Hundreds protest shootings in turbulent Ambon

JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of people protested the shootings of civilians in the destroyed Maluku capital of Ambon while renewed clashes which have killed at least 16 people entered their fourth day on Friday.

Meanwhile the international Human Rights Watch group has appealed for international attention to be paid to the problems in the province from which thousands have fled.

Matrutty, a local Christian community leader, told The Jakarta Post by phone that more than 500 people marched from the provincial military headquarters to the Maluku police headquarters. They demanded security personnel stop "reckless shooting" of civilians.

He said some representatives, including himself, held a dialog with Maluku Police chief Col. Karyono.

"Troops have been shooting innocent people... people have been shot while evacuating victims or while trying to douse houses set on fire," Matrutty said.

He accused reinforcement troops dispatched from outside the province of having taken sides in handling the riots. A similar charge has been repeatedly raised by both Muslim and Christian groups since communal clashes first broke out last month.

The government, Matrutty demanded, should "withdraw all troops from outside Ambon and prosecute those who have shot innocent people."

Authorities have issued shoot-on-sight orders to deter rioters in these religious sectarian clashes. At least 150 people have been killed while visiting dignitaries have estimated it will take years to rehabilitate the city.

Noya Sileo Bistos at the Maranatha riot monitoring post told the Post that fresh violence erupted in downtown Batu Merah Dalam early Friday.

"Troops opened fire on a number of people near the Betabara church and at least three people were injured," Noya said, without further elaboration. The report however could not be confirmed with the authorities.

Witnesses said that shops, offices and schools remained closed on Friday and public transportation was still not running.

"The city is very quiet ... perhaps it is only troops and hospital staff who are now busy," a priest, Liang, at the downtown Silo Church told the Post.

Liang said that at least 200 people are still taking refuge at the church.

"I and another priest have also moved in to the church as our houses in Waihaong were set on fire on Wednesday," Liang said.

Thousands of people have taken refuge in mosques, churches, and military installations since the violence broke out on Tuesday while thousands of others have fled the city on ships for their hometowns in Southeast Sulawesi and South Sulawesi. Even Ambonese have joined the exodus.

Meanwhile, the New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a statement on Thursday that the Ambon violence has major implications for communal relations in Indonesia.

"Some national Muslim political parties see Ambon as evidence of Islam being under siege by a Christian minority resentful of its declining influence.

"Many Indonesian Christians, meanwhile, see it as evidence of their increasingly precarious position in a Muslim majority state," it said.

Human Rights Watch said that "the polarization is likely to affect campaigning for the upcoming election slated for June, channeling political debate into communal issues".

Sydney Jones, Asia Director of Human Rights, who returned from Ambon last week, said that what is "equally urgent is a security force perceived as neutral in the conflict and one that is equipped with non-lethal methods of crowd control".

"Whether or not the Ambon violence was provoked, as many have speculated, the much more important question now is how to stop it and help the victims, and for that, international attention is crucial," Jones said.

The violence was initially sparked by a dispute between a Muslim migrant and a local Christian driver of a public minibus on Jan. 19. Locals and migrants of various faiths were then involved in riots.

Meanwhile, a number of Ambonese community leaders in Ujungpandang urged the government and the Armed Forces (ABRI) leaders on Friday to impose martial law in Ambon to end the weeks of violence. A deputy of the House of Representatives, Hari Sabarno of the ABRI faction, has made a similar suggestion. (byg/27)