'War' continues in Maluku capital
'War' continues in Maluku capital
AMBON, Maluku (JP): Gunfights continued in the Maluku
provincial capital of Ambon on Saturday, forcing residents to
stay at home for fear of being shot.
"Sounds of gunfire and grenade and bomb explosions have been
heard since 7 a.m. It is like a war in the Middle East or
something. Thick smoke is billowing out here and there. We cannot
see anything farther than 20 meters," a reporter based in Ambon
said on Saturday.
He said no one dared to go out, "therefore there is no way for
us to find out how many more people have been killed and how many
buildings were ravaged or burned down today."
One of Saturday's hot spots was in the Diponegoro area, he
said. The area consists of two parts, the upper part called
Diponegoro Atas, the Christian area, and the lower part called
Diponegoro Bawah, the Muslim area, he said.
"What surprises us is that both areas have been deserted by
their residents for days. So the question is, who is shooting at
who now?" he said, adding that the recent clamor started four
days ago.
"The more questionable thing is the fact that the Pattimura
Military Command Headquarters is located between 20 meters and 30
meters south of the battle ground."
Another local, who asked for anonymity, said that a day before
the chaos occurred, a band of armed civilians all in black
clothes, entered Diponegoro Bawah. "The unidentified people,
amounting about 80, stayed at the houses abandoned by the owners.
We saw them coming from Waihaong."
On Friday, local police seized a Toyota Kijang van carrying
ammunition. Eleven people in the van, and clad in black, were
arrested, he said.
He said he believed that the Protestant Sejahtera Church and
several residents' houses were burned during Saturday's ruckus.
Latest reports said that gunfights also broke out in the
Paradise Tengah area bordering Jl. A.M. Sangaji in downtown
Ambon.
The prolonged battle in the city of Ambon has apparently
affected the local economy.
"There is a lack of kerosene and rice," a local woman said. "A
liter of kerosene usually costs Rp 600, but now we have to cover
a three-kilometer distance up the hill to get kerosene at Rp
1,500 per liter," she said.
"A kilogram of rice is now Rp 4,000, or Rp 1,000 more than the
old price."
Meanwhile, two men were killed after a motorboat carrying a
large number of people was shot at by an unknown group of people
near Tanjung Tial, close to Saparua island.
The boat left Haria village for Paso on Saturday, a local
said. "The two victims were known to be from the Sahuleka and
Manuhutu clans."
Intervention
In a related development, the World Council of Churches (WCC)
is appealing to the United Nations top human rights official to
immediately visit Indonesia to urge the government to stop the
continuing violence in Maluku.
Recent attacks by what the WCC calls intruders "indicate a
design to annihilate Christians or force them out of the
Malukus", said a letter from the Geneva-based WCC to UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson.
"To save the Christian community from this ordeal, church
leaders in the region have been constrained in calling on their
followers to evacuate their homes and move to secure areas," it
added.
The WCC said the Indonesian government should be asked to take
steps to stop the entry into the Malukus region by intruders,
whom it said were backed and supported by the Indonesian Army.
Indonesian officials have repeatedly warned the international
community against intervening in domestic affairs.
Jakarta has also imposed a state of civil emergency on the
Maluku and North Maluku province.
Last week, religious leaders from Maluku went to Geneva to
appeal for help from the UN human rights chief. (49/sur)