Ambon still tense amid rumors of fresh unrest
Ambon still tense amid rumors of fresh unrest
AMBON, Maluku (JP): The capital of Maluku province was still
tense on Friday as rumors of fresh attacks against residents
circulated throughout the city.
"These kind of rumors are used to provoke unrest. It is clear
that some people are not satisfied and they want to incite
further unrest," Maluku Police chief Col. Karyono said.
Violence with religious overtones in the province has led to
95 deaths -- the latest casualty coming during a communal clash
in the district of Kairatu on nearby Seram Island on Thursday.
On Friday, both Muslim and Christian residents in the city
reported receiving threatening telephone calls saying their homes
would be attacked.
Karyono added that 102 people suspected of provoking riots
were still under intensive police questioning.
Meanwhile, Maluku Governor Saleh Latuconsina and other local
officials flew to the nearby islands of Haruku and Saparua to
appeal for calm on Friday morning.
"We were appealing for calm. It would be useless to fly there
if rioting had already taking place," the head of the local
religious affairs office, Hashim Marasabessy, said.
In Ambon, traumatized Muslims and Christians taking shelter
outside of the city said they would never return to Ambon.
They were among some 2,000 people taking shelter in a military
training camp in Suli, about 30 kilometers north of here,
following attacks on residents on Jan. 20.
Meanwhile, contributions continued to arrive in Ambon as
various groups showed solidarity with victims who had lost homes
and family members.
South Koreans working in fisheries in Ambon donated some Rp 30
million to help rebuild the devastated city.
Antara reported that the donation was presented by the
coordinator of Koreans in Ambon, Lee Sang Gyun, to the governor
on Friday.
The Koreans expressed deep sadness over what they said was a
stain on an "international model of harmony among religious
communities".
They also said they had no plans to return to their country
because they were confident that peace and security would return
to the city.
In Jakarta, the Communion of Churches in Indonesia (PGI),
along with Nahdlatul Ulama, the country's largest Muslim
organization, and the Suara Pembaruan daily, symbolically
delivered a Rp 20 million donation for the victims of the
violence in Ambon.
"This donation is part of the Rp 200 million collected by
charities promoted by Suara Pembaruan since October of last
year," Weinata Sairin of PGI told The Jakarta Post.
Some portions of the collected money have been distributed in
Banyuwangi, East Java, and Gunung Kidul, Central Java, he added.
Some 200 people, many of them members of Nahdlatul Ulama, have
died in a mysterious killing spree in Banyuwangi. Gunung Kidul is
a poverty stricken area facing severe water shortages.
The chairman of PGI, Sularso Sopater, and the daily's general
manager, Albert Hasibuan, attended the ceremony marking the
donation at the residence of Nahdlatul Ulama chairman Abdurrahman
Wahid in Ciganjur, South Jakarta.
No one representing the Maluku community attended the
ceremony. Jakarta's Maluku community is currently mobilizing
support for the troubled province. (byg/edt)