Ambon paralyzed again with bombs, rumors

AMBON, Maluku (JP): Ambon capital of Maluku was paralyzed on Friday in the wake of the commemoration of start of the bloody conflicts that have gripped the Malukus for the last two years.

The situation was quiet in the morning, but about noon local time, an explosion rocked the area of Pohon Pule and Jalan Baru, close to Silo Church in downtown Ambon, which was gutted on Dec. 26, 1999.

Pohon Pule and Jalan Baru demarcates the border of Christian and Muslim areas.

No fatalities were reported in the incident, but terrified residents opted to stay home and roads were deserted as rumors of renewed rioting circulated across Ambon the past few days.

"We urge people to stay calm and not to engage in any activities that can instigate the gathering of crowds," Pattimura Military Commander Brig. Gen. I Made Yasa said on Thursday night.

Muslims were performing Friday prayer at the Al Fatah Grand Mosque at noon, while Christians were gathering at Maranatha Church in Sirimau district across from the gubernatorial office for afternoon mass in commemoration of the two years of violence.

Several other incidents recorded on Thursday left two people severely wounded from gunshot wounds.

Gunmen in a speed boat from the Yos Sudarso port at Waehaong area sprayed bullets at a passing vessel, Rafi, on the way from Galala port to Benteng.

The shooting, which took place around 5 p.m. Thursday, wounded a crewman on the Rafi named Yongki Sahetapi, 25. The boat sought refuge at a floating marine post and the passengers transported safely to Benteng port.

At about 10 a.m. on Thursday in Suli village of Salahua district, Ambon island, a local named Paulus Suitela, 50, was shot in the forehead while walking to his plantation job.

Both victims were treated at the Halong Naval Hospital, about seven kilometers east of Ambon.

On Friday, school and business activities were halted as most people went home early.

Hundreds of commuters, however, were stranded in ports such as in the Nusaniwe port, the Galala ferry port in Sirimau district and the Yos Sudarso port, because water transportation operators halted their activities at 10 a.m.

Meanwhile, security forces tightly guarded conflict-prone areas in Tanah Lapang Kecil, Batu Gantung, Pohon Pule, Trikora, Diponegoro, AY Patti, Karang Panjang and Ahuru, as well as Gala and Suli, and the border of Batu Merah-Mardika districts.

The bitter and bloody conflicts between two religious camps were triggered by a minor criminal incident at the border of Batu Merah and Mardika on Jan. 19, 1999, when a local public minivan driver got in a fierce dispute with a hoodlum migrant who tried to extort money.

The fray quickly degenerated into violent communal clashes that have continued for two years.

The driver, a local Christian named Yopie Leoharis, and the hoodlum, a Muslim named Nursalim, were both sentenced to three months in jail in a trial about four months after the incident.

Official reports indicate that the two-year sectarian conflicts have claimed no less than 5,000 lives and forced thousands to flee the archipelagic provinces.

More than half of Ambon's 350,000 residents have fled their homes due to the continuing violence.

However, a prominent scholar handling Maluku conflict resolution claimed on Friday that no less than 8,000 people have died during the two years of violence.

"The five-year war in Bosnia left some 10,000 people killed but in the Malukus, within only two years 8,000 have died and 350,000 others have fled," sociologist Tamrin Amal Tomagola of the University of Indonesia said while addressing a special media briefing on Maluku in Jakarta.

He said that the number of Lasykar Jihad Muslim warriors in Maluku have decreased from some 6,000 to around 2,000 personnel due to financial shortages.

"The government should have taken further steps against Lasykar Jihad. They should realize that the group has slandered the government. I'm very concerned with the Lasykar Jihad commanders' preaching on the use of violence," Tamrin said as quoted by Antara.

"Meanwhile, Southeast Maluku is relatively free from conflicts since the locals rejected the arrival of outsiders," he added. (49/edt)