The Washington Times, April 28. 2002
New violence kills 12 in Indonesia
By Sukino Harisumarto
JAKARTA, Indonesia, April 28 (UPI) -- A gang of armed people attacked two Christian
villages in the eastern Indonesian conflict-ravaged city of Ambon before dawn Sunday,
killing at least 12 people and wounding several others, residents and news reports
said. Top Stories
Church workers in Ambon, the capital of Moluccas province, quoted survivors as
saying that the fresh violence took place during an electricity outage in Soya and
Ahotu villages on the southern outskirts of Ambon.
"We receive reports that at least 12 pweople died in the attack and at least nine
others were wounded," Lukluk, a Christian priest from Maranatha church, told United
Press International by telephone.
Lukluk, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, said a nine-month-old baby
and a 2-year-old boy were among those killed, adding that the victims suffered from
gunshot wounds or knife injuries.
"The attackers are using grenades and bombs and they are quite trained ... . We
believed they are not civilians," Anthoni Hatane from the Committee of the Truth,
Justice and Stop the Violence was quoted as saying by Kompas daily.
Other residents and reports by the state-run Antara news agency said the attackers
were wearing military uniforms and carrying military-style weapons.
There were no immediate comments from the military authorities or government
officials in Moluccas as to who was behind the bloody attack.
The national police chief Gen. Da'i Bhactiar expressed concern about the new bloody
violence in Ambon amid efforts by the government to resolve the conflicts within rival
parties in the province, where fighting between Muslims and Christians has flared
since early 1999.
Church workers said the attack was followed by explosions and the attackers set on
fire a church and a number of houses in the Christian-populated area.
But, C.J. Behm from the Crisis Center Diocese of Amboina and residents expressed
the belief that the attackers were from the "Laskar Jihad," or "Holy War Troopers,"
Muslim hardline groups.
"We deeply regretted the attack today. This is really endangering the peace
agreement signed recently by the rival factions," Behm told UPI. He was referring to a
peace accord signed by Muslim and Christian leaders in February in a bid to stop
bloodshed.
The bloody attacks were the latest violence following the 52th anniversary of the
separatist South Maluku (Moluccas) Republic (RMS) movement on Thursday when
explosions and gunshots injured at least six people and left a Christian church
ablaze.
Despite a government ban on the hoisting of the outlawed RMS flag a number of flags
were hoisted at several places on Ambon on Thursday, triggering anger among
Muslims.
The RMS was set up in 1950 by people loyal to Dutch colonial rule to stage a revolt
against Indonesia, which had proclaimed the island-province independent five years
earlier. The movement's supporters are primarily from the islands' Christian
community.
The rebellion was eventually squashed but small RMS activists, mainly those living in
the Netherlands, have launched a campaign for international recognition for their
movement.
The Moluccas islands, known during the Dutch colonial period as the "Spice Islands",
have been wracked by clashes between Muslims and Christians for the past three
years.
More than 5,000 people have died in sectarian fighting, thousands of others suffered
injuries and there has been widespread property damage.
Nearly 88 percent of Indonesia's 220 million people are Mulsims, making it the world's
largest Islamic. But the Christian population is about equal to that of the Muslims in
the Moluccas.
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