The Jakarta Post, 5/1/2004 7:28:34 PM
Pope urges restoration of order in Indonesia after
Christian-Muslim clashes
VATICAN CITY (AP): Pope John Paul II called on Saturday for public order to be
quickly restored in Indonesia's eastern Ambon city after a week of Muslim-Christian
clashes left at least 37 people dead.
In a letter to the bishop of Ambon sent by the Vatican secretary of state, John Paul
said he was praying for those who had died and those who were mourning for them.
"At this time of suffering and grave anxiety, he wishes to assure the whole Christian
community of his paternal affection and solidarity, and his heartfelt prayer that public
order and peaceful relations between the various religious and social groups will be
quickly restored," said the letter.
The clashes in the provincial capital of Maluku have raised fears the region could
plunge back into a Muslim-Christian war that killed 9,000 people three years ago.
The fighting was sparked last Sunday when the island's small, mostly Christian
separatist group paraded through Ambon's city center - an act regarded
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