Maluku violence

Maluku violence

Sincere respect and praise should be addressed to the chief of
Pattimura Military Command Brig. Gen. Max Tamaela for his fair
and persistent stand over the violence in Maluku. He is one of
the few officers who can differentiate rioters from demonstrators
and knows when and in what conditions soldiers have the right to
open fire.

The recent violence in Maluku was no doubt triggered by the
provocative Laskar Jihad Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaah. In the first
place, the Laskar Jihad group was established with the aim to
fight the Christian group in Maluku and not to provide
humanitarian aid to the Muslim group. But, surprisingly, officers
in Surabaya were not aware or pretended not to be aware of this,
and did not dare stop the group from departing to Maluku. Was it
because most of the officers were Muslim and they half-heatedly
conducted a weapon search, the result of which was easy to
predict: nil.

The people of this republic just want to see peace restored in
Maluku and other areas of conflict. If the Laskar Jihad wants to
provide humanitarian aid, the aid should go to both Muslims and
Christians as human beings. Is this simple analogy hard to get
into the mind? I am neither a Muslim nor a Christian. I am a
Buddhist and Buddhism teaches how we should love other human
beings. Only with love, not violence, will peace in Maluku will
really exist.

SUSANTO

Tangerang