Hope in Maluku<\/p>\n
Skeptics may question how long the latest Maluku peace
\nagreement, which was signed by Muslim and Christian
\nrepresentatives in the South Sulawesi hill town of Malino on
\nTuesday, will really hold. After all, the agreement brokered by
\nthe government is only the latest of similar deals struck by the
\ntwo communities in Maluku in the last three years.<\/p>\n
Since many earlier peace agreements fell apart even before the
\nink dried, skeptics would be justified in asking what chance does
\nthis latest one have of restoring peace. Is it so different from
\nthe earlier ones, that it can assure us, and especially the
\npeople of Maluku, that peace will soon come to Maluku?<\/p>\n
Whatever reservations we have about the Malino agreement, we
\nshould all give support to any effort to restore peace in Maluku.
\nAny agreement is almost always better than no agreement at all,
\nand this one is no exception. Besides, conditions on the ground
\nsuggest that Maluku is ripe for this kind of peace deal.<\/p>\n
For starters, both the Muslim and Christian communities appear
\nto have run out of steam, after fighting endlessly for more than
\nthree years. With no one camp gaining the upper hand, the
\nconflict has come to a stand off. Tensions remain high in some
\nareas, but physical clashes have become few and far between in
\nrecent months.<\/p>\n
Since the first fighting broke out in January 1999, the Maluku
\nconflict has claimed more than 6,000 lives and displaced more
\nthan 700,000 people, or more than a third of the population of
\nMaluku and North Maluku. Fighting continued even after the two
\nprovinces had been put under a state of civil emergency in June
\n2000.<\/p>\n
Surely by this time, more and more people in Maluku must feel
\nthat enough is enough. There seems to have been a growing
\nrealization among the two warring communities that the conflict
\nwas not going anywhere, and that more casualties would ensue
\nunless they mended fences. In short, they now realize that they
\nhave nothing to gain and everything to lose by not forging a
\npeace deal.<\/p>\n
Then there is also the active involvement of the central
\ngovernment in brokering the peace pact, an ingredient that was
\nmissing in the earlier peace deals when Jakarta insisted that
\nthis was a problem for the Maluku people to solve.<\/p>\n
With the conflict becoming so complex, and particularly with
\nthe participation of outsiders such as the Laskar Jihad forces
\nfrom Java since early 2000, the government role has became
\npivotal in prodding the conflicting camps, brokering a peace
\nagreement, and later on, enforcing the agreement.<\/p>\n
The peace agreement between Christian and Muslim leaders in
\nthe Central Sulawesi regency of Poso, signed last month also in
\nMalino, has certainly added pressure on the Maluku leaders to
\nstart working toward peace. If Poso can do it, so can Maluku, so
\nthe logic goes.<\/p>\n
Granted, two days of negotiations in Malino could hardly be
\nexpected to address all the contentious issues, or bridge their
\ndifferences. It certainly could not erase the animosity that has
\ndeveloped between the two communities that have been killing each
\nother for the last three years. But what is most important is
\nthat all sides to the conflict and the government have shown the
\nspirit and goodwill to work toward peace.<\/p>\n
The 11-point peace agreement still leaves many unanswered
\nquestions, and we hope that the government and negotiators will
\nnot stop their efforts here, and that they will meet again soon
\nto follow up on their commitment toward peace.<\/p>\n
The devil is always in the details. All the goodwill and the
\ngood spirit in the world cannot prevent further violence from
\nbreaking out again, unless leaders of the two communities and the
\ngovernment do some real work on the ground to sustain the peace.<\/p>\n
Real and sustainable peace in Maluku is still a long way away,
\nand eliminating the hatred and healing the wounds will probably
\ntake even longer. The failure of the earlier peace agreements
\nshould have taught us that there are so many pitfalls ahead, and
\nthat it will require patience, perseverance, hard work and real
\ncommitment to make everlasting peace a reality.<\/p>\n
The Malino deal is only the beginning of that long road. But
\nit has offered us, and the people in Maluku, a renewed hope.
\nLet's not squander what is probably our last chance to bring
\npeace to Maluku for a long time.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/hope-in-maluku-1447899208",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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