Maluku meeting postponed until middle of February

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government-sanctioned reconciliation meeting between Maluku Muslims and Christians that was scheduled for Feb. 5 through Feb. 7 has been postponed until the middle of the month to give more time for the two warring factions to disseminate information about the meeting's substance to their supporters, says a senior government official.

"The postponement was made to make the planned meeting effective. The two warring factions' delegates who attended the recent preliminary meeting will have adequate time to promote the meeting's substance to their own groups," Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla told The Jakarta Post by telephone from Makassar on Friday.

Kalla did not say whether the postponement was approved by the two conflicting sides.

The two sides' delegates who attended a preliminary meeting in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Wednesday agreed to hold a reconciliation meeting at the advice of the central government, which is mediating in the conflict, in Malino, some 70 kilometers southeast of the provincial capital.

The Makassar preliminary meeting was a follow-up of the high- powered government officials' visit to Maluku and North Maluku last Saturday.

The government took the initiative to mediate in the Maluku conflict after it succeeded in its mediating in the sectarian conflict in Poso. The peace deal between the two warring factions in the Central Sulawesi regency was signed in Malino.

Minister Kalla said he would visit Maluku again on Feb. 5 to assess the dissemination programs conducted by the two separate factions.

Meanwhile, Farid Husain, a deputy to the coordinating minister for people's welfare on health and environmental affairs, said the reconciliation meeting would be delayed until Feb. 11, after receiving much input and recommendations from the two sides.

"It is impossible for the two warring factions to hold a reconciliation under a short process. They need more time to discuss what they will bring to the planned meeting because the conflict, which has claimed thousands of lives over the last three years, has caused deep mental anguish and shock among Maluku people," he said.