Government told to take action in Maluku
Government told to take action in Maluku
JAKARTA (JP): Stern measures to restore order and security in
restive Maluku and North Maluku are a prerequisite for peace
there, intellectuals concluded on Wednesday.
Catholic intellectual and priest Frans Magnis Suseno said
order and security would bring the conducive climate needed for
all parties to seek a peaceful and complete solution to the
protracted conflict, which has left thousands dead since it first
erupted in mid-January last year.
"The government and security authorities must take firm
measures against individuals and groups now breaking the law. The
violence must be stopped before a peaceful solution is sought,"
he said in a discussion at the Media Center here on Wednesday
night.
Muslim figures Achmad Sumargono and Azyumardi Azra concurred,
saying tough measures would also prevent the violence from
spreading to other provinces.
"If necessary, the government must impose a curfew. The shoot-
on-sight policy was actually quite effective in stopping the
recent burning of churches in Mataram," said Sumargono, a House
of Representatives legislator and chairman of the Indonesian
Committee for Islamic World Solidarity (KISDI).
Rev. Eka Dharma Putra from the Communion of Churches in
Indonesia (PGI) regretted the press reports blowing up the
sectarian violence on the Maluku islands. The excessive coverage,
he said, had sparked harsh reactions from interest groups outside
the two provinces.
He said religious figures, both in and outside the provinces,
bore a moral responsibility to exercise their influence to stop
the conflict in a peaceful manner.
"It's my moral obligation not to sow hatred among Protestant
adherents and call on them to promote brotherhood, tolerance and
national solidarity," he said.
Sumargono and Azra denied that the massive gatherings of
Muslims in Jakarta and other provinces were well organized and
aimed at initiating a jihad, or holy war, against Christians in
the country.
"The gatherings took place spontaneously and were aimed at
showing the sense of solidarity among Muslims. A jihad itself
means a move to collect donations to help Muslims who have fallen
victim to the violence," said Azra, who is rector of the state
Jakarta Institute of Islamic Studies.
Sumargono said he attended the massive gathering at Monas
square on the eve of Idul Fitri, but denied he was involved in
organizing the event.
He regretted that most people understood a jihad only in its
most simple sense. In its broad sense, a jihad is a rational
stand that can be expressed by various actions, including a holy
war.
Sumargono said the gatherings served to pressure the
government into acting immediately to stop the sectarian
violence, and were not an attempt to topple the government.
"To us, President Abdurrahman Wahid looked very slow and
unserious in handling the civil war. It was only after the
massive gatherings that the government and security authorities
took concrete action and deployed 16 battalions of security
personnel. At the present, the situation is returning to normal
gradually," he said.
Maluku figure Des Alwi attributed the protracted conflict to
the violent and destructive character of the Ambonese themselves.
"The Ambonese have a bad characteristic of seeking revenge for
their losses. Besides, they have resorted to battles before, like
the Pattimura and Pacific wars, the south Maluku people's
rebellion (RMS) and the current civil war," he said.
He questioned why the government and security authorities had
left the Ambonese to stage a civil war and then left them to
solve it by themselves.
"Without strict action from the government, the civil war will
go on and peace will never be established in the provinces," he
said. (rms)