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.