Noted religious leaders to make first Ambon visit

A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

After three months of delay, prominent religious leaders in the country were set to make an unprecedented visit to riot-torn Ambon in Maluku on Monday, a noted Muslim leader said on Saturday.

"The visit is a follow-up to the Malino peace agreement signed early this year," Syafiie Maarif, chairman of Indonesia's second largest Muslim organization Muhammadiyah, told The Jakarta Post.

Indonesia's largest Muslim organization is Nahdlatul Ulama (NU). NU and Muhammadiyah claim a membership of 40 million and 30 million, respectively.

The Ambon visit, the first ever conducted by the religious leaders, would be held for one or two days, said Syafiie.

According to Syafiie, the sectarian conflict that still grips Ambon despite the landmark Malino agreement, has been a cause for concern for religious leaders.

Fresh small-scale sectarian clashes have occurred in the city since the signing of the peace agreement.

A bomb exploded in the Maluku governor's office in Ambon earlier this month that was feared may trigger other larger-scale conflicts.

"By visiting the areas of conflict, the religious leaders aim to raise the awareness among the local people that the warring camps have nothing to gain from the clashes," said Syafiie.

Syafiie said the national religious leaders would meet local public figures, government officials and religious leaders to drum up the call for peace there.

As previously reported, NU chairman Hasyim Muzadi said that the religious leaders would include, among others, Syafiie, Cardinal Julius Darmaatmadja, Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid, Chairman of the Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI) Y. Rewangu, Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla and Muzadi himself.

The visit was first planned on Jan. 2 during a historic meeting between Syafiie and Muzadi in Jakarta, which led to a joint declaration to respect plurality, among other things.

However, Syafiie said on Saturday that he was unable to join the other religious leaders on Monday, since he was busy with the internal affairs of Muhammadiyah.

He said that Muhammadiyah would be represented by its executives G. Zubaer and Amin Abdullah.

Meanwhile, Muzadi said that the religious leaders finally decided to go ahead with the visit because the local religious leaders were not strong enough to resist provocation from irresponsible parties attempting to intentionally prolong the conflict.

Worse than that, the local religious leaders have even become embroiled in the conflict themselves, he said.

The visit constitutes a last ditch attempt taken by the religious leaders to help stifle sectarian conflict plaguing the island after government efforts have largely failed.

Thousands of locals, both Muslims and Christians, have been killed in the bitter conflict.