Blasts rock Ambon after ministers leave

Oktovianus Pinantoan, The Jakarta Post, Ambon

Bomb blasts and gunfire rang out in the eastern city of Ambon in the volatile Maluku Islands on Saturday, just hours after two senior ministers left to negotiate with leaders of warring gangs there as part of the government's peace plan.

The blasts and gunshots were heard on Saturday night and early Sunday in several areas, including Kebon Cengkeh, Karang Panjang, Batumerah, and Mardika.

Explosions from home-made bombs were heard twice, local military officers said, but added that at least five shots were fired from several undetected locations.

Local troops later returned fire in the areas where the shootings took place. No casualties were reported.

The episode took place only hours after Coordinating Minister for Political Social and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla, and National Police Chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar concluded a one-day visit to assess peace efforts in the city.

Both ministers held separate talks with Muslim and Christian leaders on Saturday to promote peace while reviewing the state of emergency in the Maluku and North Maluku provinces, and to see whether current steps toward peace are being properly instated.

Local residents said that the latest incidents of violence were clearly aimed at foiling the peace efforts being made Susilo, Kalla and Da'i in Ambon, Antara reported.

Susilo's high-profile entourage also included Indonesian Military Chief of General Affairs Lt. Gen. Djamari Chaniago and other senior military and police officers.

Susilo said on Saturday that the two warring groups in Maluku have shown the ability and desire to reconcile, despite their basic differences on certain points; he was quick to add that he was sure their differences would soon be solved.

Before flying home to Jakarta on Sunday after making a visit to the North Maluku capital of Ternate, he said the government will decide in one week whether to revoke the state of civil emergency in the province.

Susilo said that the government was committed to fostering peace in the Maluku islands, and was capable of doing so, as it had identified most of the common obstacles.

A special team consisting of ministers, security officers, and local government officials has been set up to draft definitive action plans for talks between leading figures of the rival factions, he said.

"We hope that between six and nine months from now, the peace process will be finalized."

Djamari, meanwhile, said that on Saturday, military officials made it clear that they would have no objection to withdrawing soldiers from both Maluku and North Maluku.

"I am not talking about three battalions;" the withdrawal of all troops from Maluku "would be no problem for us -- but please remember that the military is a part of the nation, and it cannot make the decision on its own," he said.

The general was asked if the military would heed local expectations to reduce its 17 battalions stationed in the two provinces by three.

"We are here, not because we want to be, but because it is the government's political decision," he said.

The troops were sent to Maluku soon after the three-year Christian-Muslim conflict grew out of control, first in Ambon, before spreading to the northern part of Maluku.

Some members of society think that the military presence in the provinces has worsened the conflict instead of improving the situation, Antara reported.

Djamari said that such views were misleading.

But he added that criticism of the military was not a problem for the TNI, because the institution has recognized that the importance of its mission was not always compatible with the immediate desires of local people.

Fighting between Muslims and Christians in Ambon first erupted on Jan. 19, 1999, and then spread to neighboring North Maluku. More than 6,000 people have died so far.

Attempts to persuade the feuding parties lay down their weapons have been taken a number of times before without much success.

Jusuf Kalla, meanwhile, said that funding was not an issue, as the government had made budgetary allocations for a number of trouble spots around the country.

More important was the willingness of the warring parties to sit down and talk, he said.

Asked about the Rp 200 billion (roughly US$20 million) budget agreed upon by the House of Representatives and the government to go toward peace efforts in Maluku, he said that the full sum has yet to be finalized.

The Rp 200 billion is part of a total Rp 5.5 trillion earmarked for areas of unrest around the country.

When asked whether there were plans to send public figures from Maluku to Poso in Central Sulawesi -- which has also been hit by a three-year religious war -- Kalla said that the pattern of the resolution did not have to be the same in the two regions.

Leaders of both camps in Poso both signed a government- sponsored truce on Dec. 20 in the mountain resort of Malino in South Sulawesi.

"We cannot impose the same truce on the two regions; there are fundamental differences between the two," he said.