THE STRAITS TIMES, Saturday, April 27, 2002
BOMB BLASTS IN MALUKU
Jakarta troops rush to quell mob in Ambon
They try to restore the fragile peace broken after a Christian separatist group angered
Muslims by flying its independence flags
By Marianne Kearney
STRAITS TIMES INDONESIA BUREAU
JAKARTA - Hundreds of crack police troops were sent to restore order in Ambon, the
capital city of Maluku, after bomb explosions there threatened to destroy a shaky
peace deal.
This took place as Jafar Umar Tahlib, the commander of the militant Laskar Jihad
group, told a 5,000-strong crowd gathered at a mosque for Friday prayers to prepare
for war against the South Maluku Republic (RMS), a mostly Christian separatist
group.
'From today, we will no longer talk about reconciliation,' Jafar told the crowd.
After Friday prayers, at least 15,000 Muslims, angered by the RMS for flying its
independence flags on its 52nd anniversary on Thursday, tried to break into Christian
areas.
Police fired shots into the crowd, which included several hundred members of Laskar
Jihad, said a Christian priest who added that the tense stand-off between police and
the crowd lasted several hours.
One person was believed to have been injured in the police shootings, said an Ambon
resident.
Yesterday's confrontation followed a series of explosions on Thursday and the
torching of the Silo Protestant Church, which is being rebuilt after being razed three
years ago.
Six people were injured on Thursday.
Some 200 crack anti-riot Brimob police were flown by C-130 Hercules aircraft before
dawn yesterday to calm the tense city.
Police arrested 27 Ambonese for flying the banned RMS independence flags borne by
balloons.
Christian groups fear that Jafar's call for war will shatter the fragile peace deal signed
between the warring Christian and Muslim leaders of Maluku less than two months
ago.
'The security forces should disarm Laskar Jihad. The army is in a majority so they
should do a proper job and when they do sweeping they should not give any warning,'
said Father Joseph Haas, referring to the armed forces' well-known practice of warning
groups before conducting weapons raids.
Pastor Bohm from the Ambon Christian Crisis Centre said: 'With the arrival of Jafar
Umar, the influence of Laskar Jihad is definitely increasing.'
It is unclear how the Java-based leader of Laskar Jihad, which has been accused of
inflaming and extending the three-year long sectarian conflict in Maluku, was allowed
into Ambon on the eve of the anniversary of the RMS.
Ambon authorities this week banned all foreigners from entering South Maluku.
They forbade local reporters from covering the separatist group's anniversary in order
to avoid any outbreaks of violence.
Observers say Maluku authorities and security forces remain reluctant to crack down
on Laskar Jihad because of Jafar's ties with Vice-President Hamzah Haz and several
leading politicians.
Laskar Jihad has also been accused of having links with the Al-Qaeda terrorist
network.
However, Indonesian authorities and Jafar deny any connection with the international
terrorist outfit.
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