Agence France-Presse, Sat May 1, 2004 5:22 PM ET
Pope prays for peace in sectarian strife-torn Indonesia's Ambon
VATICAN CITY (AFP) - Pope John Paul II appealed for an end to clashes between
Muslims and Christians that have left at least 37 dead in eastern Indonesia, in a
telegram addressed to the Roman Catholic bishop of the violence-wracked city
Ambon.
"The pope, informed of the new spate of violence in Ambon... wishes to remind the
Christian community of his affection and his solidarity during these moments of
suffering and agony", the message said.
"The pope prays for the reestablishment of public order and the renewal of peaceful
relations between the different religious groups", it said.
The telegram was sent to Monsignor Petrus Canisius Mandagi in Ambon, the Maluku
provincial capital where fighting has raged for a week between the two equally-sized
religious communities.
A banned parade by Christian separatists on April 25 sparked off the bloodshed, the
worst of its kind since a February 2002 pact ended three years of religious battles in
which some 5,000 people died.
About 180 people have been injured. Hundreds of homes and many other buildings
including the United Nations mission were set ablaze.
Bishop Mandagi has called on the United Nations and the international community to
help "protect the right of Moluccans to leave in peace".
Indonesia's population is 87-percent Muslim, but Christians and Muslims live in
roughly equal numbers in the Malukus.
Copyright © 2004 AFP. All rights reserved.
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