Maluku peace talks set for next week<\/p>\n
Jupriadi, The Jakarta Post, Makassar<\/p>\n
Government negotiators met separately with Muslim and Christian
\nleaders on Wednesday in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar as
\npart of efforts to end years of sectarian fighting in the Maluku
\nislands, which has left some 6,000 people dead.<\/p>\n
The meeting was aimed at laying the groundwork for formal
\npeace talks between the warring parties scheduled for Feb. 5 and
\n7 in the South Sulawesi hill resort of Malino.<\/p>\n
The mediators, led by Coordinating Minister for Social Affairs
\nJusuf Kalla, held talks with Christian representatives at the
\nLosari Beach Hotel in Makassar, followed by a meeting with Muslim
\nrepresentatives at the city's Kenari Hotel.<\/p>\n
Present at the meetings were Maluku Governor Saleh
\nLatuconsina, senior local legislators, South Sulawesi Governor
\nHZB Palaguna and senior officers from the National Police and
\nIndonesian Military.<\/p>\n
The talks were aimed at outlining an agenda to guide
\ndiscussion at next week's meeting in Malino.<\/p>\n
Kalla, speaking to journalists after meeting the Christian
\ndelegation, declined to give details of Wednesday's discussion.<\/p>\n
\"The meeting in Makassar is an informal forum following the
\nearlier talks in Ambon,\" he said. \"We are optimistic about the
\nprospect of upcoming peace talks because there has been a
\nsignificant development on the part of the Christian group.\" He
\nrefused to elaborate further.<\/p>\n
Kalla and Coordinating Minister for Political and Security
\nAffairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono visited Maluku and North Maluku
\nprovinces on Jan. 25 and 26, during which they met separately
\nwith both factions.<\/p>\n
The two feuding groups were each represented by 15 delegates.
\nThe Muslim delegation was led by Abdul Wahab Polpoke and the
\nChristian representatives by Rev. Mandagi.<\/p>\n
They will return home to the Maluku capital of Ambon on
\nThursday to disseminate the outcomes of the informal meeting
\namong their respective followers, before flying back to Malino on
\nFeb. 4.<\/p>\n
Malino was the venue for successful peace talks hosted by the
\ncentral government last month, which ended the sectarian unrest
\nin Poso, Central Sulawesi.<\/p>\n
The meeting, sponsored by Minister Jusuf Kalla, ended with an
\nagreement to halt more than two years of communal violence that
\nhad claimed the lives of thousands of people in Poso.<\/p>\n
It remains unclear whether leaders of the militant Java-based
\nLaskar Jihad group, blamed for worsening the conflicts in the
\nMalukus, were part of the Muslim delegation on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Thamrin Ely, a leader of the Islamic community in Maluku who
\nalso heads the provincial branch of the National Mandate Party
\n(PAN), said the group would be involved in the formal peace
\ntalks.<\/p>\n
\"The participation of Laskar Jihad in 'the Meeting for Maluku'
\nis part of an agreement between Muslim figures and the central
\ngovernment in Ambon,\" he was quoted by Antara as saying.<\/p>\n
Susilo and other senior officials in Jakarta on Wednesday
\ndenied that the involvement of the group had been agreed upon.
\nThey were vague on details of the venue and timing of the talks.<\/p>\n
The chief security minister simply said the negotiations would
\nbe held this month outside Maluku.<\/p>\n
He said the government was not in a position to dictate to the
\nMaluku people on how and where the mechanism of reconciliation
\nshould take place.<\/p>\n
\"We only want to respond to an objection raised by locals
\nduring our recent visit there, as the Christian group said that
\nAmbon, as well as other cities in Maluku, was not suitable for
\nthe event as thousands of Laskar Jihad are currently there.<\/p>\n
\"A similar objection was also voiced by the Muslim group who
\nblamed the presence of FKM (the Maluku Sovereignty Front) -- part
\nof the South Maluku Republic (RMS)'s movement -- for fomenting
\ndisturbances to the reconciliation process,\" Susilo said.<\/p>\n
It was unclear whether FKM leaders would be included in the
\ntalks.<\/p>\n
The peace talks are designed to seek an agreement on halting
\nthe violence, forming an acceptable basis for a judicial process,
\nsetting up a team of peace monitors and starting a repatriation
\nprogram for the some 500,000 refugees who were forced to flee
\ntheir homes as a result of the conflict.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/maluku-peace-talks-set-for-next-week-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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