ASSOCIATED PRESS, Sat May 1, 2004 3:14 AM ET
Religious War Restarts in Indonesia
By CHRIS BRUMMITT, Associated Press Writer
AMBON, Indonesia - A young boy crouches beside the ruins of a house, lighting a
gasoline bomb. An ashen cross on his chest marks him as a Christian fighter.
Less than 25 yards away, Muslim combatants catapult homemade grenades across
the burnt and abandoned houses that mark the no man's land in this eastern
Indonesian city.
"This is what it is like, morning, afternoon and night," says Victor, barely flinching as
a bomb explodes nearby. "Last week we were neighbors, now we are enemies."
A week of sectarian fighting in Ambon has left 37 people dead, reviving fears the
Maluku islands could plunge back into the Muslim-Christian bloodletting that killed up
to 9,000 people three years ago. Ambon is the capital of the province comprising the
islands, known as the Spice islands during Dutch colonial rule.
Indonesian security forces have done little to stop the clashes and in some cases
have even joined in, witnesses say.
While Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation, the 2 million inhabitants
of the Malukus are evenly divided between Christians and Muslims.
Christians here, as elsewhere in Indonesia, have accused authorities of discrimination
and failing to protect them from Muslim attacks.
Many fear Jakarta is too absorbed by July's presidential election, the first since the
downfall of ex-dictator Suharto in 1998, to be concerned with the violence.
If so, the government is taking a big risk: A prolonged conflict could galvanize militant
Muslims in Indonesia, thousands of whom came to the region to fight in the earlier
conflict.
Indonesian intelligence officials say several Ambon veterans have turned up in Jemaah
Islamiyah, the al-Qaida-linked terror group blamed for a string of bombings in recent
years, including the 2002 Bali bombings.
"This is a holy war," said one Muslim fighter, gesturing to the Christian part of the
divided seaside city with a spear. "We are obliged to defend our faith."
Many of the combatants on the Christian side appear to be barely out of their teens.
The fighting erupted Sunday after the province's small, mostly Christian separatist
movement paraded through the city center. The display of secessionist sentiment
angered Muslims, who have cast themselves as defenders of the country's unity to
avoid military crackdowns and attract legitimacy in Jakarta.
The conflict is often seen in these terms by government officials and the national
media, which infuriates Christians.
"How is burning churches and homes fighting separatism?" asks one woman who
declined to be identified. "We work in Indonesia, we love Indonesia. We are only
defending our homes."
In fact, the separatist Maluku Sovereignty Front has no armed wing and, local
Christians say, numbers less than 200 members. It has never been seen as a threat
to the country's unity, unlike secessionist movements in the provinces of Aceh and
Papua, the main trouble spots in the sprawling Indonesian archipelago.
"The government of Indonesia started this problem, not us," said Thos Talakua, a
spokesman for the group. "It's our hope that the international community can come
and save the Maluku people."
Back at the front lines, both sides appear to be prepared for a long fight.
Restaurants in the Muslim part of town have donation boxes marked "jihad fund."
Mosques close to the battle lines call on the faithful to join the fight.
Meanwhile, Christians make bombs from nails, gasoline and the sulfur from
thousands of matches.
Talk of reconciliation is far away in this once-idyllic island chain.
"They are no longer humans, they are animals," said one Christian fighter, referring to
his Muslim enemy. "Peace is over."
Copyright © 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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