Seven injured in latest round of Maluku violence

Seven injured in latest round of Maluku violence

By Budiman Moerdijat

AMBON, Maluku (JP): Seven people were injured in another
communal riot in the district of Kairatu on nearby Seram Island
on Wednesday, police said on Thursday.

Dozens of houses and a market were razed in the latest
incident in a spate of violence which has rocked the province
since Jan. 19.

Maluku Police spokesman Maj. Jekriel P.H. told reporters that
the unrest was triggered by a fight between two locals.

The commotion brought people out of their houses, some armed
with spears, arrows and air rifles, and the situation quickly
exploded into a full-scale riot.

"Most of the houses belonging to the Kairatu villagers were
burned down. The riot also spread to the nearby villages of
Waitosi, Pakarena, Waraloi and Kelapa Dua," Jekriel said.

Two Army infantry battalions and another battalion from the
police's Mobile Brigade were dispatched to the area, he added.

Security personnel have strict orders to shoot armed rioters
on the spot.

Police have not made any arrests, but they did restore calm in
the area, about a 90 minute ferry-ride to the north of Ambon.

The head of the Maluku office of the Ministry of Religious
Affairs has been dispatched to the area to attempt to foster
peace among the villagers.

The riots in Ambon, which first erupted on Jan. 19, have
pitted Christians against Muslims, as well as natives of Maluku
against migrants.

Jekriel said the death toll from the riots now reached 94,
including a member of the Army's Strategic Reserves Command.
Eighty-three people have died in Ambon, three in the North Maluku
regency and eight in the Southeast Maluku regency.

"These are casualties who have been identified," he said,
adding that about 250 people were injured in the clashes.

He also said that 2,827 houses, 127 cars, 98 motorcycles and
423 pedicabs were damaged or burned in the riots. In addition,
132 kiosks, 338 shops, two banks, five markets, 10 government
offices, one theater and three schools were damaged. At least 15
mosques and 16 churches were also damaged during the unrest.

In Ambon, the site of the worst clashes, an eerie calm
prevailed on Thursday as residents struggled to restore some
semblance of normalcy to their lives.

The police and local officials said schools would be reopened
on Monday.

A few shops and most government offices reopened, and some
public transportation was running again, but when night fell the
streets were void of all signs of life.

"Shops in the downtown area usually stayed open at night. Some
food stalls and entertainment centers even operated until the
early hours of the morning. Now, they close after 5 p.m. or 6
p.m.," Jekriel said.

Coffeehouses throughout the city were also empty.

"People like to hang out in these coffeehouses and talk over a
cup or two of coffee. They can sit and talk for hours. Now, as
you can see, people are reluctant to go out," a local reporter
commented.

The departure of hundreds of migrants to Sulawesi has taken
its toll on one public service in Ambon: garbage collection.
Uncollected garbage has piled up on several streets in Ambon,
prompting the administration to appeal to neighborhood
associations to remove their own garbage.

Six Cabinet Ministers visited Ambon on Tuesday to take stock
of the situation after President B.J. Habibie ordered the town to
be rebuilt.

"It will take at least two years to rebuild this town," Sugeng
Sentausa, an official at the Ministry of Public Works, who was on
a follow-up mission, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

"We will build makeshift shelters on the ground of the razed
public marketplace and in shopping complexes which are not being
used," he said.

The ministry also plans to build 21-square meter houses to
accommodate families who lost their homes.

Sugeng said the extent of the damage in Ambon was worse than
any other area he had encountered in the past, including those
hit by natural disasters.

"The quality of most of the buildings was not good enough to
sustain much damage," he said.

Meanwhile, relief aid from various organizations began to
arrive in Ambon on Thursday.

The Indonesian Committee for Humanity, led by former finance
minister Mar'ie Muhammad, donated 10 tons of rice, 4,000 boxes of
instant noodles and 26 six boxes of medical supplies, funneling
the aid through Maluku Governor Saleh Latuconsina.

The general-secretary of the Indonesian Communion of Churches,
J.M Pattiasina, and the chairman of the Tanggul Bencana
Foundation relief organization, A. Frans Tumiwa, were also in
Ambon.

They said they would cooperate with Muslim leaders to
distribute relief aid to both the Muslim and Christian
communities.