REUTERS, Friday February 1, 2002 6:16 PM
Indonesia to delay peace talks in Moluccas
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia said on Friday it will delay peace talks between
feuding Christians and Muslims in the ravaged Moluccas islands until after a
government minister visits next week.
Yusuf Kalla, the coordinating minister for social affairs, said he was still optimistic
about reconciling the warring sides after three years of religious clashes in the fabled
spice islands which have killed around 5,000 people.
"We will delay because we need more time to find out the situation on the ground. I
will go there next week and meet several parties," Kalla told reporters.
"I am optimistic that people want peace there, they don't want to continue suffering
because of the conflict...as the number killed there is around 5,000," he added, but
gave no indication of when the talks would now take place.
The Moluccas islands are among several flashpoints across this vast archipelago,
riven by separatist, religious and communal differences.
Religious killings in the Moluccas escalated after a petty dispute between a Christian
bus driver and a Muslim boy in January 1999 in Ambon city, some 2,300 km (1,400
miles) east of Jakarta.
Indonesia imposed civil emergency status on the islands in mid-2000 and although
the government is considering lifting this, tension is still simmering in some areas,
with sporadic clashes and occasional bomb attacks in Ambon.
The violence worsened after Muslim militant paramilitaries, known as the Laskar
Jihad, arrived from the main island of Java, vowing holy war against Christians.
The issue of radical Islamic groups such as Laskar Jihad has taken on greater
significance for Jakarta since the United States launched its war against terror after
the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
Washington says Islamic militant Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network were
behind the hijack attacks and are linked to Islamic groups in Southeast Asia.
Indonesian security officials have said there was no evidence of links between al
Qaeda and local Muslim groups. Laskar Jihad has denied having ties to al Qaeda and
scoffs at its views of Islam.
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