Keeping Maluku's fragile peace: No more promises

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.