The Jakarta Post, September 06, 2002
Ambon blast kills 3 high school girls
Novi Pinontoan, The Jakarta Post, Ambon
At least three school girls were killed and 11 others injured when a bomb was set off
in Ambon just a day after the Muslim and Christian community performed a
pela-gandong (brotherhood) ceremony to end the three-year-old sectarian conflict in
the city on Wednesday.
The bomb which was placed in a packed gymnasium, Merdeka stadium, in the city
and exploded at 5:45 p.m. local time, sending panic through the hundreds of mostly
high school students who were preparing for a sports event.
The injured victims, who had not yet been identified, were rushed to the GPM General
Hospital.
Security officials would not comment about possible motives behind the explosion
while the investigation into the incident was still under way.
The incident was not only a serious blow to the Malino peace agreement signed by
conflicting factions in Malino in February but also a fresh reminder to those who want
peace, just a day after a reportedly successful ceremony between local Christian and
Muslim communities in the city on Wednesday.
Witnessed by Fanny Habibie, a younger brother of former president B.J. Habibie,
Ambon Major M.J. Papilaya and other local officials, hundreds of residents of the
predominantly Muslim Sirimau and of the predominantly Christian Baguala marched
peacefully to churches and mosques in the two neighboring subdistricts, signaling the
beginning of the rehabilitation of the worship buildings damaged during the conflict.
At least one radical Java-based parmilitary Muslim group, with thousands of armed
militiamen in Ambon and elsewhere, is unequivocally opposed to any reconciliation
with other religious groups, and have been blamed for fomenting much of the violence
since their arrival a few years ago.
Habibie also handed over financial assistance he collected from donors in the
Netherlands to help repair damaged churches and mosques in the city.
All residents of the two subdistricts shook hands with one another to end their
hostility, signaling a revival of the brotherhood among the two subdistricts' residents.
"This day is a historical moment for the two religious communities to end permanently
the prolonged conflict as well as to cement the sense of brotherhood among us," Mrs
Maimutu, chief of the Passo Villagem, said when the village's residents greeted
Muslim residents of Batumerah, where the conflict erupted on Jan. 19, 1999.
Ambon Major Papilaya said that all people from the two communities should
appreciate the financial assistance granted to repair the damaged churches and
mosques for the donors' good intention and their own honesty to end the conflict that
has brought suffering to the people.
The two communities were committed to repairing An'Nur Mosque built in Batumerah
and the church in Waitatiri Larier. Both buildings date back to the 17th Century and
were damaged in the past two years.
The city, also the capital of Maluku has been rocked by a series of terrorist bombs
since the Malino accord was signed to end the conflict that has claimed more than
6,000 lives and displaced more than 750,000 people.
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