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MARCH 6 1999: Persecution in Ambon (in English)
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AMBON-March 6: A New Low-Point for Religious Persecution in IndonesiaReport prepared by The Sala-Waku Fact Finding Team - Ambon At the time this report is being prepared, two churches have been attacked in the city of Bandung, the GKRI (Christ Grace Church) and GII-Hok Im Tong (Indonesian Evangelical Church). Amien Rais' statement to the U.S. Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, regarding the necessity of U.S. involvement in Ambon has invited a lot of reaction from leading Indonesian figures. Even though Rais later made it clear that his intention was to ask for morale-enhancing involvement from the U.S., not physical or even military support, the reactions have been in disagreement with him. Most of the leading Indonesian figures feel very strongly that the Ambon incident belongs to Indonesians and that the Indonesians should be able to handle this on their own. Certainly, in a country where persecution has been done in very subtle ways against the ethnic Chinese and Christians for more than 30 years, those Indonesians who are struggling for a more open and transparent system and the issues of equality and reconciliation are going to be one of the most challenged groups. The subtle ways of persecuting ethnic Chinese and Christians for more than 30 years have made living with suspicion and hatred against each other a part of the culture. This has resulted in at least 16 laws set up purposely to discriminate against the ethnic Chinese and has led to 455 churches being burned or attacked during the Soeharto era as well as more than 95 churches during the Habibie era (which is less than one year). The reality that both Indonesians and the international community have tried not to acknowledge has become an ever-increasing cry of the innocent blood, which finally has made the issue become the issue of humanity and of universal concern. More detail data and information regarding the persecution and Ambon incidents could be found at www.fica.org. Some of the pictures are very graphic, warning should be advisable. Will Ambon become another Bosnia? This is an issue that has been discussed several times in different discussion forums lately. The Indonesians purport to be able to take care of the situation in Ambon even with respect to the issues of equality and reconciliation, yet at the same time the world might not want to tolerate another Bosnia on this earth. Between the two realities, we all must not deny that the persecution against Christians in Ambon is a new sign of how Christians in Indonesia might have to face reality. The incident of March 6 in Ambon should tell us all about the reality and the seriousness of the threat. This latest Ambon incident is a picture of a fight between two powers and two ideologies that have been in existence since the modern history of Indonesia--an ideology of equality and prosperity for every Indonesian as part of the global community, versus an ideology where everyone has to speak the same language, wear the same clothes and pray the same prayer. Following several serious abductions of Christians in Ambon on March 6, 1999, the city of Ambon was once again awakened by what seems to be a mysterious shooting. The casualties of the incident include 1 person dead and 19 injured. According to several eyewitnesses, at around 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 5 some unknown people threw some bombs at Silo Church by the Trikora Statue. At about the same time hundreds of Muslims marched on Baru Street toward the Silo Church; they came from all different directions, and stopped about 50-100 meters from the church. The Christians responded and they all stood in several streets, such as: Kol. Pieters St., in front of the Utility building, and Trikora Statue. Nothing serious took place, they only exchanged harsh words. At about 8:30 p.m. the situation was brought under control upon the arrival of the Regional District Commander at Trikora (located at Danrem 174 Pattimura), Mr. Frengky Kaihatu (DANGUSKAMLA ARMATIM), and a senior figure from Ambon. Since there had been abductions and murders in Ambon just days before, every passing vehicle was stopped and asked for identity. At around 3:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, March 6, 1999 in front of the Silo Church, two sport-utility vehicles were stopped. The first car was checked and let go. In the second car, there were several security officers from URC (Fast Reaction Unit), Polres (Police) of Ambon Island and the Lease Islands. Some of the officers were: Sertu (First Sergeant) Nikson La Ode Bio (or Ikra) and Serka Alimin, both of whom were Muslims. The two of them threatened the people around there, saying, "You want to try us?", and all of a sudden they pulled out their weapons and started to shoot at the people. The following is a list of the casualties. All of these people are Christians who were trying to keep peace in the neighborhood:
A Navy officer, who was helping and working with the people there, may also have been shot in the incident. After the shooting, the officers each shouted, "If you dare to mess with me, I will shoot you all." And to the Navy officer they taunted, "Why don't you use your weapon!" and then they left. The following is the list of those who were abducted, slaughtered and murdered during March 1-5, 1999: March 1, 1999
March 3, 1999
March 4, 1999
March 5, 1999
On March 3, 1999, a body was found at Karang Panjang but could not be identified. On March 5, 1999 at around 9:30 p.m., several people from Rumah Tiga attacked a student from Pattimura University. The student was a Muslim and his name was Swarno. Swarno was from Waiyame village and was caught by several people of Rumah Tiga jumping off a house of a Bugis resident's house while carrying a knife. Most Indonesians wish that this could be the last blood sacrificed in the name of religious "rights", and yet the same wish has been haunting us ever since Rev. Ishak and his family were burned to death in Situbondo in 1996. |
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