TEMPO Magazine, No. 24/II/February 19 - 25, 2002
National
Reconciliation
A Cool Breeze to Maluku
The Meeting for Maluku in the hilly hamlet of Malino ends successfully. But in the
face of the myriad challenges in the strife-torn islands, it may well take a year to
canvass the peace accord.
Yellow rice, and local dishes of sayuran urep (vegetable mixed with scraped coconut),
perkedel jagung (fried potato balls) and fish cooked Gowa-style were the set menu for
lunch as participants of the Maluku peace meeting dined to the tune of Pela Gandong,
an Ambonese song that unravels the respected age-old tradition of peaceful
co-existence and collaboration among Maluku people of different faith. An atmosphere
of brotherhood and harmony pervaded the peace meeting held in Hotel Celebes in the
cool hill resort of Malino in the Gowa Regency some 77 kilometers east of the South
Sulawesi capital of Makassar.
Such was the mood prevailing on the second day of the peace talks held on February
11 and 12. For the first time rival Muslim and Christian delegates were mixing together
in a casual and harmonious atmosphere. In fact, Tamrin Ely, leader of the Muslim
delegation and Tonny Pareila, leader of the Christian delegation, sat side by side as
they ate and talked. A day earlier rival delegates had met separately with the team of
mediators and stayed at different hotels.
The meeting in Malino sought to break the ice in a way that would lead to a
permanent peace in Maluku where violent clashes have raged since 19 January 1999.
The remote hill resort of Malino, where cellular phones cannot function, was chosen
as the meeting place for the 70 delegates from the warring factions in Maluku. The
peace talks were marked with tough negotiations with both sides lashing each other
with arguments and fierce criticisms. "Frankly speaking, it was initially very difficult to
bring them to terms," said Faid W. Hussain who was entrusted with the responsibility
of organizing the event.
Despite various obstacles, the Malino meeting eventually ended with the signing of a
peace accord containing 11 points including the cessation of all hostilities, upholding
the supremacy of the law and the rehabilitation of damaged homes, buildings and
infrastructures. The contents of the peace accord will be widely disseminated among
the people of Maluku by delegates attending the peace talks. "We expect this to take
a year," Faid said.
Will peace prevail in Maluku in the near future? Time will tell. Even the government as
the mediator has not set a firm target. Faid said the Maluku issue has just become
too complicated. The presence of Laskar Jihad, a Muslim militia group, and Republic
of South Maluku (RMS), a faction seeking the independence of South Maluku, is just
part of the complex problems of the islands. "I still don't understand the root of it all.
But the important thing for us is to look to the future," Faid said.
The government is really looking forward to the success of the peace meeting which
would repeat the success of the Poso peace accord also finalized in a meeting in
Malino in December 2001. The Maluku peace talks reportedly cost the government
Rp200 billion including donations from the Netherlands, United Kingdom and the
United States.
According to the Commission for Missing Persons & Victims of Violence (Kontras)
the conflict in Maluku until the end of 2001 claimed over 8000 lives and displaced
220,000 people now scattered in various areas in Ambon and Sulawesi. Material
losses in the form of razed buildings and houses and the like have yet to be
calculated. "We are tired of this endless conflict. We are bored with it," said Tonny
Pariela.
Despite protests, insults and scorn greeting returning delegates upon their arrival in
Ambon, the Maluku peace accord has every chance of being a success as people at
the grassroots are eager for a return to a normal life. "We are just small people. If they
want peace we will go along with them. We just want to earn our livelihood in peace,"
said Mochtar, 24, a refugee living in an open market building on Jalan Sam Ratulangi,
Ambon.
Similar expressions of resignation were also voiced by those interviewed by TEMPO.
They claimed to have forgotten a normal life, like having one's own place to bathe and
wash. "We have no other alternatives but to stay here," said Ode Yani, a mother of
two, also living in the market building. The 30-year-old lady has to pay Rp400 each
time she goes to the toilet or to bathe at a public facility located some 20 meters
away.
Mochtar and Ode Yani are probably too tired to recount how their long misery began,
a plight triggered by a minor incident between a driver of a city public transport vehicle
and a youth in Ambon. Two hours after the fateful incident which took place on the
Muslim festivities of Idul Fitri, a day after the end of the holy fasting month, a major
clash between Muslims and Christians broke out.
In subsequent developments, sectarian clashes began to spread throughout the
islands of Maluku. According to Thamrin Amal Tamagola, a sociologist at the
University of Indonesia (UI), there were four phases of conflict respectively with a time
span of between January-May 1999, July-December 1999, December 1999-April 2000
and April-late May 2000 before a civil emergency status was declared in Maluku on 27
June 2000. Each passing phase saw an escalation of hostilities. The presence of
snipers and armed attacks with home-made guns launched on enemy territories
continued to exacerbate the whole conflict.
The violent conflicts in Maluku have deep-rooted reasons. One of them is the
religious-based segmented structure of Muslim and Christian society in Maluku. Imam
B. Prasodjo, a sociologist from UI actively involved in seeking a solution to the Maluku
conflict believes that unassimilated societies eventually develop as segmental
communities. Divisions between societies harden in the absence of instruments
encouraging assimilation and socialization. "This will not be a problem in normal
circumstances. But where there is a conflict between individuals this division could
deepen," said Imam, who has established a school in Jailolo serving as a pilot project
for diversity. Social conditions have become more vulnerable because of external
factors such as the presence of militias siding with different religious groups.
The Maluku conflict deteriorated further with the entry of outside groups such as
Laskar Jihad in May 2000. The presence of these Islamic militias was triggered by the
killing of some 400 Muslim residents in Tobelo, North Maluku. The International Crisis
Group (ICG) has blamed government troops for aggravating the situation because
some of them sided with Laskar Jihad. Local mass media reports supporting rival
groups also contributed to inflaming the situation.
In the midst of this protracted and extremely complex conflict the civil emergency
imposed in Maluku on 27 June was more or less ineffectual.The police, who'd
completed the investigation of 490 criminal cases and detained 855 people, could not
proceed to take the cases to court. This is understandable as all public prosecutors
and judges have long fled Maluku. Also all prisons on the island were in bad repair.
There is no easy solution to the extremely complex problem of Maluku. The
achievement of the peace negotiators in Malino and the protracted fatigue of the
people of Maluku caused by the unending conflict could possibly pave a way for a
lasting peace.
Bina Bektiati, Gita W. Laksmini, Syarief Amir (Malino), Yusnita Tiakoly (Ambon)
OVERLAPPING SOLUTIONS TO THE MALUKU CONFLICT
1999
After 19 January 1999, President B.J. Habibie establishes a team including a special
team of armed forces personnel.
October 1999
Abdurrahman Wahid following his appointment as President in October 1999 assigns
Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri to seek a solution to the Maluku conflict.
2000
January 2000
President Abdurrahman Wahid and Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri visit
Ambon to meet with social figures in Maluku.
January 2000
"Malam Bersaudara Maluku se Jakarta", a Maluku solidarity night featuring the culture
of Maluku for peace is held in Jakarta with the President and Vice President attending
the event.
27 June 2000
A civil emergency is declared in Maluku.
August, October, December 2000
A series of reconciliatory meetings involving Maluku residents in Jakarta, Bali and
Yogyakarta are held.
Between 19 January and December 2000
the Commission for Investigation of Human Rights Abuses & Mediation (KPMM) in
Maluku submits recommendations for resolving the conflict. The recommendations
spell out the need for a speedy settlement of the Maluku conflict by the government,
rehabilitation of damaged buildings, homes and infrastructure, upholding the law,
replacing troops in Maluku with new troops trained to halt conflicts.
2001
March 2001, A meeting is held in Langgur, Maluku, to seek a peaceful solution to the
conflict. Representatives of rival factions from various areas including Ambon, Buru
island, Ternate, Tidore, Seram and Kei attend.
11 Points of the Malino Peace Accord For Maluku
- Ending all forms of conflicts
- Supremacy of law
- Oppose separatism
- Mutual appreciation
- Oppose the presence of armed groups
- Establish an independent team to conduct a thorough investigation of the
Maluku conflict since 19 January 1999.
- Return of refugees
- Rehabilitation in all fields
- Importance of unity between the National Police and military
- Soothing and comforting religious sermons
- Rehabilitation of the University of Pattimura
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