European Parliament resolution on Indonesia (the Moluccas,
Aceh and Papua)
The European Parliament,
–recalling its earlier resolutions on the situation in the Moluccas, Aceh and Papua
province in Indonesia,
In general
A.aware of, and supporting, the importance which the Indonesian authorities
attach to national territorial integrity, while underlining that the only viable way
to guarantee the territorial integrity of Indonesia is for the government to engage
in a genuine dialogue with the provinces in order to tackle the root causes of
separatism and emphasising the importance of the interethnic, interreligious
and interregional dialogue and successful decentralisation,
B.whereas the state must be responsible for ensuring the safety of its citizens
irrespective of their ethnic origins or religious beliefs,
On the Moluccas
C.whereas on 12 February the Malino II peace declaration was signed by
seventy Muslim and Christian representatives from the Moluccas, committing
themselves to abandoning violence,
D. whereas the EU Presidency welcomed this agreement, including the
mediation efforts by the Indonesian government leading to this peace
declaration, and called upon the Indonesian government to take all necessary
measures against any efforts from the outside to derail the peace process,
E.whereas in the weeks following the signing of the peace declaration, and
notably on 3 and 28 April, further massacres of Christians took place,
F.whereas the promised Independent National Investigation Team has not yet
been established, although Vice-President Hamrah Haz has promised to work
for its early establishment,
G.whereas the leader of Laskar Jihad in the Moluccas, Ja'far Umar Thalib, on
Friday 26 April, was reported to have called for the ignoring of the peace
declaration and the beginning of civil war in the islands, making a strong
statement saying that Muslims will destroy all Christians in Ambon, at a mass
meeting with about 20 000 Muslims present,
H.whereas several church leaders, including the Catholic Bishop of Amboina,
Monsignor Mandagi, and the Moderator of the Synod of the Moluccan
Protestant Church, Rev. Dr Hendriks, sent a letter dated 29 April to the UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan, asking for UN assistance to the Indonesian
government to stop any further massacres,
I.whereas since 1999, when sectarian violence began in the Moluccas, fighting
has claimed over 5000 lives in that province, and Laskar Jihad's infiltration into
the neighbouring provinces of Papua and Sulawesi would widen the conflict to
other provinces with large non-Muslim populations,
J.whereas on 4 May, at Surabaya airport, Laskar Jihad's leader Ja'far Umar
Thalib was arrested by the police,
On Aceh and Papua
K.whereas the violence in Aceh province has continued after the Indonesian
government and the separatists held, in March, fresh but fruitless talks in an
effort to find a peaceful solution to the conflict,
L.whereas the fighting in Aceh has intensified since the beginning of this year,
with at least 300 people killed,
M.whereas on 10 May the Indonesian government and the separatist Free
Aceh Movement agreed to negotiate an end to hostilities and a process for
electing democratic leaders for Aceh,
N.whereas the National Inquiry Commission has claimed that some six
members of the army's special forces have been involved in the assassination
of the Papuan leader, Theys Hiyo Eluay, without disclosing the motive for the
killing or the names of those who gave the order to assassinate him,
In general
1.Is deeply concerned at the appalling violence in the Moluccas and the
persisting conflicts in Aceh and Papua province, and expresses its sympathy
with all the victims of these violent conflicts;
2.Regrets that the UN Commission on Human Rights has failed to take
account of the worrying situation;
On the Moluccas
3.Calls upon all concerned to work for the implementation of the 12 February
peace declaration;
4.Welcomes the arrest of Laskar Jihad's leader, Ja'far Umar Thalib, as a sign of
the Indonesian authorities' commitment to standing behind the peace process
in the area and to confronting terrorist groups, and asks for him to be brought
to trial;
5.Regrets that in the past the Indonesian authorities have taken insufficient
action once international pressure has died down, and therefore encourages
the current Indonesian government to ensure that its military, security and
police forces protect the civilian population from attacks by terrorist groups
such as Laskar Jihad and refrain from violence against the civilian population;
6.Welcomes, furthermore, the action by the Indonesian government to force the
members of Laskar Jihad to leave the Moluccas immediately, and asks it to
ensure that Laskar Jihad also leaves other areas such as Papua province;
7.Welcomes recent diplomatic steps by the international community, including
the Spanish EU Presidency, and asks for a new mission by the EU
Ambassadors in Jakarta to the areas to take place as soon as possible;
8.Asks the Commission and the Council to envisage, with the UN and the
Indonesian government, a programme aimed at rebuilding a civil society
respecting the ethnic and religious balance of Indonesia's Molucca islands;
On Aceh and Papua
9.Urges the Indonesian government to find a peaceful solution to the situation
in Aceh and Papua province, to protect any populations at risk, and to invite
the UN Special Rapporteurs on torture and summary executions to visit Aceh
and Papua province;
10.Calls on the Indonesian government to establish a credible, legal and
independent inquiry team of international human rights experts to investigate
the involvement of state institutions in the assassination of the Papuan leader
and tribal chief Theys Eluay and to bring the perpetrators to justice;
11.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the
Commission, the Government and Parliament of Indonesia, and the UN
Secretary-General.
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