The International Crisis Group (ICG), 17 May 2004
New Violence in Indonesia's Ambon
Jakarta/Brussels, 17 May 2004: The Indonesian government should give urgent priority
to identifying and prosecuting the snipers responsible for dozens of deaths recently in
Ambon, the site of bitter communal violence between 1999 and 2001, lest new killings
disturb fragile Muslim-Christian peace as national elections approach.
In a briefing published today, Indonesia: Violence Erupts Again in Ambon*, the
International Crisis Group notes that many who live in the Moluccan island city believe
the violence that erupted on 25 April, the anniversary of a short-lived Republic of the
South Moluccas that tried to break away from Indonesia in 1950, was provoked.
Two-thirds of some 40 people killed were Muslim, most shot to the head, neck, or
chest. (Others died of machete wounds.) An additional 200, Muslims and Christians
alike, were wounded, and close to 10,000 people were displaced.
The shootings took place after members of the pro-independence Front for Moluccan
Sovereignty (known by its Indonesian initials FKM) held a ceremony at the house of
their group's exiled founder, Alex Manuputty, on the morning of 25 April. FKM, a
largely Christian organisation, sees itself as continuing the struggle for the Republic of
the South Moluccas. Manuputty had been detained on rebellion charges, but late last
year, was released on a technicality and fled to the United States.
"The failure of the local police to prepare adequately for the 25 April commemorations
was clearly a factor in this outbreak", said Robert Templer, ICG's Asia Program
Director, "but the key questions are who were the snipers, and why did they open
fire?" Those questions need to be answered in a thorough, transparent, and impartial
investigation, or the risk of another round of violence will be serious.
ICG discounts the government's quick presumption that the gunmen belonged to FKM
or radical Muslim groups. The former have no sniper capacity, the latter would not
have aimed at members of their own community. Much speculation has focused on
members or ex-members of the security forces, who would have the necessary
marksmanship. But no hard evidence at this stage supports any of the conspiracy
theories that link the killings to the national presidential elections later this summer or
local police-military rivalry.
The new ICG paper looks at how the violence began, the missteps made by officials in
addressing it, and the different theories that have emerged to explain it. "The richness
of the conspiracy theories is equalled by the paucity of hard facts", said Templer.
"The longer the snipers remain unidentified, the greater the chance of a new round of
violence in a sensitive place and at a sensitive time for Indonesia's democracy".
Contacts: Andrew Stroehlein (Brussels) +32 (0) 485 555 946
Jennifer Leonard (Washington) +1-202-785 1601
To contact ICG media please click here
*Read the report in full on our website: http://www.icg.org/
Click here to view the full report as a PDF file in A4
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