cornelius Bohm, a Christian pastor in
Ambon. "They are creating havoc here."
Laskar Jihad spokesman Ayi Syaifudin said there was "clearly no proof" to
accusations that the group was behind the attack, the Koran Tempo daily newspaper
reported Monday.
Police have not made any arrests or named any suspects in the attack, which
followed several days of unrest in the region.
The violence came two days after Laskar Jihad rejected a February peace deal meant
to end the sectarian fighting in Maluku, a region known as the Moluccan or Spice
Islands during Dutch colonial rule.
Tensions have run high in the battle-scarred town of Ambon since the mostly Christian
Maluku Sovereignty Front celebrated the 52nd anniversary of a failed independence
bid on Thursday. The group flew its banned independence flags across town, angering
Muslims who burnt down a partially rebuilt church.
Violence in Maluku, 2,600 kilometers (1,600 miles) east of Jakarta, peaked in
mid-2000, when thousands of armed Muslim fighters belonging to Laskar Jihad arrived
from Java, Indonesia's main island.
Some analysts suspect the group has links with Osama bin Laden (news - web
sites)'s al-Qaida terrorist network. Laskar Jihad's leadership has consistently denied
the claims.
Former President Abdurrahman Wahid claimed the conflict was sparked by hard-line
generals opposed to civilian rule after decades of dictatorship.
Several parts of the sprawling Indonesian archipelago have been racked by separatist,
ethnic and religious violence for years.
About 85 percent of Indonesia's 210 million people are Muslims, but Christians and
Muslims are split almost evenly in Maluku.
Copyright © 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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