Maluku peace talks set for Jan. 6 and 7<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
The government will host peace talks between Muslim and Christian
\nleaders next week aimed at ending three years of sectarian
\nfighting in the Maluku islands, a local leader announced on
\nTuesday.<\/p>\n
The talks will be held from Feb. 6 through Feb. 7 in the South
\nSulawesi hill resort of Malino under the sponsorship of the
\nCoordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs, Susilo
\nBambang Yudhoyono, who visited Maluku last week.<\/p>\n
Malino was the town where Poso, Central Sulawesi, peace deal
\nwas signed last month.<\/p>\n
Thamrin Ely said that the notorious Java-based Laskar Jihad
\nmilitant group, accused of worsening the conflicts in the
\ncountry's eastern provinces, would be involved in the talks.<\/p>\n
\"The participation of Laskar Jihad in \"the Meeting for Maluku\"
\nis part of an agreement between Muslim figures and the central
\ngovernment led by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono,\" he was quoted by
\nAntara as saying.<\/p>\n
Susilo met leaders of the warring factions separately in the
\nMaluku capital of Ambon from Jan. 25 to Jan. 26. His high-powered
\nentourage included Coordinating Minister for Social Affairs Jusuf
\nKalla and National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar.<\/p>\n
The visit was to assess peace efforts in Maluku and North
\nMaluku provinces, where some 6,000 people have been killed in
\nreligious clashes since January 1999.<\/p>\n
Thamrin, a leader of the Islamic community in Maluku who also
\nheads the provincial branch of the National Mandate Party (PAN),
\nsaid a 35-strong Muslim delegation had already left for Malino
\nand a similar number of Christian representatives would leave on
\nWednesday.<\/p>\n
Apart from Laskar Jihad fighters, the separatist Maluku
\nSovereignty Front (FKM) has also been accused of fomenting riots
\nbetween Muslims and Christians there.<\/p>\n
It was not clear, however, whether Front leaders would be
\nincluded in the talks or not.<\/p>\n
The peace talks are reportedly intended to seek an agreement
\non halting the violence, forming an acceptable basis for a
\njudicial process, setting up a team of peace monitors and
\nstarting a repatriation program for the some 500,000 refugees who
\nwere forced to flee their homes as a result of the conflict.<\/p>\n
Malino was the venue where the central government successfully
\nhosted similar peace talks last month to end the sectarian unrest
\nin Poso, Central Sulawesi.<\/p>\n
The meeting, sponsored by Minister Jusuf Kalla, ended with a
\ncrucial agreement to halt more than two years of communal clashes
\nthat have claimed the lives of thousands of people.<\/p>\n
Susilo said on Tuesday that the two feuding sides in Maluku
\nshould not allow themselves to be swayed by the attempts of
\ncertain parties to foil the upcoming peace talks.<\/p>\n
Nor should the government be afraid of pushing for
\nnegotiations, he told the press at his office in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The chief security minister was apparently referring to bomb
\nblasts and gunfire that rang out in the volatile Ambon just hours
\nafter he left the city on Sunday.<\/p>\n
He said that to achieve a similar success to that of the
\nMalino agreement would not be so easy as the conflict in Maluku
\nhad escalated to a much greater extent than in Poso.<\/p>\n
\"In Poso, it took talks on one or two occasions to start a
\npeace process, but in Ambon it may require several attempts at
\ndialog,\" Susilo added.<\/p>\n
He asked security forces there to consistently uphold the law
\nagainst anyone disturbing public order in the troubled provinces
\nahead of and during the peace process.<\/p>\n
\"The government must ensure that security is under control so
\nas to maintain a conducive environment,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Susilo has said that the government would decide this week
\nwhether to lift the state of civil emergency in North Maluku.
\nHowever, its governor, Muhyi Effendi, suggested on Monday that
\nthe lifting of the emergency be delayed for another six months.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/maluku-peace-talks-set-for-jan-6-and-7-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}