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, 20 January 2005
THE SITUATION IN AMBON/MOLUCCAS - Report No. 463
1. PROTEST BY MUSLIM LEADER - The prohibition that was issued by provincial
police chief Aditya Warman to hold any commemoration on January 19th - the day
when the conflict erupted in Ambon six years ago - was not welcome among Muslim
leaders in Ambon and evoked sharp protest from the chairman of the Badan Immarah
Muslim Maluku (BIMM), KH Ali Fauzi. The Badan Immarah Muslim Maluku was
established on 22 June 2001 as a conglomeration of "Mass Organisations", "Staff"
and "Command" of the Muslims in the Moluccas (see Report 191). Especially the fact
that Warman spoke of "collective grief because of collective wrongdoing", was
unacceptable. Fauzi said: "The Muslim community on that first fatal day became
victim of a rebellion by a certain group against the undivided Republic of Indonesia.
Warman should not talk about things he doesn't know about, for he was not in Ambon
when this happened."
2. COMMEMORATING JANUARY 19, 1999 - Notwithstanding the police chief's
prohibition, a demonstration was staged by muslim leader Abdurahman Divinubun
outside the Al-Fatah Mosque, Ambon, commemorating that fatal 01-19-99. However,
only a few people bothered to turn up and listen to his "orasi". Those present were
mostly either disguised security forces or newsreporters, to whom Divinubun
explained that this peaceful action was mainly meant to express their concern about
the neglect of the government towards the poor and destitute among the people.
Meanwhile some hundreds of muslim faithful from the Batumerah area (where it all
began) commemorated that fateful day during the afternoon by organizing a meeting of
prayer and "Zikir" (praise). So far the report by local newspapers, including "Ambon
Ekspres", which during the conflict was the "islam paper".
However, the in Java published (islam oriented) "Republika" newspaper, provides a
rather different presentation. Summarizing, its report says: the commemoration of the
slaughtering of the muslims on January 19th, six years ago, was proclaimed by the
local leaders of the BIMM and MUI. Prayers were said in the middle of the "pusara"
(graves) of the hundreds of "syuhada" (witnesses of faith, martyrs). Meanwhile muslim
young people in Batumerah had their own prayer meeting. BIMM chairman KH Ali
Fauzi recalled in his speech the victimizing of thousands of muslims by the
christians. However, up to this day no justice had been done to the wrongdoers. He
said: "We will never stop bringing the Moluccas conflict to court so that justice will be
done in an honest, transparant, professional and integrated way". He further exhorted
his listeners to take care of the graves of their martyrs: these should always be a
reminder for the whole population of the Moluccas, both muslim and christian - he
said - in order to forestall any repeating of such awful conflict in the future.
We had no report of any comparable commemoration activity on the side of the
christians. Anyhow, this day of sad memories passed without any disturbance in the
city of Ambon.
C.J.Böhm msc,
Crisis Centre Diocese of Amboina |
