Surrender of weapons begins in Ambon
Surrender of weapons begins in Ambon
Novi Pinontoan, The Jakarta Post, Ambon
Muslims and Christians have begun surrendering their weapons in
the country's eastern city of Ambon, where thousands of people
from both factions poured into the streets for the third
consecutive day on Friday in gleeful celebration of a peace deal.
Christians voluntarily handed over at least 19 homemade
firearms, 25 bullets, a homemade bomb, six machetes, and three
spears to local security personnel on Friday.
The handover took place during a ceremony at 4 p.m. local time
in the Pancaran Kasih church in the Gunung Nona area in Benteng
Atas village, Ambon.
Earlier on Thursday, two Muslim community groups conducted a
similar handover, the first since the two sides began fighting
each other three years ago.
Capt. Djoko Susilo, a member of the Army's elite Kopassus
force, said that at least seven firearms, including five homemade
pistols, 215 bullets, and five kilograms of explosive powder,
were surrendered by Muslims at the Pohon Mangga area in the
village of Air Salobar, Nusaniwe subdistrict.
Other Muslim community members in the Kapaka area in Tantui
village, Sirimau subdistrict, also handed over seven firearms to
local security authorities, he added.
The local administration hopes that other members of Muslim
and Christian communities will follow suit in the coming days.
Maluku Governor Saleh Latuconsina confirmed that as the
members of the two sides began giving up their weapons, they
expressed confidence that the peace deal would be successful.
"Seeing what has happened over the last few days, I am
optimistic about the success of the peace agreement," he said.
Friday was the official starting date for Maluku's people to
voluntarily surrender all their weapons as part of the recent
peace accord to cease sectarian conflict on the islands.
The pact, signed on Feb. 12 in the South Sulawesi hill resort
of Malino by representatives from both sides, also requires the
security authorities to disarm the previously warring gangs in
Maluku beginning on Apr. 1.
The conflict first broke out in Ambon on Jan. 19, 1999 in 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.
In a further development on Friday, thousands of Muslims and
Christians continued to parade across the city in joint convoys
to celebrate.
People were crossing freely into what were once no-go areas
that had been controlled strictly by either Muslims or
Christians.
They started to mingle on Wednesday when thousands of Muslims
held a mass rally at the main Al-Fatah mosque to promote the
peace deal. It was followed by a parade along with Christians.
Both communities have since been meeting freely with each
other, hugging and crying in the downtown main streets.
The city's center was like "dam bursting" with people, who had
once been involved in hatred and hostility between each other,
poured into popular places, such as the Ambon Plaza shopping
center on Jl. Sam Ratulangi.
Pattimura Military Commander Brig. Gen. Mustopo voiced
happiness, and admitted that he was surprised over what had
happened so quickly.
"I have been monitoring activities in the field. The situation
in Ambon is like a festival. All the people were appearing from
their homes. I am incredibly proud of this. Hopefully, we can
maintain such happy circumstances," he said.
Former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid claimed that the
conflict was sparked by hard-line military generals opposed to
civilian rule after decades of dictatorship.
The violence decreased sharply after then-vice president
Megawati Soekarnoputri, who enjoys the backing of the military,
replaced Gus Dur in July.
A prominent sociologist, Thamrin Amal Tomagola of Maluku, said
that the religious war did not stem from grassroots movements but
rather was triggered by other groups -- including military and
police factions, along with leaders of local political parties --
for their own self-interest.