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Minister hears Pope’s fears
But government troops withdraw
Pope John Paul II emphasized his fears regarding the conditions facing Christians in Indonesia during a meeting with that country’s foreign minister, Alwi Shihab.
The Pope denounced the “tragic recent displays of religious intolerance” in the country, where Christians have borne the brunt of a “jihad” organized by Muslim zealots in the Moluccan islands, as well as occasional outbreaks of violence elsewhere in the country. But the Indonesian foreign minister insisted that the Jakarta government is “doing everything possible to restore religious harmony.” Alwi Shihab presented the Pope with a personal message from his country’s President Abdurrahman Wahid, emphasizing the “concrete commitment” of the leadership to religious concord.
Last June 12, when he received a new Indonesian ambassador to the Holy See, Pope John Paul challenged the country’s government to take practical action to restore religious freedom. He said the Jakarta government should demonstrate a willingness to put into practice the principles of “Pancasila,” the official national ideology, which stresses harmony and collaboration among different groups. On Christmas Day the Pope mentioned his concern for the welfare of Christians in Indonesia, in reaction to reports of a series of church bombings earlier that same day. And in his traditional message to the ambassadors accredited to the Vatican, on January 13, he again mentioned Indonesia as a place where believers are under attack.
Less than a week after Shihab’s meeting with the Pontiff, Indonesia’s military announced that large numbers of soldiers would be removed from the troubled Moluccas region. The Jakarta government explained that the move was possible because fighting between Christians and Muslims had subsided. But some observers noted that the withdrawal could be beneficial for other reasons, since government troops had been charged with stimulating the anti-Christian violence.
In announcing the pullback, Air Vice Marshall Graito Usodo said extremists on both sides would continue to foment trouble, but said the area was quiet enough to allow most of the soldiers to leave. Four battalions (about 1,600 soldiers) would remain, he said—a considerable drop from the 17-battalion presence the Jakarta government had amassed on the islands. “We are planning gradually to withdraw personnel from the Moluccas, but when we start is still being discussed,” Usodo said.
Usodo said the remaining troops would be stationed in areas of the Moluccas that were prone to conflict. “Once again, the plan will depend on the developments in the field. There are still many hard-liners who do not want to see peace in the Moluccas,” he added.