CNSNews, December 03, 2001
Indonesian Christians Fear Renewed Jihad
By Patrick Goodenough, Pacific Rim Bureau Chief
Pacific Rim Bureau (CNSNews.com) - Christians in Indonesia's Sulawesi island fear
for their lives at the hands of Islamic militants, some of whom support al-Qaeda. The
militants have identified the area as the next target in their anti-Christian jihad, and
they are threatening a "bloody Christmas."
Heavily-armed members of the Laskar Jihad group have poured into the Poso area,
where the villages of Sepe and Silanca were attacked over the weekend, a western
Christian working in the country said by phone Monday. At least seven deaths have
been reported in recent days, and thousands of mostly Christian houses have been
torched.
In a nearby larger town, Tentena, 63,000 Christians fear imminent attack, he added.
The town is already home to some 28,000 refugees who have fled their homes
elsewhere in Sulawesi after coming under attack.
The Vatican's Fides news agency quoted a local bishop as saying more than 50,000
Christians have fled under attack from militants armed with firearms and grenades.
The self-proclaimed "jihad warriors" have moved in from the neighboring Maluku
province, where they have been accused of waging a holy war against Christians
since 1999. Around 9,000 people have died in that violent campaign.
Over the past two years, at least 1,000 people have been killed in intermittent
Christian-Muslim clashes in Sulawesi. Christians in the Poso district fear that the
recent influx of Laskar Jihad fighters could push the area over the brink.
"Onward to Poso," proclaims the Laskar Jihad's website, which also runs wire service
reports on the violence under the heading "message of the day."
Bin Laden 'is our leader'
Westerners working in the area say the fighters have been trained in firearms and
explosives use by a small group of Afghan and Pakistani men.
Laskar Jihad has in recent months denied links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda
network, and the organization's website runs a statement to that effect, also denying
claims that bin Laden has helped finance the Maluku jihad.
But the Christian source, who traveled through Central Sulawesi in recent days, said
Monday that Laskar Jihad fighters manning roadblocks in the area were displaying
large pictures of bin Laden, along with such slogans as "he is our leader."
"As much as they may deny it publicly, in the field their fighters have pictures of bin
Laden and claim to follow him," he said.
Leaders of Indonesia's Christian minority have long accused the government of not
intervening to protect their community. Soldiers have reportedly colluded with the
militants in many instances.
But with growing concerns voiced by church groups and the United Nations, there are
now signs the government in Jakarta may finally be taking the problem seriously.
The source, who asked not to be identified, said troops were involved in a firefight with
the Muslim militants Sunday, in which four soldiers were shot and wounded.
About 500 army troops have now been helicoptered into the provincial capital, Palu,
he added, and four cabinet ministers, including the security minister, retired Gen.
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, are flying in this week to inspect the situation.
Last week, the visiting deputy humanitarian coordinator of the U.N., Michael Elmquist,
raised concerns about the arrival of up to 7,000 militants in Poso. He described the
group's leader as a "very unforgiving" person and voiced alarm at the "depth of hatred"
between Christians and Muslims in the area.
The U.S.-based organization International Christian Concern, which also had a
representative visit the Sulawesi area in late November, said the community fears it
could face extermination.
"The jihad forces, including numbers of foreigners from outside Indonesia, are well
armed with AK-47s [assault rifles] and often outnumber the military forces and local
police who seek to defend the vulnerable Christian villages," ICC said.
ICC is urging American Christians to contact their representatives in Congress as well
as Secretary of State Colin Powell, in a bid to avert "a possible major bloodbath" and
the displacement of thousands more Christians.
"The U.S. needs to give Indonesia's President Megawati [Sukarnoputri] a reason to
have the 'will' to stop terrorism in her own back yard," ICC said.
Megawati came to power in the world's most populous Muslim nation last July with
the help of Islamic parties. Analysts surmise this may be behind her reluctance to act
forcefully against the Laskar Jihad.
Christian violence 'defensive'
Indonesian media reports over the past two years have characterized the violence as
"sectarian" - Christians and Muslims attacking each other. Recently, three Christians
were sentenced to death for their roles in attacks on Muslims in May 2000.
Asked about the existence of Christian "militias," the western source agreed Monday
that Christians had become involved in violence.
"When you've got a situation of thousands of attackers with weapons and where
people are not being protected by the military, of course the people are going to try do
something to protect themselves," he said.
"But they're using spears and rocks and homemade weapons to defend themselves
[against attackers armed with sophisticated weapons]," he added. "It's not a militia in
the sense of an army going out to attack. A community has to have the right to
protect itself, especially when those given the national responsibility to do so neglect
to do their job - and at times even join in with the attackers."
Indonesian Christians, and human rights groups in the West, have accused Muslim
militants of forcing hundreds of Christians in Maluku to convert to Islam. There have
been widespread reports of forced circumcisions taking place.
The stated aim of the militants is the Islamicization of Indonesia.
On the other hand, according to the source, there have never been accusations of
Christians trying to force Muslims to convert.
'Different ideology'
A spokesman for Laskar Jihad could not be reached for comment. A member of staff
at the group's Jakarta office said, however, that the group had a three-fold mission in
Poso - humanitarian, educational and defensive - "to help Muslims defend themselves
against attacks from Christians."
"We're not just there to fight," he said, but also to deliver aid to Muslims and to
"spread our religion" among Muslims. He denied that the group's members tried to
convert members of any other faith.
The staff member, who said his name could not be used, reiterated the group's denial
of links with al-Qaeda, saying Laskar Jihad had a "different ideology" to bin Laden.
Asked about the bin Laden posters being paraded in Sulawesi, he said there were
"many groups of muhajideen" (holy warriors) in the area, some of whom may support
the al-Qaeda leader.
Laskar Jihad leader Jafar Umar Thalib last September denied accusations of an
al-Qaeda link, although he admitted having met bin Laden when both men fought
against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.
Around 300 Indonesian volunteers have reportedly been fighting for the Taliban in
Afghanistan.
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