Wed, 26 Apr 2000

VP renews peace campaign in Ambon

AMBON, Maluku (JP): Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri visited Ambon on Tuesday to renew her efforts to restore peace in the town which has been wrecked by sectarian conflicts since January 1999.

As if responding to her initiative, some 3,000 people from the Muslim and Christian communities gathered at the Halong Naval Base soccer field, about four kilometers east of Ambon, to hear Megawati make her appeal.

Thousands of others lined the streets from the airport to the naval base to give her a warm welcome.

"The government has a strong will to rebuild Maluku. But to forge peace and order here, the spirit of peace must come from within the people of Maluku," Megawati said at the naval base.

"I'd rather see the Maluku people sing in harmony rather than swing machetes and kill each other," she said.

Megawati had earlier visited the Silo Church and An'nur Mosque which were destroyed during the communal riots. She donated Rp 50 million to each to finance their renovation.

In his welcoming speech, Maluku Governor Saleh Latuconsina appealed to people in Jakarta and Java to refrain from making provocative statements that could undermine the peace efforts currently underway in Maluku.

"The assistance that is being pioneered by Ibu Mega can hopefully strengthen coordination with related institutions and stop the activities of certain groups in Java and Jakarta which want to disrupt the rehabilitation and reconciliation process in Maluku," Latuconsina said.

"I thank her and all the people here who are supporting the peace and rehabilitation process," he said.

More than 2,000 people have been killed in sectarian clashes that began in Ambon in January 1999 and later spread to the neighboring province of North Maluku. Clashes have subsided in recent months but tension remains in many regions.

Megawati brought a strong entourage from Jakarta, including Indonesian Military chief Adm. Widodo A.S., National Police chief Lt. Gen. Roesdihardjo, Minister of Home Affairs Surjadi Soedirdja, chief of State Intelligence Board Arie J. Kumaat, Minister of Religious Affairs Tolchah Hasan, Minister of Communications Agum Gumelar, State Minister of Human Rights Affairs Hasballah M. Saad and Minister of Settlement and Regional Development Erna Witoelar.

Megawati earlier launched the Navy's Surya Bhaskara Jaya operation to help rebuild towns and villages destroyed during the unrest.

The Rp 6.5 billion project, involving 11 Navy ships, is said to be the biggest of its kind ever launched by the Navy.

The Vice President spent the night on the KRI Arun battleship. On Wednesday, she will visit the Masohi district on Seram island, and Galela and Tobelo districts on Halmahera island before heading back to Jakarta from the Morotai Air Base.

Meanwhile, six people of Halmahera island seeking refuge in the North Maluku capital of Ternate were killed as one of three bombs they were assembling exploded on Tuesday afternoon.

Antara reported that two other refugees were injured in the incident that took place in the house of a local military member.

The motive of the bomb assembling remain unknowned, but both the local military authorities and Indonesian Council of Ulemas called on residents not to keep weaponry at home any longer. (48/49/edt)