Religious leaders delay planned visit to Ambon

Religious leaders delay planned visit to Ambon

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The religious leaders group delayed the planned visit to Ambon,
the capital of Maluku, until next week as the government was
completing the rehabilitation fund program for the strife-torn
province, an official said.

Secretary to the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare,
Soetedjo Yuwono, said on Monday that the government wished to
bring the rehabilitation program along with the peace effort to
the province so as to enable the two measures to be implemented
simultaneously.

"The reason for the delay is a technical issue because we
still have to complete the inter-departmental budget allocation
to restore damaged facilities in the province. We have moved the
schedule forward to next week," Soetedjo told The Jakarta Post
and Koran Tempo daily.

The official made the remarks in response to the planned visit
by leaders of major religious organizations in the country to
support the peace settlement after the Malino agreement between
the warring groups in Ambon.

Under the initiative of the central government,
representatives of the two warring sides agreed to sign a peace
agreement in Malino, about 37 kilometers from the South Sulawesi
capital of Makassar on Feb. 12.

Those intending to join the planned trip are religious
leaders, including Indonesia's largest Muslim organization
Nahdlatul Ulama chairman Hasyim Muzadi, second largest Muslim
organization Muhammadiyah chairman Syafii Ma'arif and Julius
Cardinal Darmaatmadja of Bishop Council of Indonesia as well as
other religious leaders.

The leaders said recently that they wanted to share the part
of the government's initiatives to promote peace effort and to
talk to their followers to end the three-year sectarian fight in
the province.

Soetedjo brushed aside speculation that the delay was caused
by the inability on the part of the government to provide
security guarantee in the province.

"I have just returned from Ambon and the conditions are
improving. The public transportation is operating again and some
of the traditional markets also have reopened so they really need
support in public facilities," Soetedjo said.

The rehabilitation fund will be used to repair the damaged
public facilities, but said that worship houses would not be put
as first priority because it would be conducted after all the
refugees have returned.

The 13 religious leaders will visit Maluku and Poso, Central
Sulawesi, and spend two days in each of the strife-torn
provinces.

The religious leaders will hold meetings with the younger
generation of the province to once again remind them about the
importance of peace among religions and to end fear from the
people of other groups after the prolonged sectarian riots.