Rebuilding begins in riot-torn Maluku
Rebuilding begins in riot-torn Maluku
AMBON, Maluku (JP): The government has begun rebuilding 20
mosques and churches which were burned during the year-long
sectarian clashes here.
Maluku Governor Saleh Latuconsina said here Monday the
reconstruction project would include the repair of some 3,000
houses, traditional markets and other business centers in the
provincial capital in a bid to revive its economy.
Speaking during his visit to the Maluku Protestant Church
(GPM), he said part of the funds for this project came from the
central government.
On Sunday, Saleh laid the corner stones which marked the start
of the construction of houses of worship in Tawiri Batumerah and
Passo villages here.
He said he would soon flag off the reconstruction projects in
Air Putri, Waihaong, Batugantung and Pohon Pule villages, also in
Ambon.
"The first priority is to rebuild the Silo Church and the An-
Nur Mosque because each has already some Rp 150 million as basic
capital, Rp 100 million of which will come from the central
government and Rp 50 million from a personal contribution from
the vice president," Saleh explained.
A peaceful atmosphere marked the ceremony, with local
Christians and Moslems embracing and shaking hands with each
other.
Under tight security, the governor laid a milestone at the
Silo Church and did the same at the An-Nur Mosque, which is
separated by only ten meters.
Accompanied by local community and religious leaders, Saleh
also attended a ceremony at the Santo Yakobus chapel.
Among the attendees were chairman of Al Fatah Foundation,
Abdullah Soulisa, Maluku's Indonesian Ulemas Council Chairman
(MUI) R.R. Hasanussi and head of the Maluku-based Protestant
Church Synod Sammy Titaley.
Shortly after the gathering, local community and religious
leaders again on Sunday called on their congregations to stop the
violence and begin living in peace as the first step towards a
true reconciliation.
The eastern province of Maluku, known as the Spice Islands,
has been rocked by bloody communal clashes between Christians and
Muslims since January 1999, leaving more than 2,000 people dead.
Trial
Meanwhile the Ambon District Court sentenced on Monday an
unemployed man, Syamsul Bahri Sangaji alias Soa, to 12 years
imprisonment for premeditated murders of a female lecturer and
her male companion last year.
Presiding judge F. Pataria said in his verdict that the 31-
year-old defendant was proven guilty of killing Marlen Vitanala,
a lecturer at the school of law at the Pattimura University and
her fiance Lucas Paliama on March 1, 1999.
The bodies of Marlen and Lucas were found at the garbage dump
site in Airkuning, some five kilometers east of here on March 2,
1999; the judge said that the report of post mortem examinations
indicated the victims had been severely tortured.
The crime carries a maximum penalty of death, according to the
Criminal Code.
The panel of judges said the murder had contributed to the
heating sectarian conflict in the area.
A policeman and two other suspects in the murder remain at
large, while the trial of the fifth suspect, identified as
Kacong, is underway. (49/edt/sur)