REUTERS, Wednesday December 12, 2001 5:01 PM
Indonesia's Ambon nervous after riots over ferry blast
By Tomi Soetjipto
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's ravaged city of Ambon was quiet but nervous on
Wednesday after riots triggered by a mysterious explosion on a ferry which killed up
to 10 people, officials said.
But in another troubled part of the country, Poso on Sulawesi, residents said military
reinforcements had made them optimistic the holiday season could prove peaceful.
Hundreds went on a rampage in Ambon on Tuesday, setting fire to a local parliament
building and several trucks following the explosion of the wooden ferryboat "California"
in Ambon Bay.
The ferry was carrying mostly Christians, and the rioting was attributed to Christians
angered by rumours Muslim extremists had planted a bomb on the boat.
The violence was a fresh demonstration of the ethnic tension simmering in many parts
of Indonesia's vast archipelago, and the challenge the central government faces in
controlling it.
"People were caught by rumours saying that the explosion was caused by a bomb
but we can't determine that yet. The source of the explosion came from the boat
engine so it could have been a technical problem," army spokesman Major Herry
Suhardi said.
Provincial police spokesman Marthens Alfons said up to 41 people were hurt in the
blast, adding that there were no casualties in the rioting.
"As of last night the number of deaths from the explosion is 10 people...we are still
investigating the cause of it," Alfons told Reuters from Ambon city, 2,300 km (1,440
miles) east of Jakarta.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT PARTLY RESUMES
Residents said that after disruptions from Tuesday's violence public transport partly
resumed operations on Wednesday and some businesses and offices that had closed
re-opened in Ambon city, much of it already in ruins after years of religious battles.
The latest trouble served as a reminder of the smouldering religious conflicts that have
sporadically turned Ambon island and the rest of the fabled Moluccas spice islands
into a Christian-Muslim battleground in the last three years.
What started out as a dispute between a Christian bus driver and a Muslim boy in
January 1999 has grown into Indonesia's worst religious bloodshed, killing thousands
of people.
But the islands had been largely calm in recent months with no reports of mass
violence. The quiet was mainly attributed to the civil emergency status Jakarta
imposed on the area in June 2000, giving local authorities the right to detain people on
the spot and declare curfews.
But some say security forces still move too slowly.
"What we need are the authorities acting quick when things erupt. If they keep on
being sluggish, civil emergency has no use," said Reverend Samuel Mailoa from the
Protestant Church in the Moluccas.
WAVE OF BLOODSHED
Indonesia has been hobbled by communal and religious bloodshed since decades of
autocratic rule by former President Suharto ended in 1998.
In recent weeks religious conflict also hit Indonesia's Sulawesi town of Poso, where
1,000 people were killed in clashes between Christians and Muslims since December
1998.
Officials said the situation was calm on Wednesday following arrival of extra troops
and police in the area to restore order after clashes claimed at least 15 lives in the
past two weeks.
"The situation is more conducive. There has not been any explosion of troubles,"
Poso police spokesman Agus Sugiyanto told Reuters by telephone.
Jakarta has sent 2,000 extra soldiers to the area, some 1,565 km (980 miles)
northeast of Jakarta, to restore peace.
Christian groups say the reinforcements have made them feel it is safe to celebrate
Christmas in their hometown.
"There was a rumour that we would have a bloody Christmas but with the apparent
troop presence around, I think it'll only be a rumour. I now feel safe," said Robert
Rombot from Poso's Christian Crisis Centre, adding many Christians fled to other
parts of the island when the rumours began last month.
Copyright © 2001 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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