Many refugees refuse to return to Ambon

UJUNGPANDANG, South Sulawesi (JP): About 2,400 Muslim refugees sheltered in Bone regency, 185 km north of here, have refused to be shipped back to riot-torn Ambon, Maluku's capital, for fear of further violence, a local activist said on Friday.

The Indonesian Ocean Foundation's chairman, Andi Darvin, told reporters the refugees were still traumatized by months of violent communal clashes in Ambon and other islands in the province which have killed more than 300 people since they first erupted in mid-January.

"They are now starting to farm and trying to forget their desire to return to Ambon." Darvin said, adding that the refugees were scattered in four subdistricts of the regency.

About 500 high school students, who also fled Ambon and have been enrolled in a number of schools here, also refuse to return to the capital.

Months of violent communal clashes in the Maluku province have forced tens of thousands of Muslim migrants to flee to their hometowns in Sulawesi, while thousands of others have had to seek shelter in military installations, mosques, churches and government buildings in the riot-torn province.

In Buton, Southeast Sulawesi, up to 42,000 refugees are being sheltered in various makeshift centers.

Antara reported on Saturday that chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, Megawati Soekarnoputri, and seven foreign ambassadors will visit refugees now sheltered in Bau-bau, Southeast Sulawesi, on Monday.

Ambassadors of the United States, Japan and Malaysia are included in the group, the news agency said.

Volunteers grouped in the Committee for Crisis Handling have been organizing the journey of some refugees back to Ambon. Utilizing donations from various parties, the activists provide free tickets to those wanting to return.

As of April 15, the committee has sent back 1,700 of an estimated 15,000 Bugis refugees from the regencies of Bone, Sengkang, Wajo, Enrekang, Sinjai and Ujungpandang.

The group advocates for the displaced people to return and rebuild their lives in Maluku, where the Bugis have, for decades, played a major role in trade.

Antara also reported that 5,000 residents of Ahusen and Urimesing subdistricts in Nusaniwe district, Ambon, held a gathering at a school to restore ties among groups which recently fought each other.

Ambon Mayor Chres Tanasale attended the event, and in his address, called on residents who were still in refuge to return and rebuild their lives together.

"Please rebuild unity, peace and a love of coexistence," he said. (27/byg/swe)