Tragedy in Ambon

Tragedy in Ambon

From Republika

The bloody tragedy at dawn in Ambon on March 1 has borne witness to the arbitrariness of members of the security forces. We do not know what their motives were and what their punishment will be. If the crimes had been committed by the civilian community against security forces, in less than a week the punishment would have been known. Open slaughter under the guise of religion happened. We were only spectators who did not do much about it.

Even the NGO activists always shouting about human rights are silent now. Where are the students who have regularly demonstrated against injustice? Where are the high officials and the politicians who uttered their promises? Have we all become deaf, dumb and blind?

I do not know what kind of awareness this nation has, or what feeling for brotherhood it has. When riots broke out in East Timor -- they were clearly not linked to religion -- all NGOs, students and security personnel, even politicians, competed with each other to voice their opinion that the incident transgressed human rights. But when it happens to Muslims, the country's majority population, all groups seem to have toothache. Silent and dumb, blind and deaf.

TVRI news and newspaper reports have said that the Ambon riots were between settlers and indigenous people. Is this true? Oh God, strengthen the faith of our brothers in Ambon.

ABDUL AZIZ M.

Ciputat, West Java