The Jakarta Post, 5 April 2002
Ambon bombing not to affect Malino peace accord: Minister
JAKARTA (JP): The government remains optimistic thatWednesday's bombing in the
Maluku provincial capital of Ambon will not affect the second Malino peace accord,
said Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno on Thursday.
"I think the incident will not break the second Malino peace agreement but will help
lead the two warring communities to a more cohesive state," Hari said in Semarang,
Central Java, as quoted by Antara.
A bomb exploded near the Amboina Hotel in the heart of Ambon, killing four people
and wounding dozens of others. Following the bombing incident, a mob set the
Maluku governor's offices on fire.
Hari said the bombing was masterminded by a small group of perpetrators, and not by
those who signed the peace accord, which was reached at a government-brokered
meeting in the South Sulawesi town of Malino earlier this year.
The "small group of perpetrators" thought it had lost out following the signing of the
Malino peace agreement and the gradually improving security situation in Ambon, he
said.
"Whoever they are, they must be the target of a crackdown," he said, calling on
Ambon residents not to react emotionally to the bombing outrage.
Asked about the damage done to the Maluku gubernatorial offices, the minister noted
that despite the physical damage, the provision of services for the needy and
administrative work had to continue.
The sectarian conflict in Maluku broke out in January 1999.
The central government, along with Muslim and Christian elements both from Maluku
and in Jakarta, had initiated a series of meetings to end the conflict, which has
claimed more than 5,000 lives.
However, sporadic incidents continued to occur even after representatives of the two
warring camps had signed the Malino peace agreement.
The first Malino peace agreement was reached by Muslim and Christian factions from
Poso, Central Sulawesi province, late in 2001 in an effort to end the sectarian conflict
there.
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