CRISIS CENTRE DIOCESE OF AMBOINA
Jalan Pattimura 32 -- Ambon 97124 -- Indonesia
Tel 0062 (0)911 342195 Fax 0062 (0)911 355337
E-mail: crisiscentre01@hotmail.com
Ambon, October 20, 2002
THE SITUATION IN AMBON / MOLUCCAS -- Report No. 321
Your correspondent was out of office and out of reach of internet for more than a
month. In the following rather lengthy report we will try to catch up with events, mainly
based on the Archives of Infomaluku.net.
1. AMAHUSU INHABITANTS SHOT AT – On September 21, 2002, a group of
residents of Amahusu, a Christian village South-West of the city of Ambon, went
hunting on the tiny island of Kelang to the West of Ceram island. When returning they
were unexpectedly shot at by unknown assailants, who reportedly used automatic
weapons. In this incident two people were killed, two others were wounded, and two
were missing.
2. ARRESTS ON MOROTAI – Four suspects of the recent attack on three villages on
the island of Morotai, North Moluccas (see Report 320) have been arrested. They will
be tried in court. Several thousands of victims of the attack, that initially went hiding in
the forest, have returned to their villages because shortage of food was imminent.
3. SUSPECTS OF BURNING GOVERNOR’S OFFICE SENTENCED – The district
court of Ambon has sentenced three suspects of the burning of the gubernatorial
office in Ambon on April 3, 2002 (see Report 254), to sentences of 18 to 22 months.
The judge deemed that they were guilty of inciting the mob that burned the office. The
Team of Muslim Lawyers (TPM) accuses Ambon police of taking no serious actions in
this whole matter, because those arrested were not directly involved in torching the
building.
4. KULUR RESIDENT VICTIM OF LAND MINE – On October 5 a woman from Kulur
village on the island of Saparua became victim of an explosion, probably from a
landmine.
5. RETURNING OF IDP-s TO THEIR HOMESTEADS – On October 5 the government
assisted in moving 1,185 people (275 families) from Ternate, North Moluccas, to Luari,
Tobelo sub-district. It is reported that since March this year more than 4,514 IDP
families in the North Moluccas have returned to their original villages.
6. BOMB EXPLOSION IN AMBON – Two soldiers of Yonif 741/Udhayana and two
civilians were wounded in the morning of October 9 when a bomb exploded at a
marked stand in the Christian neighbourhood of Batugantung. The incident took place
when the military secured the area where the unexploded bomb was found and a
special police team was expected to decompose the lethal device. The number of
casualties was increased by two wounded, who at the time the bomb exploded, were
driving a car, then pulled out and crashed.
Not long after this, another bomb was found in a telecom shop (“Wartel”) on the Yan
Paays street in Ambon town. Yet another unexploded bomb was found near the
secondary SMU-1 school in the Batumeja area in Ambon town. Two bombs were
found near the Transmigration Office in the Muslim Pohon Mangga area at the West
end of Ambon town. On October 11 two grenades were found at the Baku Bae market
in the Pantai Mardika area, Ambon town. A spokesman of the Armed-1 battalion
acknowledged that the grenades had been lost during a routine patrol, but had not
intentionally been placed there.
7. BLOODY FEUD BETWEEN KAILOLO AND PELAUW – During a clash between
the Muslim villages of Kailolo and Pelauw on the island of Haruku on September 18,
two people were killed. Once again they took to war on October 11. A Kailolo resident
was seriously wounded by a bullet.
8. TELKOMSEL RESUMES SERVICE IN AMBON – On June 23, 2000, the
Telecommunication Office at Tanah Lapang Kecil, Ambon, was partly destroyed (see
Report 1). Since then no mobile telephone service could be provided. Now Telkomsel,
the provider of mobile telephone services, has resumed its service, so that mobile
telephones can be used again in Ambon.
9. SOLDIER KILLED – On Sunday, October 13, a soldier of the Armed-16 unit was
killed during a patrol near kampung Keranjang, Baguala subdistrict, Ambon. It
reportedly was an accident, in which he was shot by another soldier.
10. KILLED BY MYSTERIOUS GUNMAN – On October 13 Abdulhair Olle (20) from
Sirisori Salam, island of Saparua, was killed by gunshots when at some distance from
his village, he was gathering firewood.
11. WORKSHOP FIREARMS ROLLED UP IN TERNATE – Recently the police rolled
up a workshop for fabricating firearms on the site of a school for theology in Sentiong,
Ternate, North Moluccas. A number of firearms was confiscated. Four persons were
arrested.
12. HUNDREDS OF LASKAR JIHAD LEAVE AMBON – On October 15, 2002,
between 800 to 1000 members of the Laskar Jihad boarded the Dorondola passenger
ship and left Ambon. Provincial police chief commander Sunarko was in the harbour to
oversee their departure. Sunarko stated that the departure was voluntary and that the
authorities were not directly involved neither had made any financial contribution to
pay for their departure. It seems that several hundreds of them still are in Ambon;
however, they will leave within a few weeks. Their social and religious activities will be
continued. It is reported that equally on October 16, 200 Laskar Jihad members left
Poso (Central Sulawesi), which is another conflict area.
Several reasons of their departure are proffered: (1) A spokesman of the Laskar Jihad
in Ambon said that their departure is a result of the decision by the Laskar Jihad
leadership, the Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaah, to disband the organization. In fact their
headquarters in Yogyakarta were closed down on October 15. A speech by Laskar
Jihad commander Jafar Umar Thalib, announcing the dissolvement of his organization,
was aired on local Muslim SPMM radio on October 15. The lawyer of the Laskar
Jihad, Mahendradatta, denied that there was any connection between this measure
and the bloody bomb attack in Bali on October 12. He said that the decision had
already been taken earlier in October because the government apparently now takes
the problem of separatism seriously and both the army and the police are protecting
the interest of the muslim community in a better way. (2) Other sources say that their
departure was ordered by a fatwa (decision) by Syehk Rubi bin Hadi Al Wadli from
Saudi Arabia, stating that the Jihad in the Moluccas was over now. (3) The presence
of the Laskar Jihad in the Moluccas is regarded as not longer necessary as their
social and religious tasks can be continued by locals. (4) On October 16 Jafar Umar
Thalib Jafar Umar Thalib stated in Jakarta that his organization was disbanded based
on ideological considerations. He said that the organization mingled with several
politicians, among them Vice President Hamzah Haz, contaminating the Laskar Jihad
ideology. These non-serious politics disturbed the principal mission of the Laskar
Jihad. (5) A Laskar Jihad member in Ambon reportedly declared that the organization
was disolved due to lack of sufficient financial support.
Head of national police, general Da’i Bachtiar, considers the dissolvement of the
Laskar Jihad as a favourable act, because now tensions and threats will decrease.
13. LASKAR JIHAD WEBSITE CLOSED – The Laskar Jihad website on the internet
(www.laskarjihad.or.id) is closed since October 12. The website was in fact hosted by
a company based in the USA (Dynamic DNS Network Services LLC, Worcester).
14. BOMB ATTACK IN BATUMERAH – In the afternoon of October 14, a bomb was
thrown out of a fast speeding passenger car when passing through the Muslim
Batumerah area, Ambon town. A four year old boy was hit and lost one of his hands.
Meanwhile a woman fell (or was pushed?) out of the car, upon which she was beaten
up by an angry mass of people.
15. BOMBS FOUND NEAR VICE-GOVERNOR’S RESIDENCE – In the evening of
October 17 a bomb was discovered at the provisional market of the Christian
neighbourhood of Batumeja, Ambon town. The following morning another one was
found at a distance of four meters from the earlier location. The exact location had a
distance of about 25 meters from the residence of vice-governor Mrs. Paula Renyaan
and about 100 meters from Police Headquarters.
16. UMAR AL-FAROUQ INVOLVED IN MOLUCCAS UNREST – Umar Al-Farouq is
said to have admitted that he is connected to the Al-Qaeda network and that he was
involved in several terrorist actions, including bomb assaults in Ambon. Al-Farouq is
probably a Kuwait national, who holds identification documents from Ambon. A
special combined police-intelligence investigation team confirmed that Al-Farouq and
Abu Bakar Ba’asyir, muslim clerc and leader of the muslim organization Majelis
Mujahidin Indonesia, know each other. The latter, however, denies this link.
17. SITUATION IN AMBON IN THE WAKE OF LASKAR JIHAD DEPARTURE –
Leader of the Moluccan Protestant Church (GPM), minister I.W.J. Hendriks, stated on
October 18 that the government has to make use of the momentum now that the
Laskar Jihad is dissolved, to restore security. He said the current situation in Ambon
was peaceful now, because Christians now understand that not every muslim is a
member of the Laskar Jihad, and Muslims are aware that not every christian is a
supporter of the RMS.
From some muslims we learn that there is some worry or feeling of bereavement
among local Jihads now that their Javanese comrades have left.
Among the common people in Ambon no special utterings of either euphoria or
sadness can be perceived.
People still live in fear of possible bomb explosions. Numerous bomb threats are
received by telephone at schools and other public facilities, thus not seldom
disrupting ordinar daily business. Every unattended black plastic bag or wrapped up
cardboard box is suspected and reported to the nearest security forces.
Besides, Christians do not yet risk to pass through the Muslim areas of Batumerah
and Galunggung, city of Ambon. Likewise Muslims do not endeavour to pass through
Christian areas.
C.J.Böhm msc,
Crisis Centre Diocese of Amboina
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