Sala Waku Maluku, 29 April 2004
Ambon Update: 28 April 2004
By Team for Maluku Conflict Assessment - Yayasan Sala Waku Maluku (Maluku
Shield Foundation)
1. The War Zone
Since the violence broke loose in Ambon in 25 April 2004 after noon, more people are
dead or injured, and buildings burned. Up to now, the centre of fighting zone is still in
the same area (around 300 m by 400 m) in the north west of the city. From our office
in the south east of the city (approx. 3 km from the war zone), we can hear bomb
blasts and gunshots very clearly. But it is not easy to penetrate a 3-km distance
under heavy police presence, wild gunshots, snipers, bombing and local fighters along
the streets. The government has put around 600-800 security personnel with heavy
guns in the fighting area to stop the destruction done by mobs from Moslem and
Christian areas. The Moslem fighters tried to overtake an area called Kudamati where
a separatist group (mainly Christians) held a flag ceremony in April 25 under the
police nose. Worse still, after the ceremony the police escorted the separatist crowds
(around 300 people) walking along the borders between Moslem and Christian
communities. The police actions caused Moslems angry resulting in the destruction
of UNDP office and cars, houses, and killing of innocent people. As of today, the dead
tools are 28 people and more than 120 are injured. In the meantime, the dead and
injured in Moslem side in the war zone increase as a result of fighting against the
police and army, not against the Christians. However, the army and police also fight
one another in the war zone.
2. Outside the War Zone
Outside the war zone, the situation remained calm although tensed. Three Christians
were killed in Rumah Tiga area (30 km from the city) in April 25. In the morning of
April 26, Christian mobs in Mardika area (east of the city) killed a Moslem man. At
night of the same day, 19 Christians embarked from a ferry came from Kupang (west
Timor) were attacked in Ambon seaport by Moslem mobs, although the police
escorted the passengers inside a police truck. Children as young as 11 months, a
pregnant woman and some old men and women were stabbed and stoned inside the
truck. Fortunately, no one died in that one-hour ordeal, but left behind traumatized
children (a heartbroken reality) and more angry people. It is clear that the police did
not anticipate the size of the mobs and emotional instability in this area. Five other
Timorese Christians were taken from the ship and murdered. Only three bodies were
found so far. In April 27 morning, a Christian man died and his friend (a man) heavily
injured (and died later in hospital) when they entered a Moslem area to buy fuel for
their motorbike.
Tonight at 1:30 a.m., gunshots happened just outside our office when youngsters in
the neighborhood shot at a house (around 100 m from our office) containing 10 army
personnel. The presence of army is not welcome by Christians because the army
officers are typically trigger-happy and merciless. However the youth leader and the
head of our neighborhood reconciled the youth and the army personnel. Actually, the
army was there because the house owner (a Chinese trader) asked them to protect
the house from possible breaking in by refugees from other areas.
It seems after midnight (this morning 28 April), the fighting fronts are widened to the
east side of the city, i.e. Mardika, Rijali, Da Silva and Karang Panjang areas. At
around 3 a.m., a church and houses around it, in the border between Batu Merah
(Moslem side) and Karang Panjang (Christian side), in the east of the city were set on
fire after an army artillery unit took over the security of that area from the Christians at
around 11 p.m. After the army forced the Christians to leave the area, bombings were
started 3 hours later destroying the church and 13 houses. This incidence caused a
mass demonstration by the congregation of the church in the morning demanding
explanation from the Maluku Governor, Ambon City Major and Head of Maluku police.
However, these three top-ranking officials were attending a meeting with the Minister
of Politics and Security Affairs in the airport (42 km from the city). In the mean time,
masses of people concentrate in several Moslem and Christian villages in the
outskirts of the city to monitor the situation. We are afraid that if the conflict cannot
be contained in the city, it can spread quickly. Daily public activities in secured areas
are normal. People still can buy food in the markets and supermarkets, although the
prices of raw foods like fish and vegetables, kerosene and fuel are increased quite
significant.
3. Religion Tolerance
Despite of the religion-related terrorism, religion tolerance between Moslems and
Christians in Ambon seems stronger in some areas of the city. For example,
Moslems are looking after Christians' houses in Rumah Tiga and Poka villages, while
Christians looking after Moslems' houses in Latta and Lateri villages. Moslems from
Wakal village secured Pattimura State University campus in Poka village before a
security group came to guard the campus. Moslems from Tulehu village (15 km east
of the city) can pass all Christian villages safely along the way to the city in return for
their security guarantee for Christians in their neighboring Waai village. The majority of
local Moslems in Ambon do not involve in the latest violence. In the neighborhood of
our office in Soa Ema area, children play happily, while mothers cook and laugh with
a background of bomb blasts and gunshots. We also can contact our Moslem friends
by phone or SMS to exchange the latest news from our neighborhoods. Clearly, local
people are tired and bored by this bloody political game. Of course we all miss the
heavenly peace.
4. Analysis of the Justifying Issues
The Government insists that the separatists are the roots of this new violence and all
previous violence in Maluku. Yet, our data shows that when the violence started in
1999, the issue was not nationalism but tribalism. The provocateurs at that time
spread news that the Ambonese hated the Moslem outsiders from Bugis, Buton and
Makassar (people from south and southeast of Celebes/Sulawesi island). However,
this issue was not relevant in the field because all tribes (including the Ambonese)
became victims of the violence. The Ambonese are not only Christians, but also
Moslems. Historically, BBM people have lived peacefully in Ambon for at least 5
generations.
Then, the issue was shifted to religion hatred, i.e. Christians and Moslems hate one
another. In the beginning, this issue did not work because people of Maluku have the
same ancestor (Alifuru people) although now they have different religions after Islam
and Christianity were introduced to the islands. To make the issue work, the
provocateurs brought in people from outside of Maluku, like Ambonese tugs from
Jakarta (Christians and Moslems), Laskar Mujahiddin and Laskar Jihad, to increase
the level of violent activities in both communities. When Laskar Jihad and the tugs
disappeared because of international pressures against terrorism, the violence
automatically stops because from the beginning the local people were not interested
in this bloody political game. They are merely victims of the political games of the
elites.
Now, the issue is shifted to separatism/nationalism to avoid international pressures on
religion-related terrorism/radicalism. Using separatist issue as the basis, the
government (especially the army and police) tries to build a justification that the
separatism is the root of Maluku conflict. Again, this issue does not work in the field
because the mobs clearly consist of Moslems in one side (who call themselves as
the defenders of Indonesia sovereignty) and Christians in another side (who also stand
as the defenders of Indonesia sovereignty). In the last 3 days, the local government,
security forces, national leaders, local community leaders and mass media call both
the separatists and the mobs as the terrorists. So they have confusion in terminology
and group identification. By far, the police and army are shooting at the mobs, not at
the innocent people. However, some bystanders also become victims because they
enter the fighting area.
5. Possible Justifying Scenario and Its Impacts
Because the issue of separatism cannot validate the current violence, we anticipate
the issue may shift again because we know that the aim of the provocateurs is to
make the Christians and Moslems fight one another like in 1999-2002. If they succeed
in firing up the grass-root conflict, the provocateurs will cry aloud that Christians kill
the Moslems. This is a very sensitive issue given the majority of Indonesians are
Moslems. So, the issue may shift to religion solidarity, which justifies outsiders to
fight in Maluku. The increasing of violent escalation will justify the army to declare a
civil or military emergency and take over the security command of Maluku area. That
strategy will give two advantages to the army, i.e. (1) the army will justify that military
leadership is better than civilian leadership, and (2) the army will regain their lost
formal legitimacy in the eyes of the nation and the world. The army needs this
standing to influence the Presidential general election in 5 July 2004, in which two
retired army generals are nominated as candidates. They also need to retain their
powerful influence in Indonesian socio-politics because now the military does not have
representatives in the legislative and civilian bodies in local to national levels.
This scenario seems plausible because the violence broke at the same time in 25
April 2004 in at least 3 different areas of Ambon island, i.e. Tanah Lapang Kecil (the
current war zone inside the city) and Rumah Tiga/Poka (30 km from Ambon city).
Beside, the security forces did not stop the mobs that destroyed buildings and cars
and killed people.
To succeed with this scenario, the army needs to increase their size in Ambon. The
Commander of Indonesian Armed Forces has announced the deployment of one
battalion of Army Strategic Command 413 from central Java to Ambon this week. The
police also send in a total of 800 additional personnel. The presence of around 2500
security forces to control an area of 300x400 m2 against civilian mobs is unbelievable
but true. We are afraid that the security forces (i.e. police and army) will fight each
other in the field because of their different interests. The police needs to overcome the
mobs in order to avoid an emergency situation in which the army will take over the
security command of Maluku. On the other hand, the army badly needs to increase
the violent level and size in order to justify an emergency situation. This scenario is
not new given that between 1999-2002 the army has played the same scenario in
Maluku, and also in Acheh today.
6. Lessons Learned
From the field observations in the last 4 days, we can learn that:
1. The issue of separatism is not the real issue behind the new violence in Ambon,
although the government and security forces try very hard to coerce people and
international communities to believe in their version of the story. The separatism issue
is only a camouflage of a combination of religion-related terrorism/ radicalism, elite
political games and the failure of Indonesian government to protect and guarantee the
security of the Indonesian people.
2. The government of Indonesia (i.e. the police) has deliberately promoted this new
violence by encouraging the separatists to hold a flag ceremony openly and escorting
them during a street parade. The actions of the government were clearly in breach of
Indonesian laws and regulations that plainly ban any activity of separatism. By doing
so, the Government of Indonesia has deliberately provoked the Indonesian citizens to
hate and kill one another and destroy each other belongings. These are clearly a
heavy violation of international laws and a deliberate disregard of human rights.
3. The small size of the war zone (around 400x300 m2) proves that the current
violence is not in the interest of the majority of the people in Ambon city. If Moslems
and Christians in Ambon are interested in this violence, the violent level and size of
fighting areas should increase very quickly and dramatically.
4. The police can contain the violence not spreading four days, so the presence of
Indonesian army is not vital. The fact that an army unit burned down a church and 13
houses of Christians in Karang Panjang-Batumerah border this early morning proves
that they play the same scenario as in 1999-2002.
5. The international communities should be aware of the latest violence in Ambon is a
combination between religion-related terrorism/radicalism with the elements of the
government and elites as the provocateurs. Therefore, before the human right violation
becomes so great like in 1999-2002, the international communities should pressure
the Indonesian Government to reduce the presence of army units in Ambon and
increase the police presence in order to build up and strengthen the law enforcement
in Maluku.
Sala Waku Maluku
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