CNN, May 14, 2002 Posted: 6:32 PM HKT (1032 GMT)
Maluku tensions divide government
By Amy Chew for CNN
JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- Indonesian Vice President Hamzah Haz has explicitly
expressed his support for a militant Muslim group blamed for fueling sectarian
violence in the Maluku islands and accused of having links with al Qaeda.
Haz support for Laskar Jihad is seen as a tacit opposition to President Megawati
Sukarnoputri who has ordered her government to step up efforts to end the bloody
three-year violence which human rights group say has killed 10,000.
Haz recently visited Laskar Jihad's commander Ja'far Umar Thalib, who was arrested
for inciting religious violence in Maluku during a rally on April 26 where he exhorted
Muslims to kill Christians.
During the rally, Thalib was also alleged to have expressed his intention to kill all the
relatives of the former President Sukarno, including his daughter, President Megawati.
Thalib is also held in connection with an attack on Christians in Soya village on April
28, which killed 13 people.
Haz spent one and half hours with Thalib and said his visit was based on "Muslim
brotherhood" and dismissed suggestions of political interference into Thalib's case.
On Monday Haz opened Laskar Jihad's national conference in Jakarta. The
conference was also attended by the Minister of Cooperatives Ali Marwan Hanan and
deputy Parliament speaker A.M. Fatwa.
"Haz's visit to Thalib amounts to a divorce with Megawati. He is trying gain the
support of radical Muslims whom he thinks are large in numbers when in fact they are
not," said military analyst Djuanda.
Megawati's political party, Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDIP), criticized
Haz's visit to Thalib, saying he appeared to be "opposing" the president's efforts to
end the conflict.
"Hamzah Haz, as the Vice President, should not have gone there. It is wrong," Arifin
Panigoro, co-chairman of PDIP, told CNN.
"He tried to interfere....he is the chairman of the United Development Party (PPP),
which is very Muslim-orientated. He was trying to get support from Muslim voters,"
Arifin added.
Peace deal questioned
Maluku violence
Laskar Jihad has been blamed for the conflict between Muslims and Christians in
Maluku
Violence first erupted in Maluku in 1999. Laskar Jihad arrived on the islands the
following year and has been blamed for deepening the conflict.
The situation calmed down in February after the government brokered a peace deal
signed by Christians and Muslims who agreed to stop fighting.
Laskar Jihad has vehemently opposed the deal.
Following the Soya attack, the peace deal has been called into question.
Analysts said Haz visit had the effect of legitimizing Laskar Jihad's actions.
"This will make the Muslims in Maluku believe even more in Laskar Jihad, that Ja'far
Umar Tahlib is right. His supporters will become even more fanatic," said Arbi Sanit,
lecturer of the University of Indonesia.
"This means the Vice President's visit will make it even more difficult to resolve the
conflict in Maluku," Sanit added.
Peace in Maluku is crucial to rebuilding the shattered islands and to strengthening the
existing religious tolerance in the rest of the country.
This has an added impetus given the current background of the Middle East crisis and
the U.S. war in Afghanistan, which has inflamed Muslim sentiment in the world's
largest Muslim country.
Scapegoats
Thalib
Jaffar Umar Thalib, the head of the Laskar Jihad militia group, has reportedly
threatened to kill Megawati
While the majority of Indonesian Muslims are moderates, Laskar Jihad's militancy has
sometimes intimidated officials.
Last week, the government ordered Lasdkar Jihad, which hails from Java, to be
removed from Maluku along with the dissolution of a radical Christian group, the
Maluku Sovereignty Front (FKM).
Laskar Jihad told CNN they were being made "scapegoats" by the government.
"How can they remove Laskar Jihad when most of the members have Maluku ID
cards? All the Muslims on Maluku support us," Syafruddin told CNN.
Syafruddin claimed Laskar Jihad's members totaled almost one million.
"But we are not armed, we are ordinary civilians," Syafruddin added.
Djuanda, who is a former intelligence officer, estimates Laskar Jihad's strength at
7,000-9,000.
"They are trained and armed -- be it home-made or automatic weapons. In a country
which is not stable, this is significant," said Djuanda.
© 2001 Cable News Network LP, LLLP
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