Keeping Maluku's fragile peace: No more promises

Ati Nurbaiti, Staff Writer, The Jakarta Post, Ambon

Peace is returning to the Maluku islands, with scorched buildings among the reminders to residents of how they became so suddenly embroiled in a previously unimagined circle of bloodshed. During the past year or so, self restraint has replaced the fires of revenge and the capital Ambon is no longer fertile ground for false rumors, which triggered wars in neighboring areas.

On Sept. 5 the state of civilian emergency imposed on the provinces of Maluku and North Maluku since June 2000 was lifted -- affirming the ability of Muslims and Christians to get along, joke with each other and rub shoulders in public places.

Yet there are still some 63,000 families or over 300,000 people (according to last official estimates) striving to cope in refugee shelters, or on land which doesn't belong to them and may sooner or later be claimed by the rightful owners. Few believe the local governments' repeated claims that their home villages are safe. Last month authorities were still persuading residents to hand in some 200,000 military weapons.

At least 700,000 have lost their homes and 6,000 have been killed since violence first broke out in January 1999. The trigger -- a squabble between a Christian and a Muslim resident -- seemed trivial. The prolonged battles -- despite many reinforcements of security personnel, numerous peace pacts and the dismissal of hundreds of officers who failed to act impartially -- remains largely unexplained.

The question now is whether the national and local governments are really ready and able to grasp this extraordinary opportunity to keep the peace and prevent such massacres and destruction from ever occurring again, despite any provocation (whether from inside or outside the provinces). The opportunity comes, on one hand, from the budding trust in authorities, as reflected for instance in the gradual returning of many weapons. But, on the other hand, from mounting frustration over the slow, uncertain wait to become "normal" residents with a home they can call their own, while struggling on meager incomes.

Residents mainly attribute the current calm to their own realization that they had been somehow led to unprecedented enmity and now suffer a mutual grief. Moving on is a daily priority and it is here that the government's responsibility should be clearly presented -- even if it may be too much nowadays to expect accountability from the powerful parties who effectively failed to save thousands of lives.

The administration of Ambon, under Mayor M.J. Papilaja is gaining credit for his reportedly better management than that of his predecessors. Yet reports of corruption in the distribution of aid does not help the need to gain the trust and cooperation of residents.

The analyses of the Maluku conflict by experts and survivors, the peace declarations and their respective recommendations, provide a check list of the priorities at hand. Apart from settling the crisis of internally displaced people, one of the priorities listed is rebuilding and renewing local institutions. This would provide a much needed anchor for civil society.

Among their heritage, the Ambonese cite the pela gandong or familial relations "which are thicker than blood" and united communities across religions. The structure and function of the desa adat or customary villages -- and the role of their leaders -- waned along with the imposed uniformity of the former New Order rule. Had these fundamentals been preserved it is perceived that the conflicts may have been prevented.

People must take up uncomfortable issues -- such as alleged discrimination within society -- rather than blaming everything on the past regime. Differences don't go away; they must be managed so that they don't explode. Either naturally or through manipulation.

Law enforcers are now expected to take charge, as people no longer react en masse to any sign of trouble on the streets. The phase of returning a sense of security will take some time. At this stage talk of "reconciliation" is rare. The issues are so charged that it is easier not to talk about them, in an attempt to try to get on with daily life.

The people's persistence in keeping the peace as much as they can, was reflected earlier in one statement following talks involving 1,500 people from various areas in Maluku, held on the Kei Kecil island in 2001. Seventy-eight workshop participants stressed their intention to: "strengthen commitment and strive tirelessly to seek a way out of the conflict, violence and turbulence" (in Maluku and North Maluku).

What about the government's commitment? Having failed thousands of its citizens, it is unthinkable that the government will again fail in its role to facilitate the healing of a society once known as among the most tolerant in the country. And in light of the upcoming elections, politicians seeking voters in Maluku must be mindful of the suffering around them, before they make unrealistic promises and thereby spark resentment and further causes for friction.