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, March 30, 2005
THE SITUATION IN AMBON/MOLUCCAS - Report No. 474
1. EARTHQUAKE - Two earthquakes rocked the Moluccas on March 27, one shortly
after midnight, the other in the early morning. There were no reports of damage or
casualties. Both quakes were centered under the Banda Sea, about 140 miles
beneath the earth's surface.
2. SHOOTING INCIDENT AT AMBON SCHOOL - An unknown sniper shot into a high
school classroom in the Galunggung area, city of Ambon on March 24. The shooting
occurred while a first year class of SMUN 11 senior high school students were having
afternoon lessons. La Amu, geography teacher, who was taking the class at the time
of the shooting, said he suddenly heard the window's glass breaking. When he
examined the window he realized the school had been shot at, he said. No one was
hurt in the incident and in fact no sound of a shot had been heard. The police
confirmed that a gunshot had penetrated the window but said the type of weapon used
was not yet known. It was supposed that the gunman had used a silencer, so that
nothing had been heard expect the breaking window-pane.
3. BOMB MENACE - Following a hint by residents of the Kudamati neighbourhood,
city of Ambon, policemen found a homemade bomb in the area, hidden in a plastic
thermos flask; they then had it exploded.
4. RAZZIA ON WEAPONRY IN LAHA - The police uncovered a significant cache of
bullets of various kinds, a large number of homemade bombs, rifles, pistols and
traditional arms when executing a razzia on weaponry in the Ambon village of
Laha-Tawiri. Also various other soldiers' equipment was found and confiscated. Nine
people from Tawiri were found having weaponry in their possession and consequently
were detained at the police office.
5. SWEEPING OF HOTELS - The local authorities and also the religious leaders here
are convinced that there are no Ambon residents that still opt for strife and contention.
Recent incidents of bombing and shooting, causing people being killed or wounded
are thought to be brought about by people from outside the Moluccas. Thus -
according to Ambon Ekspres daily - during the night from 25 through 26 March, the
police staged an overall razzia in all hotels and other places where people from
elsewhere use to stay at night. It must have been an amazing spectacle to see
people being aroused from sleep or stunned while busy with other activities. In one
place four men with one woman were found; two of these men happened to be
members of a certain sub-provincial House of Representatives. Elsewhere a member
of the provincial House of Representatives was found together with his lady. Those
that could not identify themselves - both males and females - were detained and taken
to the town's police station. The others were allowed to go back to sleep. In this
operation no weaponry or other evidence of provocation was encountered.
C.J.Böhm msc,
Crisis Centre Diocese of Amboina |
