_WORLD WATCH______________________________
________________Indonesia_______________
Backlash hits Muslim militia
Religious leaders denounce violence
At least 17 people were killed in June when Indonesian soldiers raided the headquarters of a Muslim extremist group in the Moluccas region. The group had previously raided a Christian village.
Thirty people, including eight soldiers, were injured in the clash, according to Pattimura Military Regional Commander Brig. Gen. I Made Yasa. He said security forces launched a raid on the villages of Kebon Cengkih and Galunggung, the main bases of the Laskar Jihad, which has pledged to annihilate all Christians living in the region. The general said the raid was launched after a group of Laskar members attacked the predominantly Christian village of Wisma Gonzalo. During the raid, Yasa said, security forces confiscated dozens of guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition as well as hundreds of homemade bombs.
Thousands of people have been killed in fighting in the Moluccas, a predominantly Christian region in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, since fighting between rival gangs began in 1998. Last year, organized militias of Muslim Jihad crusaders entered the region with more sophisticated weapons and embarked on a campaign to eradicate Christians.
The bloodshed in the region continued a few weeks later when a gang of self-proclaimed Christian militants, intent on avenging their neighbors, killed 18 Muslims near a town on the island of Sulawesi. Officials said fighting between Muslims and Christians broke out near the town of Pozo, leaving dozens of people injured and homes damaged. Police found 18 people hacked or stabbed to death; most of the victims were women and children.
In another bloody ethnic conflict on a separate part of the Indonesian archipelago, native Dayaks clashed with immigrant Madurese in the central and western Kalimantan provinces on the island of Borneo. Thousands of Madurese fled their homes in Kalimantan and took shelter in government camps, but the Dayaks attacked the camps and ethnic cleansing continued. The leaders of the two ethnic groups and local authorities met at the beginning of July, and agreed that all violence should stop.
Religious leaders in Papua, Muslims and Christians, including Catholic Bishop Leo Laba Ladja of Jayapura, have launched an appeal to the whole community calling for an end to hostilities. The leaders say they wish to convey “a humane appeal in accordance with our duty to safeguard human dignity and equal rights for all.”
Back to Catholic World Report August/September 2001 Table of Contents