Muslims, Christians rally joyfully in Ambon

Muslims, Christians rally joyfully in Ambon

Muhammad Nafik and A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Thousands of Muslims and Christians mingled freely in a parade
across the Maluku capital of Ambon on Thursday to express their
happiness with and support for the recent peace accord, local
leaders and residents said.

It was the first time in the history of the three-year
religious war in the country's eastern province that such a
celebration had taken place.

The parade followed a mass rally by thousands of Muslims on
Wednesday to promote the peace deal.

The Muslim rally was held at the Al-Fatah Grand Mosque and
then followed by the parade across town, where Christians joined
in.

Fery Watimuri, a local Christian youth leader, described a
scene in which thousands more Muslims and Christians joined the
motorcade along its route on Thursday, hugging and crying.

They included becak (pedicab) and ojek (motorcycle taxi)
drivers, school children, and civil servants, who then joyfully
marched through town along with their former rivals, he said.

They were seen hugging and shaking hands and talking with each
other. At least 100 speedboats, piloted by both Muslims and
Christians, joined in to mark the festivities in Ambon Bay.

Fery added that the segregation that had divided the Muslim-
and Christian-controlled areas over the last three years were
lifted as the convoys passed freely through town.

"The city is very busy now -- Muslims and Christians are
together in convoys... it's like a bird being released from
cage," he told The Jakarta Post, describing the march through
Ambon.

"It's difficult to describe our happiness. We're very
delighted at the moment. We've been longing for something like
this to happen for years," added Fery, who is also a lecturer at
the state-owned Makassar University.

Another resident, Andre J. Sitanala, also expressed delight
over the peace pact celebration. "I am so delighted. It's
extraordinary that Muslims and Christians can again mix and talk
with each other," he told the Post.

He added that this was clear proof that most people in Maluku
wanted peace for long time, "but they have only gained it now."

"Certain parties have stage-managed a drama in Maluku by
fostering feuding here for three years," Andre said.

Fery, who was one of the signatories of the latest peace
accord, said that around "90 percent of the Maluku people wanted
peace long before the Malino agreement was signed, but they
always failed to realize it because of the minority."

Rival Christian and Muslim leaders signed the historic pact on
Feb. 12 during two-day peace talks in the South Sulawesi mountain
resort of Malino in Gowa regency.

The fighting started in Ambon on Jan. 19, 1999 with a minor
neighborhood quarrel which quickly spread to other islands in the
Malukus, leaving some 6,000 people dead, and forcing 500,000
others to flee.

However, the pro-peace rally failed to win everyone's hearts
and minds when at least two bombs reportedly exploded on
Wednesday. There were no injuries.

Nevertheless, Maluku people did not back down. More peace
rallies are expected on Saturday in the city.

A prominent sociologist in the area, Thamrin Amal Tomagola,
hailed the peaceful celebrations by former warring factions on
Thursday.

"Such a peaceful moment has been long-awaited by all Maluku
people... thank God it has finally occurred," he told the Post
in Jakarta.

Thamrin, however, urged members of both Muslim and Christian
grassroots organizations to remain on alert against efforts to
destabilize the new peace in Maluku.

The conflict, he said, did not stem from grassroots movements
but was triggered by other groups -- including military and
police factions, along with leaders of local political parties
for their own self-interests.

"To maintain peace in the future, people in Maluku should not
allow themselves to be provoked by others who want to promote
their own interests," he added.