REUTERS, Mon May 6, 2002 10:48 AM ET
Christians return to streets of Indonesia's tense Ambon
By Grace Nirang
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Some life returned to the streets of Indonesia's troubled eastern
city of Ambon on Monday as frightened Christians came out of hiding after a weekend
of unrest, but residents fear more violence could erupt.
"Ambon is so far quiet today but the situation is tense because there are rumours of a
big protest by Muslims," one resident said.
Residents said gunshots were fired near a Christian village on Sunday night and a
group of Muslims was believed to be planning a major protest in the city -- some
2,300 km (1,400 miles) east of Jakarta.
The city virtually closed down following a violent protest on Saturday sparked by the
arrest of a top militant Islamic leader. Two people died and at least a dozen were
injured in the protest. But the arrest drew support on Monday from Muslim and
Christian members of a delegation of Ambon leaders visiting Jakarta.
Police arrested Jafar Umar Thalib, the rotund commander of the militant Laskar Jihad
in East Java on Saturday for allegedly inciting violence in once-idyllic Ambon, where
at least 12 people were killed in a raid by armed attackers in a Christian
neighbourhood just over a week ago.
They said he had violated the law by preaching and insulting the government and
asking his followers to prepare bombs.
MORE TROUBLE
Some political analysts fear Thalib's arrest could trigger more unrest and tear apart an
already badly battered peace deal signed in February.
"His arrest could have a bad impact on Ambon and inflame his followers there," said
Muhammad Budhyatna, a political analyst from the University of Indonesia.
However, A. Polpoke, chairman of the Moluccas branch of the Indonesian Ulemas
Council, an umbrella group of Muslim clerics, told reporters in Jakarta that: "Jafar
Umar Thalib is clearly against the...peace truce and therefore it is fair enough for him
to be arrested."
And Reverend I.W.J. Hendrinks, representing Protestant churches in the Ambon area
in a delegation visiting the capital, said: "We thank the police for the arrest of Jafar
Umar Thalib."
Laskar Jihad has become the face of militant Indonesian Islam after sending
thousands of men to the Moluccan islands in 1999.
Since then, it is estimated more than 5,000 people have been killed in the conflict,
which is centred on Ambon, the capital of the island chain formerly known as the
spice islands.
The Moluccas is under civil emergency status, which is one level down from martial
law and allows security forces to search houses, detain suspects and clamp down on
media they classify as provocative.
The Ambon delegation visiting Jakarta was critical of suggestions from military and
other quarters that martial law should be imposed on the region.
"The people of Ambon reject the plan to impose martial law, because it will mean
killing Ambon people," said the head of Ambon's legislature Lucky Wattimury:
"There will be an ethnic cleansing if martial law is imposed...There is no sense of
unity among security apparatuses in the field, they always blame each other when
something happens," Catholic bishop Monsignor P.C. Mandagi said.
Separately, Defence Minister Matori Abdul Jalil praised police efforts to nab Thalib and
said it was done in consultation with the government.
"The police have done the right thing. Before arresting (Thalib) there were intense
consultations about the facts and data with the cabinet," Matori told reporters.
Thalib is being detained in a cell at police headquarters in South Jakarta.
Indonesian law allows a suspect to be detained for 20 days for investigation purposes
but police said they could ask prosecutors for a 40-day extension if necessary.
Thalib's Laskar Jihad denies it has ties to international terrorism and says its mission
is to protect Muslims.
A spokesman for the group said the arrest was a result of U.S. pressure on the
world's most populous Muslim nation to crack down on terrorism.
The Moluccan islands is one of several separatist, communal or religious flashpoints
across the vast archipelago.
Copyright © 2001 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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