Hopeful, but not enough
Hopeful, but not enough
From the strife-torn eastern Indonesian province of Maluku has
come encouraging news. National religious leaders representing
two of this country's biggest Muslim mass-based organizations as
well as the Protestant and Roman Catholic churches of Indonesia
told this newspaper that hopes for long-lasting peace after three
years of deadly conflict are currently high in the province. The
11 leaders returned to Jakarta on Wednesday after a two-day visit
to the Maluku provincial capital of Ambon to bolster the peace
deal between the warring Christian and Muslim factions, reached
in the South Sulawesi hill station of Malino in February.
That this is more than a political gesture and that the
leaders are sincerely concerned with the situation in Maluku is
well reflected by the mission's composition. The 11 leaders
included Hasyim Muzadi, chairman of the nation's biggest Muslim
organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU); Goodwill Zubir, secretary-
general of Muhammadiyah Islamic organization; noted Muslim
intellectual Solahuddin Wahid; Indonesian Bishop's Conference
(KWI) spokesman, the Rev. Ismartono; Indonesian Communion of
Churches (PGI) leader A.A. Yemangoe, and Ministry of Religious
Affairs secretary-general Faisal Ismail.
The information which the 11 leaders brought back to Jakarta
from Ambon, was actually neither sensational nor unexpected. The
people of Maluku are sick and tired of waging a war of unclear
goals. Therefore, the chances for enduring peace are very good,
NU chairman Hasyim Muzadi told the press on his return on
Wednesday. This is also the reason, according to Hasyim, why the
parties who objected to the Malino deal are increasingly losing
support from their own compatriots as many of them have begun to
side with the majority pro-accord groups.
All this of course is hardly news. The euphoria that was
expressed by thousands of people in the city of Ambon recently to
celebrate the rediscovered peace makes it abundantly clear that
the people of Maluku have had more than enough of bloody warfare
and violence in a region that for many decades had been a
showcase of peaceful living and harmony. So does the calm
restraint displayed by the overwhelming majority of Ambon's
populace to the bombing on April 3 and the subsequent burning of
the governor's offices.
And yet, those two incidents also make it amply clear that
lasting peace in Maluku still cannot be taken for granted. Sharp
and potentially divisive differences still exist. Since the issue
of religion is generally perceived -- though not necessarily
rightly so -- to be at the core of the years of conflict in
Maluku, the visit this week of Jakarta's most prominent religious
leaders certainly will facilitate the peace efforts. Still, three
years of never-ending conflict under the banner of religion have
given rise to complications that are not easily solved. Religious
sentiments easily aggravate normally common rivalries and
people's sense of justice is easily hurt. Religious sensitivities
are easily inflamed.
Under such circumstances, enduring peace is only possible if
the law is properly and impartially enforced; though caution
should be exercised. The government's promise to take stern
action against the separatist South Maluku Republic (RMS) groups,
for example, while justifiable, could trigger suspicions that the
government is taking the side of the Muslims unless it is seen
that real justice is being done. For this reason, priority must
be given to the rehabilitation of the judiciary, which at present
is virtually nonexistent. Similarly, the impartiality of the
police and the military in the conflict that has claimed an
estimated 6,000 lives and has lead half a million people to flee
the area and become refugees, must be guaranteed.
It goes without saying that the task at hand is formidable.
But unless it is undertaken and a beginning made without delay,
all the achievements that have been scored so far to bring back
lasting peace to these once-idyllic islands could well be in
vain.