Amien says govt not serious about solving Maluku conflict
Amien says govt not serious about solving Maluku conflict
Asip Hasani, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta
Amien Rais, Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR)
criticized the government here on Saturday for not being "serious
it its efforts" to find a solution for the prolonged conflict in
riot-torn Maluku.
"Similar to the previous government, President Megawati
Soekarnoputri's government does not appear serious in dealing
with the prolonged religious conflicts in Maluku," he said at the
opening of a seminar focusing on the future of Maluku Muslims
here on Saturday.
The former chief of Muhammadiya, the nation's second largest
Muslim organization, added that without the government's
assistance, the sectarian conflict will only be halted when the
conflicting sides kill each other off completely.
He said he was deeply concerned because the government had not
yet taken any concrete steps to solve the Christian-Muslim
conflicts in Eastern Indonesia.
"The conflict has now entered its third year, but what has the
government done to stop it?" he asked.
He also lamented the fact that prior to the onset of the
intense fighting, the province had set a good example with regard
to religious tolerance in a pluralist society, and many
Indonesians were often pleasantly surprised that Muslims and
Christians could work hand in hand to build churches or mosques.
"But now all that goodwill is gone after three years of war."
He went on to urge all sides outside the province to
contribute what they could in rebuilding the war-torn island as
well as restoring the strong religious tolerance among the two
warring groups.
"Any efforts to rebuild the province... should not be tainted
by the interests of certain groups. We must rebuild all of the
devastated villages and subdistricts, regardless of their
religion," he said.
Lambang Trijono, a sociologist from Gadjah Mada University who
conducted several studies in Maluku, said no progress had been
made in Maluku which could be dangerous in the future as the
conflicting sides were very far apart on many issues.
"It may be positive in the short term because there had not
been an escalation in the conflict. But, in the future, this can
be very dangerous because the two conflicting sides might take an
opportunity to launch a major war," he said.
Lambang also observed that no Maluku Christians were invited
to participate in the seminar and that could increase suspicion
among them.
Meanwhile, acting chief of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI)
Din Syamsudin concurred and said that the government should
mediate in the conflict to rebuild a new life among conflicting
sides in the province.
"The government should be proactive in seeking efforts to
bring the two conflicting sides to hold meetings and to seek a
peaceful and permanent solution to the conflict," he said.
He also added ominously that there were strong indications
that foreign parties were also taking part in the worsening
conflict, but stopped short of singling out any of those groups.