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.