Tension again grips Ambon after group protests recent peace deal<\/p>\n
Oktovianus Pinontoan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Tension engulfed the Maluku capital of Ambon again on Tuesday
\nafter the security forces fired warning shots to halt stone-
\nthrowing during a protest by a group of Muslims opposed to the
\nrecent peace accord.<\/p>\n
It was the latest sign that despite significant support from
\nthe public, the peace pact that many hoped would end three years
\nof vicious religious conflict in the country's eastern province
\nis facing a rocky road to complete acceptance.<\/p>\n
Earlier on Saturday, at least five people were injured and
\nfour motorcycles set ablaze in violence that was apparently aimed
\nat challenging the quest for peace.<\/p>\n
No casualties were reported after the minor violence on
\nTuesday, but the fighting and warning shots caused panic among
\nlocal residents who fled the scene of the incident.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of Muslims, mostly women, marched to the Maluku
\ngovernor's office in protest against last month's peace
\nagreement, which was designed to end three years of religious
\nfighting.<\/p>\n
They also protested the government's plan to outlaw a local
\nradio station operated by the notorious Laskar Jihad militant
\ngroup for allegedly provoking violence aimed at disrupting the
\npeace pact.<\/p>\n
Tuesday's violence started at 11:30 a.m. when stones were
\nhurled from an unknown location at the protesters who then began
\nto flee the governor's office, where a group of Christians had
\ngathered to watch the demonstration.<\/p>\n
The clash then worsened with the protesters and the Christians
\nthrowing stones at each other. Each of the two groups claimed
\ntheir rivals were the first to spark off the attack.<\/p>\n
Police later intervened in the clash and fired warning shots
\nin the air after the stone-throwing began to endanger the Ambon
\nmayor's office located on Jl. Hairun and the number of violent
\ndemonstrators had begun to swell.<\/p>\n
The violence forced panicked civil servants from the city
\nadministration to flee their offices and return home.<\/p>\n
During the Muslim rally, the protesters urged the civil
\nemergency authority not to ban the Voice of Maluku Muslim
\nStruggle (SPMM) radio station based in Ambon.<\/p>\n
They demanded a meeting with Maluku Governor Saleh
\nLatuconsina, who was not available as he had been in Jakarta
\nsince Monday.<\/p>\n
Saleh, who also serves as the chief of the civil emergency
\nauthority, has threatened to revoke the licenses of the Laskar
\nJihad radio station and other media that he accused of having
\nincited renewed fighting in Ambon and the rest of the Maluku
\nislands following the peace accord.<\/p>\n
The protesters were received by Maluku Police chief Brig. Gen.
\nSunarko who calmed them down and promised to put their grievances
\nto the governor, the military and the provincial prosecutor's
\noffice.<\/p>\n
Executives of the radio station have been summoned and told to
\nbe wary about what they broadcast, local officials said.<\/p>\n
However, they said the governor had not ordered the closure of
\nthe station but that the local government was monitoring its
\nbroadcasts.<\/p>\n
One banner carried by the demonstrators read: \"We reject the
\nclosure of SPMM radio\". Another banner read: \"Hang the Muslim
\nMalino delegates\".<\/p>\n
Malino, a hill resort in Gowa regency in South Sulawesi, was
\nthe venue of the government-brokered peace talks that ended on
\nFeb. 12 with the signing of the peace accord to end the sectarian
\nconflict in Maluku.<\/p>\n
The Muslim and Christian delegates were each represented by 35
\ndelegates.<\/p>\n
Members from both once-warring communities have taken part in
\nseveral emotional peace rallies and convoys across Ambon in
\nrecent days. They hugged, laughed, talked with each other and
\nshook hands.<\/p>\n
Some 6,000 people have been killed and a half-a-million made
\nhomeless in the Muslim-Christian clashes in Ambon that began on
\nJan 19, 1999, after a minor quarrel that quickly spread to other
\nislands in Maluku and North Maluku.<\/p>",
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