Konflik sektarian Maluku: Perbedaan antara revisi
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{{Infobox civil conflict |
{{Infobox civil conflict |
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| title |
| title = Konflik sektarian Kepulauan Maluku |
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| partof = |
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| partof = [[Kebebasan beragama di Indonesia#Kerusuhan antar agama|konflik agama di Indonesia]] |
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| image |
| image = Ambon refugees, 1999.jpg |
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| caption |
| caption = Pasukan militer Indonesia mengevakuasi pengungsi dari [[Pulau Ambon|Ambon]] selama konflik tahun 1999. |
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| date |
| date = 14 Januari 1999 – 13 Februari 2002 |
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| time = |
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| place = [[Kepulauan Maluku]] (dengan gangguan yang sangat serius di [[Pulau Ambon|Ambon]] dan Kepulauan [[Halmahera]].) |
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| time-end = |
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| place = [[Kepulauan Maluku]] (dengan gangguan yang sangat serius di pulau [[Pulau Ambon|Ambon]] dan [[Halmahera]]) |
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| goals = |
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| coordinates = |
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| causes = Ketegangan etnis dan agama, transmigrasi |
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| status = |
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| goals = |
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| result = [[Piagam Malino II]] ditandatangani |
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| methods = Akuisisi teritorial, kerusuhan, pogrom, pemboman, protes, pengusiran |
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* Kedamaian antar kedua pihak [[Muslim]] dan [[Kristen]] di [[Maluku]] |
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| result = [[Piagam Malino II]] |
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| side1 = {{flagicon image|Pasukan putih flag.png}} [[Islam|Kelompok Putih]] |
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| side1 = {{ubl|{{flagicon image|Pasukan putih flag.png}} [[Islam di Indonesia|Masyarakat Muslim dan Islamis di Maluku]]|<hr />{{flagicon image|Laskar jihad flag.png}} [[Laskar Jihad]]|{{flagicon image|Flag of Jihad.svg}} [[Komando Jihad]]|{{flagicon image|Pasukan putih flag.png}} [[Front Pembela Islam]]|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Taliban.svg}} [[Jemaah Islamiyah]]|{{flagicon image|Laskar mujahidin flag.jpg}} [[Laskar Mujahidin]]}} |
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* {{flagicon image|Laskar jihad flag.png}} [[Laskar Jihad]] |
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| side2 = {{ubl|{{flagicon image|Pasukan merah flag.png}} [[Kristen di Indonesia|Masyarakat Kristen di Maluku]]|<hr />{{flagicon image|Pasukan merah flag.png}} [[Laskar Kristus]]|{{flagicon image|Flag of South Moluccas.svg}} [[Front Kedaulatan Maluku]]| {{flagicon image|Images (5).jpeg}} [[Brigade Manguni]]}} |
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* {{flagicon image|Flag of Jihad.svg}} [[Komando Jihad]] |
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| side3 = {{flagicon image|Flag of Indonesia.svg}} [[Pemerintah Indonesia]]<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of the Indonesian National Armed Forces.svg}} |
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* {{flagicon image|Pasukan putih flag.png}} [[Front Pembela Islam]] |
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[[Tentara Nasional Indonesia]]<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of the Indonesian National Police.png}} [[Kepolisian Negara Republik Indonesia]]<br /> {{flagicon image|Flag of Indonesia.svg}} [[Pemuda Pancasila]] |
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| side1a = {{ubl|{{flagicon image|Pasukan putih flag.png}} {{flagicon image|Pasukan jihad flag.png}} [[Pasukan Jihad]]|{{flagicon image|Desa sabaleh flag.png}} [[Desa Sabaleh]]|{{flagicon image|Laskar mujahida galela flag.png}} [[Laskar Mujahidah]]}} |
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* {{flagicon image|Laskar mujahidin flag.jpg}} Laskar Mujahidin |
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| side2a = {{ubl|{{flagicon image|Pasukan merah flag.png}} Pasukan Merah}} |
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| side3a = {{ubl|{{flagicon image|Pasukan kuning kunning.png}} Pasukan Kuning}} |
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| leadfigures1 = {{ubl|[[Ja'far Umar Thalib]]|Jumu Tuani|[[Rizieq Shihab]]|[[Abu Bakar Ba'asyir]]|[[Abu Bakar Wahid]]}} |
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* {{flagicon image|Laskar mujahida galela flag.png}} Laskar Mujahida |
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| leadfigures2 = {{ubl|Agus Wattimena{{KIA}}|Berty Loupatty|Alex Manuputty|Tonaas Wangko Lendy Wangke|Benny Betjara}} |
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| side2 = {{flagicon image|Pasukan merah flag.png}} [[Kristen|Kelompok Merah]] |
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| leadfigures3 = {{ubl|[[Abdurrahman Wahid]]|[[Wiranto]]}} |
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* {{flagicon image|Pasukan merah flag.png}} [[Laskar Kristus]] |
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| howmany1 = 20.000 |
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* {{flagicon image|Pasukan merah flag.png}} Coker (“Handsome Boys”) |
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| howmany2 = beberapa ribu |
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* {{flagicon image|Flag of South Moluccas.svg}} [[Front Kedaulatan Maluku]] |
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| fatalities = 5.000 terbunuh<ref>{{cite news |title=Saling bunuh, saling bakar sampai... 'sayang kamu semua': Mantan tentara anak Islam dan Kristen Ambon |url=https://www.bbc.com/indonesia/indonesia-43207033 |access-date=31 Januari 2022 |publisher=BBC |date=27 Februari 2018}}</ref> |
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* {{flagicon image|Black flag.svg}} [[Pasukan Manguni Makasiouw|Brigade Manguni]] |
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| side3 = {{flagicon image|Flag of Indonesia.svg}} [[Pemerintah Indonesia]]<hr />{{flagicon image|Flag of the Indonesian National Armed Forces.svg}} |
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[[Tentara Nasional Indonesia]]<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of the Indonesian National Police.png}} [[Kepolisian Negara Republik Indonesia]]<br /> [[File:Logo-Pemuda-Pancasila-PNG-Warna.png|25px]] [[Pemuda Pancasila]] |
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| leadfigures1 = {{ubl|[[Ja'far Umar Thalib]]|Jumu Tuani|[[Rizieq Shihab]]|[[Abu Bakar Ba'asyir]]|[[Abu Bakar Wahid]]}} |
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| leadfigures2 ={{ubl|Agus Wattimena{{KIA}}|Berty Loupatty|Alex Manuputty|Tonaas Wangko Lendy Wangke|Benny Betjara}} |
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| leadfigures3 ={{ubl|[[Abdurrahman Wahid]]}} |
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| fatalities = 5,000-10,000 tewas<ref>{{cite news |title=Saling bunuh, saling bakar sampai... ’sayang kamu semua’: Mantan tentara anak Islam dan Kristen Ambon |url=https://www.bbc.com/indonesia/indonesia-43207033 |access-date=31 January 2022 |publisher=BBC |date=27 February 2018}}</ref> |
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}} |
}} |
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{{Sejarah Indonesia}} |
{{Sejarah Indonesia}} |
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'''Konflik sektarian Kepulauan Maluku''' adalah konflik etnis-politik yang melibatkan agama di |
'''Konflik sektarian Kepulauan Maluku''' adalah konflik etnis-politik yang melibatkan kelompok agama di [[Kepulauan Maluku]], [[Indonesia]], khususnya [[Pulau Ambon]] dan [[Pulau Halmahera]]. Konflik ini bermula pada [[Reformasi Indonesia|era Reformasi]] awal 1999 hingga penandatanganan [[Piagam Malino II]] tanggal 13 Februari 2002. |
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Penyebab utama konflik ini adalah ketidakstabilan politik dan ekonomi secara umum di [[Indonesia]] setelah [[Soeharto]] tumbang dan [[rupiah]] mengalami devaluasi selama dan seusai [[krisis keuangan Asia 1997|krisis ekonomi di Asia Tenggara]].<ref name="Bertrand 2004 122">{{harvnb|Bertrand|2004|p=122}}</ref> Rencana pemekaran [[Kepulauan Maluku|provinsi Maluku]] menjadi [[Maluku (provinsi)|Maluku]] dan [[Maluku Utara]] semakin memperuncing permasalahan politik daerah yang sudah ada.<ref name=north>{{cite journal|last=Duncan|first=Christopher R.|title=The Other Maluku: Chronologies of Conflict in North Maluku|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_indonesia_2005-10_80/page/53|journal=Indonesia|date=October 2005|volume=80|series=Southeast Asia Program Publications at Cornell University|pages=53–80|jstor=3351319}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Bertrand|2004|pp=129–131}}</ref> Karena permasalahan politik tersebut menyangkut agama, perseteruan terjadi antara umat [[Kristen]] dan [[Muslim|Islam]] pada Januari 1999. Perseteruan ini dengan cepat berubah menjadi pertempuran dan tindak kekerasan terhadap [[warga sipil]] oleh kedua belah pihak.<ref name=cascade>{{harvnb|Hedman|2008|p=50}}</ref> Dua pihak utama yang terlibat konflik ini adalah kelompok milisi agama dari kedua pihak,<ref name=sidelternate>{{harvnb|Sidel|2007|p=181}}</ref> termasuk kelompok [[Islamis]] bernama [[Laskar Jihad]],<ref name=laksar>{{harvnb|Sidel|2007|p=184}}</ref> dan [[Angkatan Bersenjata Republik Indonesia]].<ref name="Bertrand 2004 133">{{harvnb|Bertrand|2004|p=133}}</ref> |
Penyebab utama konflik ini adalah ketidakstabilan politik dan ekonomi secara umum di [[Indonesia]] setelah [[Soeharto]] tumbang dan [[rupiah]] mengalami devaluasi selama dan seusai [[krisis keuangan Asia 1997|krisis ekonomi di Asia Tenggara]].<ref name="Bertrand 2004 122">{{harvnb|Bertrand|2004|p=122}}</ref> Rencana pemekaran [[Kepulauan Maluku|provinsi Maluku]] menjadi [[Maluku (provinsi)|Maluku]] dan [[Maluku Utara]] semakin memperuncing permasalahan politik daerah yang sudah ada.<ref name=north>{{cite journal|last=Duncan|first=Christopher R.|title=The Other Maluku: Chronologies of Conflict in North Maluku|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_indonesia_2005-10_80/page/53|journal=Indonesia|date=October 2005|volume=80|series=Southeast Asia Program Publications at Cornell University|pages=53–80|jstor=3351319}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Bertrand|2004|pp=129–131}}</ref> Karena permasalahan politik tersebut menyangkut agama, perseteruan terjadi antara umat [[Kristen]] dan [[Muslim|Islam]] pada Januari 1999. Perseteruan ini dengan cepat berubah menjadi pertempuran dan tindak kekerasan terhadap [[warga sipil]] oleh kedua belah pihak.<ref name=cascade>{{harvnb|Hedman|2008|p=50}}</ref> Dua pihak utama yang terlibat konflik ini adalah kelompok milisi agama dari kedua pihak,<ref name=sidelternate>{{harvnb|Sidel|2007|p=181}}</ref> termasuk kelompok [[Islamis]] bernama [[Laskar Jihad]],<ref name=laksar>{{harvnb|Sidel|2007|p=184}}</ref> kelompok Kristen Dari Manado bernama Brigade Manguni dan [[Angkatan Bersenjata Republik Indonesia]].<ref name="Bertrand 2004 133">{{harvnb|Bertrand|2004|p=133}}</ref> |
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== Overview == |
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Though all violence during the four-year period cannot be linked directly to political or sectarian issues, as a significant majority could be attributed to opportunistic crimes, the violence was categorized by the armed campaigns of local militia groups targeted almost exclusively against the civilian populations of the islands.<ref name="Hedman 2008 53">{{harvnb|Hedman|2008|p=53}}</ref> This also included the [[Laskar Jihad]] militia group, composed of trained fighters from other predominantly Muslim areas of Indonesia, who ran a campaign in the later stages of the conflict to drive out Christian residents of Maluku.<ref name="laksar2" /><ref name="timedirty">{{cite news|last=Elegant|first=Simon|date=17 December 2001|title=Indonesia's Dirty Little Holy War|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,187655,00.html|newspaper=Time|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100423064855/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,187655,00.html|archive-date=23 April 2010|access-date=31 March 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> On the other hand, in several cases, Christian militias also carried out attacks and massacres against Muslims, precisely on Eid al-Fitr, January 19, 1999 in [[Tobelo]].<ref>{{cite web|date=5 May 2020|title=Mengenang Tragedi Pembantaian Umat Islam Maluku (Idul Fitri Berdarah)|url=https://penanews.net/mengenang-tragedi-pembantaian-umat-islam-maluku-idul-fitri-berdarah/|website=penanews.net|language=id|access-date=1 June 2023}}</ref> The nature of the violence was intended to displace members of the rival community, as it assumed the form of mass-evictions through the use of intimidation and harassment, followed by vicious attacks on large groups of locals and arson attacks on their residences or even whole neighbourhoods that could be termed as [[Pogrom|pogroms]] in some cases.<ref name="laksar2" /><ref>{{harvnb|Sidel|2007|p=187}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Hedman|2008|p=54}}</ref><ref name="compass">{{cite web|title=Muslims being massacred in North Halmahera: a post-christmas tragedy at the start of the 21st century|url=http://compassion.homestead.com/files/Muslims__North_Halmahera.htm|access-date=31 March 2011}}</ref> In one instance in April 1999 all Christian residents were expelled from the Banda Islands.<ref name="vanambon">{{cite journal|last=van Klinken|first=Gerry|date=April 2001|title=The Maluku Wars: Bringing Society Back In|journal=Indonesia|series=Southeast Asia Program Publications at Cornell University|volume=71|issue=71|pages=1–26|doi=10.2307/3351455|jstor=3351455|hdl=1813/54221|hdl-access=free}}</ref> |
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Despite firing some 80% of all ammunition spent in the fighting,<ref name="braith166">{{harvnb|Braithwaite|Dunn|2010|p=166}}</ref> the [[Indonesian Police|Police]] and [[Indonesian Armed Forces|Armed forces of the Republic of Indonesia]] claimed to be neutral throughout the conflict. However, the authorities were criticized for not preventing attacks and allegations of ethnic and religious bias were alleged by both communities,<ref>{{harvnb|Hedman|2008|p=296}}</ref><ref name="bert4">{{harvnb|Bertrand|2004|p=127}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Sidel|2007|p=179}}</ref> in particular that a number of troops handed over state-owned weapons, mostly to Muslim militia members, and said weapons were used in later attacks and atrocities.<ref>{{cite web|last=Aditjondro|first=George J.|date=15 March 2000|title=The political economy of violence in Maluku|url=http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/22802|work=Issue 397|publisher=Green Left Weekly|access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref> In some cases individual personnel of both the military and police are reported to have joined the militias of their respective religion, with up to 350 military personnel alleged to have assisted and fought alongside Muslim fighters.<ref name="braith166" /> Initially the local militia groups had organised themselves as 'defenders' and 'protectors' of their respective community against rival attacks, establishing ''posko'' or command posts in light of the Police inaction, however, these rapidly evolved into mobilization points for local gangs to launch attacks from.<ref name="hed46">{{harvnb|Hedman|2008|p=46}}</ref> |
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The conflict had a significant effect upon the 2.1 million people of greater Maluku. Leading up to the Malino agreement, the [[International Crisis Group]] estimated that 700,000 people had been displaced by the four years of fighting in the Moluccas which is thought to have claimed a minimum of 5,000 lives.<ref name="amboner">{{cite journal|last=Spyer|first=Patricia|date=October 2002|title=Fire without Smoke and Other Phantoms of Ambon's Violence: Media Effects, Agency, and the Work of Imagination|journal=Indonesia|series=Southeast Asia Program Publications at Cornell University|volume=74|issue=74|pages=21–36|doi=10.2307/3351523|jstor=3351523|hdl=1813/54277|hdl-access=free}}</ref> This constituted the largest movement of [[refugees]] since the federation of the Indonesian state and the majority of the 1.4 million [[Internal refugee|internal refugees]] reported in February 2002 by the [[World Food Programme]].<ref>{{harvnb|Hedman|2008|p=208}}</ref> |
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== Latar belakang == |
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=== Political and economic factors === |
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Decentralisation stimulated a renewed effort in 1998 for the northern islands of Maluku to secede from [[Maluku Islands|Maluku province]].<ref name="decent">{{harvnb|Wilson|2008|p=46}}</ref> The secession was supported on all sides of the religious and political spectrum as residents shared the same concerns of relative logistical difficulties associated with distances in the region, the expropriation of economic wealth by outside individuals and a distant and disengaged government in [[Ambon, Maluku|Ambon]].<ref name="decent" /> The movement was crucially backed by then governor of Maluku province, [[Saleh Latuconsina]], and following lobbying by prominent North Maluku [[House of Representatives (Indonesia)|parliamentarians]] and student activists, in February 1999, then president [[Jusuf Habibie]] promised to create a [[North Maluku|new North Maluku province]].<ref name="decent" /> |
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The [[authoritarian]] rule of [[Suharto]], to which the Christian and Muslim religious hierarchies of Al-Khaira'at and Gereja Protestan Maluku had been subordinate, had granted the groups niches of coercive power over their respective communities and guaranteed a relatively stable structure of local assemblies and distribution of power for the previous few decades.<ref>{{harvnb|Hedman|2008|p=55}}</ref> Identifying oneself with the religious establishment that held the political power allowed one to access a [[Social network|network]] that [[Cronyism|provided favours]], [[Protection racket|protection]] from crime and other practical benefits for its members and, it has been suggested by [[political scientist]] Gerry van Klinken, this network allowed small disagreements on the street level to spread across much of Maluku society.<ref name="what">{{cite journal|last=van Klinken|first=Gerry|date=December 1999|title=What caused the Ambon violence?|url=http://www.insideindonesia.org/edition-60/what-caused-the-ambon-violence|journal=Inside Indonesia|volume=60|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110206201132/http://www.insideindonesia.org/edition-60/what-caused-the-ambon-violence|archive-date=6 February 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Hedman|2008|p=58}}</ref> |
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However, the fall of the nationwide [[New Order (Indonesia)|New Order]] structure and decentralisation allowed open and competitive [[Election|electoral competition]] for district positions of authority, which held both prestige and economic advantages, cast doubt on the number of voters each group could claim to command and it was within the best interests of all significant groups to mobilize support for their respective cause.<ref>{{harvnb|Hedman|2008|p=56}}</ref> |
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In the soon to be established North Maluku province competition for the newly created administrative positions was largely between [[Gubernatorial|gubernatorial candidates]] the sultan of Ternate, Mudaffar Sjah, who relied upon the support of the influential [[Evangelical church|Evangelical Church of Halmahera]] (GMIH), and the [[Makian|Makianese]] Muslim regent of [[Halmahera|Central Halmahera]], Bahar Andili.<ref name="north2">{{cite journal|last=Duncan|first=Christopher R.|date=October 2005|title=The Other Maluku: Chronologies of Conflict in North Maluku|journal=Indonesia|series=Southeast Asia Program Publications at Cornell University|volume=80|issue=80|pages=53–80|jstor=3351319}}</ref><ref name="decent" /> The redrawing of administrative districts and contention between [[Tidore]] and [[Ternate]] over the location of the soon-to-be capital cast into doubt the viability of numerous existing power-structures and those employed by the groups that formed these structures.<ref name="north2" /> |
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Economic power in [[Ambon Island|Ambon]] from the mid-1980s onwards was held by civil servants,<ref name="what" /> observed P. M. Laksono, and their salaries and monetary provisions from Jakarta contributed the overwhelming majority of wealth entering the Maluku region, as local agricultural and marine production was largely subsistence and [[Commercial fishing|commercial fishing operations]] were mostly foreign owned.<ref name="what" /><ref name="sono">{{cite news|last=Laksono|first=P.M.|date=April–June 2002|title=We are all one: how custom overcame religious rivalry in South East Maluku|url=http://www.insideindonesia.org/edition-70/we-are-all-one|newspaper=Inside Indonesia|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706062823/http://www.insideindonesia.org/edition-70/we-are-all-one|archive-date=6 July 2010|access-date=2 April 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> Some estimates placed direct employment in the civil service at a quarter of total employment in Ambon<ref name="what" /> and figures from 1990 stated 38% of Ternate workers were employed by the government.<ref>{{harvnb|van Klinken|2007|p=109}}</ref> The dependence on a generally static number of public service positions meant that youth unemployment in Ambon was unusually high; in Benteng on Ambon 73.2% of the population was listed as not yet employed in 1994,<ref name="vanambon" /> and it was these disaffected youth that mostly composed the foot-soldiers of the conflict. |
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The violence cannot, however, be entirely attributed to political or religious institutions; during a communal dispute before the outbreak of widespread violence, among others, at the [[Ambon Island|Ambon]] villages of Wakal and Hative Besar, their representatives acted to mitigate conflict but were widely ignored in that case.<ref name="con">{{cite journal|date=March 1999|title=IV. THE CONFLICT|url=https://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/1999/ambon/amron-03.htm#P162_35087|journal=Indonesia the Violence in Ambon|series=Human Rights Watch|access-date=1 April 2011}}</ref> |
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[[Berkas:Maluku_sectarian_conflict_full.png|jmpl|320x320px|Overview of the conflict]] |
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=== Customary factors === |
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[[Berkas:AmbonCity2001.jpg|jmpl|300x300px|Damage to [[Ambon City]] in 2001. Apartments fortified with sandbags can be seen in foreground.]] |
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Demographic change has also been cited as a factor in creating tension. Particular issues related to the disturbance of the customary land rights, or ''[[adat]]'', that were common to both indigenous Moluccan religious communities but were of little concern to newer migrants who had no interest in a traditional alliance system.<ref name="amboner" /><ref name="heds">{{harvnb|Hedman|2008|p=41}}</ref><ref name="hrwnews">{{cite news|date=24 February 1999|title=Indonesia: International Action Needed on Ambon Violence|url=https://www.hrw.org/en/news/1999/02/24/indonesia-international-action-needed-ambon-violence|newspaper=Human Rights Watch|access-date=1 April 2011}}</ref> |
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The residents of [[Ambon Island|Ambon]] had been particularly adherent to a theory of ''pela gandung'', whereby villages, often of differing religious persuasion, were 'bound by blood' to assist one another and marriages between the members of the villages were forbidden, as they were [[Incest|between blood relatives]].<ref name="pela">{{cite web|last=Bartels|first=Dr. Dieter|title=Pela Alliances in the Central Moluccas and in the Netherlands: A Brief Guide for Beginners|url=http://www.nunusaku.com/pdfs/Guide%20for%20Beginners.pdf|publisher=University of Leiden|access-date=1 April 2011}}</ref> Any transgression against these rules would be severely punished by curses from the ancestors who founded the institution.<ref name="pela" /> The alliances facilitated a relationship to allow peace between villages that were rigidly structured as either wholly Christian or Islamic and had formed the largest political units of Moluccan society prior to the Indonesian state.<ref name="pela" /> However, this system could not accommodate land-title of nonlocal, nonvillage-based transmigrant landowners.<ref name="vanambon" /> |
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These local customs that maintained respect had also been undermined by [[Liberalism and progressivism within Islam|reform Islam]], which was popular in Ternate during the 1980s, and the 1981 [[fatwa]] from the Indonesian Association of [[Ulama]] that banned Christians from participation in [[Islamic holidays]] aided the segregation of the religious communities.<ref name="north2" /> |
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=== Ethnic factors === |
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Ambon and surrounding islands had a roughly equal number of Christian and Muslim citizens in the years prior to the crisis.<ref name="amboner" /><ref name="heds" /> However, in the three-decade period after 1969 some 98,000 people were resettled in Maluku as part of the official government [[transmigration programme]], the majority [[Bugis]], [[Makassarese people|Makassarese]] or other Muslims from [[South Sulawesi]]. Further independent [[Immigration|migrants]] also settled in Maluku and in February 1999 the national newspaper, ''[[Kompas]]'', estimated 225,000 migrants from South Sulawesi had settled in the Maluku Islands with 30,000 living in Ambon.<ref name="amboner" /> [[Bugis]] and [[Buton|Butonese]] owners had rapidly increased their share of merchant and retail trade in Ambon to the extent that markets were specifically targeted by Christian gangs during the earlier stages of fighting in [[Ambon City]] as a way of harming the Muslim community.<ref name="Bertrand 2004 1222" /><ref name="con" /> |
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The shift contributed to greater bureaucratic and [[political representation]] of Muslims in Maluku district affairs, with two successive Muslim governors selected in 1992 and 1997 who began to fill vacancies in the civil service with Muslim appointees,<ref name="hrwnews" /> and has been cited as creating anxiety within the Christian community about a potential [[Islamisation]] of Maluku, contributing to sectarian tensions.<ref name="amboner" /><ref name="what" /> |
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During the early stages of the conflict the large-scale internal displacement of [[Ambonese]] to Northern Maluku, [[Ternate]] in particular, and the rumors and crimes the internally displaced people described to local residents are cited as a factor in the increased sectarian tension and initial violence in North Maluku during August 1999.<ref name="sidelternate2" /><ref>{{harvnb|Wilson|2008|p=45}}</ref> |
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=== North Halmahera land disputes === |
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In North Maluku the population was 85% Muslim prior to the start of conflict.<ref name="north2" /><ref name="heds" /> There had been a steady exodus of Makianese from the island of [[Makian]] to Ternate and the northern regions of [[Halmahera]].<ref name="van">{{harvnb|van Klinken|2007|p=117}}</ref> Dozens of villages had been established and populated by Makianese [[Transmigration program|transmigrants]] who had moved there from the neighbouring island during the 1970s, following fears of a volcanic eruption.<ref name="van" /><ref>{{harvnb|Hedman|2008|p=209}}</ref> Some of the migrant Makianese had been shifted to live and cultivate on or near land traditionally [[Adat|claimed]] by the Jailolo and Kao ethno-linguistic groups, and claims to the land became more forceful with the discovery of gold deposits in the 1990s and the announcement of an Australian owned mine to open in mid-1999.<ref name="goop">{{harvnb|van Klinken|2007|p=118}}</ref><ref name="gold">{{harvnb|Hedman|2008|p=49}}</ref> |
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Resentment of the increasing influence of Makianese was not restricted to the Christian minorities, with mistrust aired in [[Ternate]] and [[Tidore]] following their attainment of important regional positions outside the traditional Makianese homeland.<ref name="north2" /> |
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The dispute over [[land rights]] acquired a religious edge as the migrant Makianese were mostly Muslim while the 'indigenous' Jailolo and Kao were predominantly [[Protestant]],<ref name="gold" /> however, there had also been a steady transmigration of Muslim [[Javanese people|Javanese]] to the Kao lands (even though the indigenous Christian population had been cooperative with the new residents).<ref name="north2" /> |
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In 1999 the Kao and Jailolo claims received backing from the Sultan of [[Ternate]] and Protestant ethno-political groups, while the Makianese were supported by Muslim candidates, in their respective attempts to assume governorship of the newly established North Maluku province.<ref name="cascade2" /> During 1999, the [[Government of Indonesia|national government]] agreed with Makian lobbyists to create a new Muslim majority Malifut sub-district, or ''kecamatan'', which incorporated 16 Makianese settlements, several villages of Christian Pagu and Kao and the strategic gold deposits on the disputed lands.<ref name="goop" /><ref name="gold" /> The Pagu did not wish to be ruled by a Makian majority local government and viewed the ruling as an attempt to damage the traditional unity of the Kao tribes.<ref name="north2" /> The first communal violence in [[Halmahera]] coincided with 18 August formal inauguration of the Malifut sub-district.<ref name="north2" /><ref name="goop" /><ref name="gold" /> |
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=== Criminal factors === |
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The crisis was also allegedly permeated by the rivalry of two large semi-criminal gangs that operated in Ambon and, allegedly, Jakarta. The gangs possessed a quasi-religious identity; the 'Reds' identifying as Christian and 'Whites' as Muslim, and had prepared contingency plans for an attack from the other prior to the start of conflict in 1999.<ref name="what" /> |
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The [[Human Rights Watch]] report concerning Ambon hostilities cites a major communal confrontation of Ambonese migrants in the [[Ketapang]] area of Jakarta on 22 November 1998,<ref name="amboner" /> which saw up to 14 killed<ref name="vanambon" /> and numerous church burnings following rumors that Christian Ambonese guards of a significant gambling house had destroyed a Mosque.<ref name="hrw">{{cite journal|date=March 1999|title=III. WAS THE CONFLICT PROVOKED?|url=https://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/1999/ambon/amron-02.htm#P144_30372|journal=Human Rights Watch|series=INDONESIA THE VIOLENCE IN AMBON|access-date=31 March 2011}}</ref><ref name="hed47">{{harvnb|Hedman|2008|p=47}}</ref> Most of the 180 arrested in the immediate aftermath of the violence were of Ambonese origin.<ref name="hrw" /> |
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In the several months prior to the start of hostilities a few hundred Ambonese returned from [[Jakarta]]<ref name="amboner" /><ref name="hed47" /> and it has been asserted that some were loyal to the leaders of criminal gangs,<ref name="hrw" /><ref name="bert">{{harvnb|Bertrand|2004|p=125}}</ref> however, it cannot be independently confirmed whether these were [[Agent provocateur|agents provocateurs]] or workers returning to avoid retaliation.<ref name="hrw" /> |
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Soon-to-be president [[Abdurrahman Wahid]] indicated that the individual personally responsible for the Ambon unrest was Yorrys Raweyai, the leader of mercenary group [[Pancasila Youth]] that had been known to act as hired "muscle" for the Suharto administration activities.<ref name="hrw" /><ref name="bert2">{{harvnb|Bertrand|2004|p=126}}</ref> While the ''agent provocateur'' theory remains popular as an explanation for the start of the crisis, of the 100 or so people arrested for crimes committed during the Ambon unrest, only two have been charged for incitement and neither is believed to be an external agent.<ref name="hrw" /><ref name="bert2" /> |
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== Timeline of conflict in Southern Maluku == |
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=== First Ambon riots === |
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On 14 January 1999, there had been a riot between rival villages in [[Dobo, Indonesia|Dobo]], of the [[Aru Islands Regency]], that killed up to 12 people,<ref name="vanambon" /><ref name="van98">{{harvnb|van Klinken|2007|p=98}}</ref><ref name="braith156">{{harvnb|Braithwaite|Dunn|2010|pp=156–157}}</ref> however, the broad scale violence of the Maluku conflict began on [[Idul Fitri]], an Islamic holiday that was on 19 January 1999.<ref name="vanambon" /><ref name="van98" /><ref>{{harvnb|Wilson|2008|p=43}}</ref> Fighting in [[Ambon City]] during the first 3 or so days claimed anywhere from 43 to 65 lives,<ref name="bbc0">{{cite news|date=24 January 1999|title=Uneasy calm in Indonesia|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/events/indonesia/latest_news/262008.stm|newspaper=BBC Online|access-date=2 April 2011}}</ref><ref name="tempo1">{{cite news|date=26 January 1999|title=Getir Ambon di Idul Fitri|url=http://ip52-214.cbn.net.id/id/arsip/1999/01/26/NAS/mbm.19990126.NAS93321.id.html|newspaper=Tempo|language=id|archive-url=https://archive.today/20110818153703/http://ip52-214.cbn.net.id/id/arsip/1999/01/26/NAS/mbm.19990126.NAS93321.id.html|archive-date=18 August 2011|access-date=2 April 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="dn">{{cite news|date=22 January 1999|title=Death toll in rioting rises to 43|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IlZBAAAAIBAJ&pg=6291,1562629&dq=ambon&hl=en|newspaper=Daily News|access-date=2 April 2011}}</ref> with bodies discovered weeks after in the ruins of Ambon.<ref name="bbc3">{{cite news|date=3 February 1999|title=Ambon death toll rises|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/270227.stm|newspaper=BBC Online|access-date=2 April 2011}}</ref> Over 100 were seriously injured at least 10 houses of worship had been destroyed,<ref name="du">{{cite news|date=21 January 1999|title=24 Dead; Indonesia Muslims, Christians clash|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nr5EAAAAIBAJ&pg=3631,1280058&dq=ambon&hl=en|newspaper=Associated Press via Daily Union|access-date=2 April 2011}}</ref> with the loss of homes and significant retail services forcing the displacement of up to 20,000 residents.<ref name="lodi">{{cite news|date=22 January 1999|title=24 Dead as Muslims, Christians Clash|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UGczAAAAIBAJ&pg=6844,2440763&dq=ambon&hl=en|newspaper=Associated Press via Lodi News-Sentinel|access-date=1 April 2011}}</ref><ref name="bbc1">{{cite news|last=Head|first=Jonathan|date=21 February 1999|title=Ambon runs short of food|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/283530.stm|newspaper=BBC Online|access-date=2 April 2011}}</ref> Ambon airport was closed and a curfew applied in the town for the week after.<ref name="tempo1" /><ref name="lodi" /> The weapons used in this early period of rioting were mainly machetes, flaming arrows, spears, and other traditional weapons, and arson was as widespread as it would be throughout the conflict.<ref name="hed46" /><ref name="lodi" /><ref name="bbc6">{{cite news|last=Head|first=Jonathan|date=24 February 1999|title=Religious riots on Indonesian island|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/285182.stm|newspaper=BBC Online|access-date=2 April 2011}}</ref> |
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==== Initial 19 January confrontation ==== |
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It is widely recorded that the initial confrontation that sparked the conflict was between a Christian minibus driver and either some Bugis youths,<ref name="north2" /><ref name="con" /><ref>{{harvnb|Sidel|2007|p=177}}</ref> a drunk<ref name="indonews">{{cite news|date=3 January 2000|title=Indonesia Probes Massacre|url=http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/msg05800.html|newspaper=Indonesia Daily News|access-date=1 April 2011}}</ref> or a Muslim conductor,<ref name="con" /> near a bus terminal in Batu Merah village. Despite the differing accounts, it is agreed that a mob, Church reports state some 600 people,<ref name="con" /> of Muslim residents gathered and marched upon the Christian areas of Batu Merah at approximately 16:00 ([[UTC+9]]), where they torched numerous houses and several businesses by Mardika market.<ref name="con" /> The group had been driven on by incorrect rumors that the local mosque had been torched and faced little opposition from the police force, which only fielded ten lightly armed intelligence members due to the holiday.<ref name="con" /> More Christian houses were burnt in Silale and Waihaong [[Kampung|kampungs]] later in the afternoon and the first church was torched also.<ref name="con" /> Throughout this initial confrontation it was widely observed that the violence was directed by people from outside the area.<ref name="vanambon" /><ref name="con" /> |
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After hearing of the destruction of homes, Christian residents gathered outside Kudamati church to launch a counter-offensive and defend those at Mardika, but were blocked by a Muslim crowd at Waringin in the first direct clash of the two sects with the largest confrontation at Mardika plaza.<ref name="Bertrand 2004 1332" /><ref name="con" /> A truck carrying 50 unidentified youths is alleged to have arrived in Waringin around 17:00 (UTC+9) and the occupants were seen damaging homes and other property with metal bars and rocks,<ref name="con" /> but residents of Waringin claim they fended off the attacks. There had not yet been any casualties and police assured Waringin residents they could return home safely.<ref name="con" /> |
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At 20:00 (UTC+9) in the evening, around 30 Christians fought back a crowd of Muslims attempting to enter the Silo church, while others were observed gathering to destroy kiosks and pedicabs owned by Muslim [[Bugis]] and [[Butonese people|Butonese]].<ref name="con" /> All witnesses describe that by this time violent parties were identifying themselves with either red scarfs or headbands, to signify Christians, or white cloths on their wrists to signify Muslims<ref name="Hedman 2008 53" /><ref name="vanambon" /><ref>{{harvnb|Wilson|2008|p=119}}</ref><ref name="bert5">{{harvnb|Bertrand|2004|p=128}}</ref> as they had been instructed by the head of an information post at the al-Fatah mosque.<ref name="con" /> |
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==== Commencement of civil disobedience in Ambon ==== |
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On the night of 19 January, witnesses report that large, and allegedly well organised, groups of Christian rioters entered Kampung Paradeys in several waves, smashing and looting from Muslim homes on the orders of an unknown leader.<ref name="con" /> The targets of the attackers were [[Buton]], [[Bugis]] and [[Javanese people|Javanese]] migrants, however, the mob was indiscriminate in the burning of Muslim houses in the neighbourhood.<ref name="con" /> |
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In Waringin, Christian rioters are alleged to have attacked the property of Muslim locals multiple times during the night, injuring 6, and some Christians identified as from the Nusaniwe subdistrict attacked again with [[Molotov cocktail|Molotov cocktails]] around 10:00 (UTC+9) on 20 January, igniting fires that are claimed to have caused the destruction by arson of 120 houses.<ref name="con" /> This destruction heralded the first large-scale displacement of people, as 240 households took refuge in other Muslim [[kampung]],<ref name="hed46" /> contributing to the estimated 3,000 that fled in the initial 3 days of fighting.<ref name="lodi" /> |
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During the early morning of 20 January, Christian mobs burned the overwhelmingly [[Bugis]]-owned stalls of the Pelita, Gambus and Mardika markets while a large settlement of Butonese people around the Gambus market was also looted and destroyed. An Islamic elementary school and kindergarten were also burned, and there was selective burning of Muslim-owned property, such as [[Padang cuisine|Padang restaurants]], along Ambon's main streets.<ref name="con" /> At least one Butonese school-girl was among several reported killed during the rioting at Gunung Nona, struck by a [[machete]] and placed in a sack,<ref name="con" /> and other bodies were found during the following days in the ashes of destroyed buildings, trapped by the rapidly moving flames.<ref name="bbc0" /><ref name="bbc3" /> |
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==== 20 January attack on Benteng Karang and other villages ==== |
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Muslim residents of Hitu, Wakal and Mamala were told a rumor early on 20 January that the al-Fatah mosque in [[Ambon, Maluku|Ambon]] had been desecrated and demolished, and many worshipers massacred; hearsay for which a candidate for village head in Hitu was later arrested on [[Incitement|charges of incitement]].<ref name="con" /> The irate Muslims of Hitu were to march to Ambon in protest, passing several Christian villages in the hinterland region. In assaults that claimed around 20 lives many villages were partially or wholly destroyed by the 3,000 strong mob.<ref name="bbc1" /><ref name="sala3">{{cite web|last=Manuputty|first=Rev. Jacky|title=Chronologies of Recent Unrest in Ambon (in English)|url=http://www.fica.org/hr/ambon/enChronologies.html|work=Sala Foundation Waku Maluku report on Ambon, Maluku|publisher=Fellowship of Indonesian Christians in America|access-date=2 April 2011}}</ref> |
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One of the first villages the mob had to pass through on the Ambon road was Benteng Karang, an all-Christian village where they launched their attack.<ref name="con" /> Police warned the residents of Benteng Karang on two occasions they were likely to be attacked, and a group had gathered around the main church shortly before the arrival of the marchers.<ref name="con" /> The marchers allegedly bombed the Catholic Church with a [[Dynamite fishing|fishing bomb]] and [[Arson|set fire to three other churches]], before attacking the sheltering families of the 40 who sought to defend the village.<ref name="con" /><ref name="sala1">{{cite web|last=Hattu|first=Hengky|date=1 February 1999|title=Serie 1 : Tragedi Penyerangan dan Pembantaian di Ambon (in Indonesian)|url=http://www.fica.org/hr/ambon/idSerie1.html|work=Sala Foundation Waku Maluku report on Ambon, Maluku|publisher=Fellowship of Indonesian Christians in America|access-date=2 April 2011}}</ref> The village was entirely destroyed and 16 died in the massacre, all from Benteng Karang, including one pregnant mother and child.<ref name="con" /><ref name="sala1" /> |
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The large movement of Hitu Muslims continued to advance upon Ambon through the mixed-faith hillside villages of Hunuth, Waiheru, Nania and Negeri Lama who were warned of the advance by survivors of Benteng Karang.<ref name="con" /><ref name="ambonup">{{cite web|title=[INDONESIA-L] Ambon Update|url=http://www.hamline.edu/apakabar/basisdata/1999/02/01/0051.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060916051729/http://www.hamline.edu/apakabar/basisdata/1999/02/01/0051.html|archive-date=16 September 2006|access-date=1 April 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="sala0">{{cite web|last=Go|first=Kie-Eng|title=Ambon: Unreported Facts|url=http://www.fica.org/hr/ambon/enAmbonUnreportedFacts.html|work=Sala Foundation Waku Maluku report on Ambon, Maluku|publisher=Fellowship of Indonesian Christians in America|access-date=2 April 2011}}</ref> Women and children of Hunuth took refuge on boats while the men attempted to defend their property, but soon fled after the death of one defender.<ref name="sala0" /> A teenage boy and a military veteran were killed and least 40 Christian owned houses, two churches and a health service post were burned in the other villages.<ref name="con" /><ref name="ambonup" /><ref name="sala0" /> |
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The movement was confronted by residents at Posso, who had mobilized after hearing of the destruction of Benteng Karang. At the point of contact a group of 10 soldiers attempted to restrain each side from advancing, however the units were forced to withdraw after coming under attack with missiles.<ref name="con" /> The number of armed Posso residents steadily grew to over 100 as the defenders repelled several advances and, eventually, an agreement was negotiated whereby the Hitu Muslims were to return to Hitu in army trucks.<ref name="con" /> Most, however, returned on foot and are known to have murdered a local [[Minister (Christianity)|Protestant minister]] in the village of Nania also.<ref name="con" /><ref name="sala0" /> |
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==== 20 January attack on Hila Bible camp ==== |
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Some 120 people, which some sources describe as mostly children and teens,<ref name="cox">{{cite book|last=Cox|first=Caroline|author2=Catherine Butcher|year=2006|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vd0wOTmd_PUC&q=roy+pontoh&pg=PA6|title=Cox's book of modern saints and martyrs|publisher=Continuum|isbn=9780826487889|pages=6–8|access-date=1 April 2011}}</ref><ref name="nsm">{{cite web|last=Buchan|first=Alex|date=23 April 1999|title=Miracles in the Midst of Massacres|url=http://www.strategicnetwork.org/index.php?loc=kb&view=v&id=3782&fto=594&fby=108b70701edf23b3dc27e1a8688ec8a6&|publisher=Compass Direct via The Network for Strategic Missions|access-date=2 April 2011}}</ref> had been taking part in a 3-day Bible camp on the grounds of a [[University of Pattimura]] research station near Hila, when six were killed in an apparent attack by people from the nearby Muslim village of Wakal.<ref name="con" /><ref name="sala1" /> |
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Two men from the group were murdered, and their van torched, while travelling through Wakal town after seeking assistance from the military in Hila village to transport the campers.<ref name="con" /><ref name="sala1" /> Soon after, a truckload of militants arrived at the camp ground and ordered the campers out of the rooms where they had taken shelter, 4 of those who emerged were murdered with machetes,<ref name="con" /><ref name="sala1" /> 3 adults and an adolescent boy according to some sources.<ref name="ambonup" /> The boy is often referred to as Roy Pontoh,<ref name="ambonup" /><ref name="cox" /><ref name="nsm" /> a 15-year-old Ambonese Christian who is described as having stood up to the militants when asked to renounce his faith and was subsequently murdered with a machete and his body placed in a ditch.<ref name="nsm" /><ref>Workers of Open Doors, a Christian organisation, claim to have interviewed a friend of Roy Pontoh who described the murder of the boy. This account has been reprinted in Cox's 2006 book and on Christian blogs, [http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_fOF21_klJnM/SdvhB5eM_EI/AAAAAAAAAOU/r1M3PE43oWY/s400/Roy_Pontoh_2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://jonatasvidal.wordpress.com/category/uncategorized/page/2/&h=400&w=228&sz=16&tbnid=rziqhYoc1fhbWM:&tbnh=124&tbnw=71&prev=/search%3Fq%3Droy%2Bpontoh%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=roy+pontoh&hl=en&usg=__djUebu7haORyA_TXFF10XIqzIZM=&sa=X&ei=wQWaTduRKMyGcfac3IwH&ved=0CEMQ9QEwBg a photo purported to be of Roy exists online].</ref> Other campers were abused, ordered into the main hall and robbed of their valuables.<ref name="con" /><ref name="sala1" /> |
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Despite the efforts by residents of both faiths to prevent an assault, the following day Hila village proper was allegedly attacked by a Wakal mob, who murdered one person and looted and torched numerous, mostly Christian, houses.<ref name="sala1" /> The [[Dutch East Indies|Dutch-built]] 18th century Immanuel Church in Hila was also destroyed by arson.<ref name="bbc1" /> |
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==== 23 January murder of a Kostrad soldier in Benteng ==== |
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In the first recorded confrontation of security forces and the rioting public several, reportedly Christian, rioters were shot and at least one killed following the stabbing murder of a [[Balinese people|Balinese]] member of the [[Kostrad]] Strategic Reserve Command in the coastal neighbourhoods of [[Benteng (city)|Benteng]],<ref name="con" /><ref name="lodi" /> though the order of events is disputed.<ref name="bbc0" /> Eleven youths, all Christian, were later charged with murder.<ref name="con" /> |
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Allegedly the soldiers had been intervening in a confrontation of [[Bugis]] and [[Ambonese]] Christian youths, however people on the Christian side felt the authorities were being overly forceful with the Christian fighters and lashed out at the Kostrad troops, killing Gusti Ngurah Hartawan.<ref name="con" /> In defence, the soldiers opened fire on the crowd, killing one or possibly two.<ref name="con" /><ref name="bbc0" /> Media reports describe a gathering of 200 people marching on the Police headquarters in Ambon in protest.<ref name="lodi" /> |
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The same day, after the carnage in Ambon, security forces were given orders to shoot on sight any potential troublemakers,<ref name="bbc5">{{cite news|date=23 January 1999|title=Indonesian police to shoot on sight|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/events/indonesia/latest_news/261321.stm|newspaper=BBC Online|access-date=2 April 2011}}</ref> though their use of these powers in several instances called into question whether the new police powers were being abused, or if officers were acting impartially in the conflict.<ref name="bert4" /><ref name="van Klinken 2007 179">{{harvnb|van Klinken|2007|p=179}}</ref> |
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Accusations of police collusion with Muslim fighters were common, and five Muslim residents hiding in a military transport vehicle the day before had been killed after they were allegedly found to be concealing weapons.<ref name="bbc5" /> Media publication, ''[[Tempo (Indonesian magazine)|Tempo]]'', suggested the murders were motivated by revenge for the death of a [[Minister (Christianity)|Protestant minister]] in Nania.<ref name="tempo1" /> |
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At least 13 were also killed at the Christian village of Waai, Ambon Island, on 23 January after an attack by Muslim residents from Tulehu in a raid that mirrored traditional Ambonese inter-communal fighting.<ref name="waai">{{cite web|last=Littik|first=Semmy|title=The Battle of Waai and the Ambon Demo|url=http://www.fica.org/hr/ambon/enWaai%20War.html|work=Sala Foundation Waku Maluku report on Ambon, Maluku|publisher=Fellowship of Indonesian Christians in America|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref> The Muslims are alleged to have declared ''[[jihad]]'' against the rival Christian village after the displacement of Muslim [[Buton|Butonese]] to Tulehu, and raided the Waai township with fishing bombs among other weapons.<ref name="bert2" /><ref name="waai" /> Waai authorities counted the deaths of 2 locals and a visitor and killed a further 10 Muslim aggressors in the defense of the town, a number supported by Muslim sources, who claim more Christians were killed.<ref name="con" /><ref name="waai" /> Significant tourist infrastructure was also destroyed. |
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==== Respite and resumption of fighting in Ambon ==== |
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After the initial [[rioting]] there were several weeks or so of respite from wide scale violence, attributed in part to the deployment of 3,000 more troops, most of whom were from outside Maluku province.<ref name="bbc5" /> Road blocks had been established by their respective factions around villages in Ambon, preventing several possible clashes but also causing transport limitations and food shortages.<ref name="bert2" /><ref name="bbc1" /> Large numbers of displaced people had taken refuge at military installations<ref name="bbc3" /> and there were even reports of Muslims praying at an Ambon mosque guarded by Christians.<ref name="tempo1" /> |
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Fighting again resumed in Ambon City on the morning of 23 February following a minor confrontation, the nature of which is disputed.<ref name="con" /><ref name="bert2" /> It is generally agreed that a Muslim mob formed after the confrontation and was countered by the rapid formation of a rival Christian mob, with each causing damage to property and houses owned by those of the opposing faith.<ref name="con" /> In these early stages of fighting one person is reported to have been killed by security forces and several bombs detonated.<ref name="con" /> |
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The fighting became more virulent with the reported murder of 5 Butonese passengers of a van near the state Islamic institute by a Christian mob, and a further 8 people were killed in Karang Panjang and Kramat Jaya as homes and a mosque were set alight.<ref name="con" /> Some sources reported up to 23 killed during the day of fighting, mostly Butonese migrants, and several deaths were caused by the actions of security forces.<ref name="con" /><ref name="bert2" /><ref name="bbc6" /> |
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==== March confrontations ==== |
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On 1 March mobs from the rival faiths confronted each other again and a mob of Ahuru Christians attacked the mostly Bugis and Butonese Rinjani neighborhood, killing a family of 5.<ref name="con" /><ref name="bbc7">{{cite news|last=Jones|first=Simon|author2=Jonathan Head|date=1 March 1999|title=New riots rock Ambon|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/288152.stm|newspaper=BBC Online|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref><ref name="tempo3">{{cite news|last=Taufik|first=Ahmad|author2=Dewi R. Cahyani|author3=Nurur R. Bintari|date=9 March 1999|title=Setelah Subuh Berdarah Menyalakan Kemarahan Umat (in Indonesian)|url=http://majalah.tempointeraktif.com/id/arsip/1999/03/09/LK/mbm.19990309.LK93852.id.html|newspaper=Tempo|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref> The clashes had restarted as people reacted to incorrect reports that 4 others had been shot inside a mosque by police; 3 Muslims had in fact been killed by security forces in surrounding neighborhoods and brought to the mosque, draped in white sheets.<ref name="con" /><ref name="bbc7" /> |
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Two more incidents of security force intervention with live ammunition occurred on 6 and 10 February respectively. In the first instance police opened fire on a crowd of Christian youths manning a [[Security checkpoint|checkpoint]] by Silo church, killing one. The plain-clothes police officers had refused to show [[Identity card|identification]] when their vehicles were stopped, and shot at the crowd around the barricade when attacked with home-made weapons.<ref name="con" /> The second intervention happened during another round of clashes by youths armed with petrol bombs and machetes around Batu Merah and Mardika.<ref name="bert5" /><ref>{{cite web|last=Rijanto|first=Hendry|title=Ambon, March 11, 1999 (in English)|url=http://www.fica.org/hr/ambon/enAmbonMarch11.html|work=Sala Foundation Waku Maluku report on Ambon, Maluku|publisher=Fellowship of Indonesian Christians in America|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref> Ten were killed and 30 seriously injured, and almost all the [[casualties]] were caused by the police firing into the unruly crowds.<ref name="con" /><ref name="bbc8">{{cite news|last=Head|first=Jonathan|date=11 March 1999|title=Ten dead in Ambon violence|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/294745.stm|newspaper=BBC Online|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref><ref name="newstrait">{{cite news|date=11 March 1999|title=Ambon city a battle ground|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YqJOAAAAIBAJ&pg=2010,6257216&hl=en|newspaper=New Straits Times|agency=Reuters|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref> |
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=== Start of violence on surrounding islands === |
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Violence had been restrained on surrounding islands despite the fiery deaths of two in [[Sanana Island]] riots on the same day as the Ambon rioting.<ref name="lodi" /> A clash did take place on [[Seram Island|Ceram]] after a misunderstanding during a peace initiative by Christians, which saw at least 7 injured and several Muslim houses and market stalls destroyed on 3 February.<ref name="bert" /> The next day several dozen houses were burnt in a Christian village in Kairatu, while on 5 February, Christian residents of Kamariang attacked another Muslim village, prompting the police to open fire<ref name="bbc3" /><ref name="sala3" /> and kill one youth.<ref name="con" /> |
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==== 14 February Haruku Island shootings ==== |
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The largest loss of life at the hands of security forces at that stage in the conflict occurred in Kariu on the island of Haruku, when military units used live ammunition to quell a clash between a groups of Christian residents and Muslims from surrounding villages, reportedly killing 23.<ref name="bert" /><ref name="sala3" /><ref name="bbc4">{{cite news|date=14 February 1999|title=More die in Indonesian riots|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/279592.stm|newspaper=BBC Online|access-date=2 April 2011}}</ref><ref name="tempo2">{{cite news|date=23 February 1999|title=Haruku Rusuh, Saparua Remuk (in Indonesian)|url=http://majalah.tempointeraktif.com/id/arsip/1999/02/23/PST/mbm.19990223.PST93659.id.html|newspaper=Tempo|access-date=2 April 2011}}</ref> Accounts differ as to how many died on either side and the total number of dead from the shooting and confrontation may have been around 30, including 4 elderly residents who attempted to flee to the forest to escape the complete destruction of Kariu and the town's main church by the Muslim mob.<ref name="con" /><ref name="bert" /><ref name="sala3" /> |
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The failure of the military to prevent the destruction of Kariu and the arrest of four Christian police officers falsely accused of firing into the crowd of Muslim aggressors, furthered the belief that the military were [[Bias|biased]] towards the Muslim militias.<ref name="con" /><ref name="bbc5" /><ref name="van Klinken 2007 179" /> The island was subsequently blockaded by the [[Indonesian Navy|Navy]] to prevent movement of possible provocateurs.<ref name="tempo2" /> |
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==== 23 February Saparua Island clashes ==== |
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Two large clashes during the night claimed the lives of around 10 fighters, with several deaths attributed to the actions of security forces.<ref name="con" /> In the first case Christian [[youths]] were alleged to have provoked Muslim residents of Sirisori to retaliate, claiming 9 lives. The second clash was between two Saparua villages of rival [[faith]] and it is disputed as to whether 3 were killed by security forces or the traditional weapons of the civilian fighters, though it was recorded by ''[[Republika (Indonesian newspaper)|Republika]]'' newspaper that a few automatic weapons were recovered from fighters and one mosque destroyed.<ref name="con" /><ref name="sala3" /> Another confrontation over the damaging of [[Cloves|clove plants]] happened in Sirisori in July that year, also, killing 6.<ref name="bert5" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Saparua Rusuh, Ambon Tegang (in Indonesian)|url=http://www.fica.org/hr/ambon/idSaparuaRusuhAmbonTegang.html|work=Sala Foundation Waku Maluku report on Ambon, Maluku|publisher=Fellowship of Indonesian Christians in America|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref> |
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==== April Kei Island clashes ==== |
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Another altercation between youths concerning an 'insult to Islam' on 27 March<ref name="lindsey135">{{harvnb|Lindsey|2008|pp=135–136}}</ref> is alleged to have started wide scale violence on the [[Kei Islands]], south east of Ambon, that claimed up to 80 lives during the first weeks of April, with particularly fierce fighting happening in the capital [[Tual, Indonesia|Tual]].<ref name="bert4" /><ref name="sono" /><ref name="bbc9">{{cite news|date=4 April 1999|title=New strife in Moluccas|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/311099.stm|newspaper=BBC Online|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref><ref name="extranst">{{cite news|date=3 April 1999|title=Extra troops flown to riot-torn Maluku Islands|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RS1PAAAAIBAJ&pg=4918,2244504&dq=tual&hl=en|newspaper=New Straits Times|agency=AFP|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref> In this case groups of [[Catholics]] faced Muslim [[Ambonese]], but the use of red and white to signify allegiance and wholesale destruction by fire of 30 or so mainly Muslim villages mirrored the riots in Ambon.<ref name="braith157">{{harvnb|Braithwaite|Dunn|2010|p=157}}</ref> |
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Fierce reprisal attacks were perpetrated by Muslim mobs against the Protestant town of Elaar Lamagorang on 3 April, claiming at least 36 lives in [[Kei Islands|Kei Kecil]].<ref name="lindsey135" /> Soldiers recovered 20 bodies from burnt out buildings in [[Kai Besar|Kei Besar]] and Christian sources reported several instances of alleged kidnapping, the massacre of a priest and children and the deaths of 37 Christians; the Muslim death toll was expected to be much higher with at least 24 killed in the Muslim coastal suburbs of [[Tual, Indonesia|Tual]] and significant attacks against Muslim villages in Kei Kecil.<ref name="lindsey135" /><ref name="braith157" /><ref>{{cite news|date=4 April 1999|title=As many as 31 dead|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=H7MaAAAAIBAJ&pg=6733,492223&dq=ambon&hl=en|newspaper=Daily News|agency=Associated Press|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Atrocities Happen Again in Maluku|url=http://www.fica.org/hr/ambon/enRusuh2.html|work=Sala Foundation Waku Maluku report on Ambon, Maluku|publisher=Fellowship of Indonesian Christians in America|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref> Approximately 200 [[Kei Island]] residents are estimated to have died in three months of fighting and the damage and destruction of at least 4,000 [[houses]] and businesses [[Internally displaced person|displaced]] about 30,000 civilians.<ref name="lindsey137">{{harvnb|Lindsey|2008|p=137}}</ref> |
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The undermanned security forces of the Keis faced logistical difficulties caring for the estimated 13,000 residents that sought refuge at military offices, and another 200 soldiers were deployed from Ambon.<ref name="extranst" /><ref>{{cite news|date=6 April 1999|title=Sixty dead in Indonesian holy war|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qepEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4582,384341&hl=en|newspaper=Daily Union|agency=Associated Press|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref> The tripling of troop numbers is cited as helping bring the conflict on the [[Kei Islands]] to an early end, alongside the actions of elders to promote local ''[[adat]]'' custom.<ref name="sono" /><ref name="braith157171">{{harvnb|Braithwaite|Dunn|2010|pp=157, 171}}</ref> The violence on the Kei islands was later attributed, in part, to [[youths]] and others disregarding the ''adat'' teachings of local elders.<ref name="lindsey137" /> |
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=== Second Ambon riots === |
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On 16 May a gathering of locals from both faiths to celebrate the Moluccan hero, [[Pattimura]], had quickly progressed into a dispute over who was to carry a ceremonial torch, an honor normally reserved for residents from a majority Muslim village that had been offered to Christian villagers as a sign of good-will.<ref name="bert5" /> A clash between the groups soon followed, and the security forces opened fire on the crowds when they began damaging property again. At least 7 were killed.<ref name="bbc11">{{cite news|date=16 May 1999|title=Ambon tense after riot deaths|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/345241.stm|newspaper=BBC Online|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref> |
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The torch ceremony was also being used that year to inaugurate a new security force, the Pattimura military command, which would oversee the Maluku province; the event only served to humiliate the military, who were attacked with missiles by both sides after the intervention with live ammunition.<ref name="bert5" /><ref name="bbc11" /> The dispute happened days after a peace deal was agreed upon by local leaders of the two faiths,<ref name="bbc11" /> and it was therefore clear that the resentment and violence could not be contained by the formalities of an authority distrusted on both sides after the role of security forces in so many deaths.<ref name="bert5" /> |
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==== July and August chaos ==== |
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After a clash of drunken youths in the middle-class Poka suburb of Ambon on 23 July and subsequent heavy handed military intervention,<ref name="braith154">{{harvnb|Braithwaite|Dunn|2010|p=154}}</ref> fighting intensified to a war-like scale and lead to the deaths of at least a further 34 in the first four days alone, with Ambon hospitals reporting a shortage of blood for transfusion.<ref name="nstjuly">{{cite news|date=28 July 1999|title=Violence in Indonesian provinces escalates|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=EvdOAAAAIBAJ&pg=6602,4748345&hl=en|newspaper=New Straits Times|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref><ref name="nstgalala">{{cite news|date=14 August 1999|title=Probe into Ambon church massacre by men in uniform|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KKNOAAAAIBAJ&pg=6528,4879338&dq=ambon&hl=en|newspaper=New Straits Times|agency=AFP|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref> The mostly [[Chinese Indonesians|Chinese-owned]] [[business district]], which had largely been spared up until that point, was [[Sinophobia|targeted]] and destroyed by arson<ref name="braith189">{{harvnb|Braithwaite|Dunn|2010|p=189}}</ref> and the largest shopping complex in Ambon left entirely gutted.<ref name="vanambon" /><ref name="bbc20">{{cite news|date=27 July 1999|title=Ambon violence flares again|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/405258.stm|newspaper=BBC Online|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref> In addition, many hundreds of homes and thousands of vehicles were destroyed by arson.<ref name="vanambon" /> On 27 July, three members of a rioting Muslim crowd were killed by police directly outside the Al-Fatah mosque,<ref name="manilajuly">{{cite news|date=28 July 1999|title=3 dead, 25 hurt in Ambon clashes|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kmYVAAAAIBAJ&pg=2777,3283403&dq=ambon&hl=en|newspaper=Manila Standard|agency=Associated Press|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref> however few instances of intervention with live fire by security forces were recorded with concrete details. Most agree troops fired directly into the warring crowds, and the Catholic diocese of Ambon officially announced a lack of confidence in the military forces, who it said were supporting the Muslim gangs.<ref name="manilajuly" /> |
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The first large-scale massacre of civilians in a house of worship, as would become common in the conflict, was perpetrated by uniformed gunmen on 12 August against local residents taking refuge in a Galala church.<ref name="indy">{{cite news|last=Parry|first=Richard Lloyd|date=13 August 1999|title=Troops 'killed 24 in church'|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/troops-killed-24-in-church-1112386.html|newspaper=The Independent|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref> The residents were allegedly locked in the Yabok church and fired on by people wearing uniforms of [[Kostrad|an elite special forces unit]], killing around 25 unarmed civilians, including a priest and children, and the bodies were later burned by a Muslim mob.<ref name="nstgalala" /><ref name="bbcgalala">{{cite news|date=12 August 1999|title=Army blamed for Ambon massacre|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/418703.stm|newspaper=BBC Online|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref> |
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Fighting in Galala had been particularly fierce, claiming another 14 lives in addition to those massacred,<ref name="indy" /> however the majority of fighting had been in [[Ambon, Maluku|Ambon City]] around the Al-Fatah mosque and nearby Maranatha Church, where the city had split into Christian and Muslim enclaves.<ref name="vanambon" /><ref name="braith157" /> At least a further 98 had died during early and mid August,<ref name="nstgalala" /><ref>{{cite news|date=14 August 1999|title=Death toll increases to 98 in renewed Ambon violence|url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/1999/08/14/death-toll-increases-98-renewed-ambon-violence.html|newspaper=Jakarta Post|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121009161828/http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/1999/08/14/death-toll-increases-98-renewed-ambon-violence.html|archive-date=9 October 2012|access-date=15 April 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> including all civilians murdered in Galala and 15 killed in Batu Merah on 10 August,<ref>{{cite news|date=11 August 1999|title=At least 15 killed in Ambon clash|url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/1999/08/11/at-least-15-killed-ambon-clash.html|newspaper=The Jakarta Post|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121009161846/http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/1999/08/11/at-least-15-killed-ambon-clash.html|archive-date=9 October 2012|access-date=15 April 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> however the deployment of one [[Marines (military)|Marine]] and two Army [[Battalion|battalions]] to [[Maluku Islands|Maluku]] allowed for some calm to return by 16 August.<ref>{{cite news|date=16 August 1999|title=Indonesia now calm|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-XpAAAAAIBAJ&pg=4193,5131107&dq=ambon&hl=en|newspaper=The Mount Airy News|agency=Associated Press|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref> |
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Small war-like battles between well organised gangs of the rival faiths took place on a daily basis during late August and September, claiming more lives, including one soldier and at least 8 gang members who had been attacking a church on 10 September.<ref>{{cite news|date=10 September 1999|title=Datelines; Indonesia|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2-wjAAAAIBAJ&pg=5319,4322868&dq=maluku&hl=en|newspaper=The Deseret News|access-date=4 April 2011}}</ref> In the period between the first riots in Ambon and September 1999, humanitarian organisation ''[[Kontras]]'' estimated 1,349 had died in communal fighting<ref name="vanambon" /> and that tens of thousands had been displaced to ad hoc refugee centres or other provinces. |
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=== Third Ambon riots === |
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During the final quarter of 1999 there had been several large confrontations in the suburbs of [[Ambon City]], the largest claiming 38 lives on 26 November, again around the [[districts]] of Mardika.<ref>{{cite news|date=29 November 1999|title=One dead, 26 injured as new clashes hit Ambon|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vlRIAAAAIBAJ&pg=3949,6460001&dq=ambon&hl=en|newspaper=New Straits Times|agency=AFP|access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref> Most of the casualties the result of [[Bullet wound|bullet wounds]] caused by [[firearms]] that only the security forces had access to and, in response, three [[Battalion|battalions]] of military forces were to be withdrawn from [[Maluku Islands|Maluku]] that December and replaced with others that were believed to be not as potentially [[Bias|biased]].<ref name="bbcwithdrawal">{{cite news|date=30 November 1999|title=Indonesia withdraws troops from Moluccas|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/543530.stm|newspaper=BBC Online|access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref> On 7 December, the governor of Maluku announced aloud the ''Declaration of Refraining from Violence and Ending the Conflict'', signed by senior leaders of all faiths, however no Moluccan religious leaders signed or were party to the [[Draft (politics)|drafting]] of the [[document]].<ref>{{harvnb|Braithwaite|Dunn|2010|p=170}}</ref> |
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Massive riots again ignited in Ambon City and surrounding districts on 26 December, and lasted many days, following reports that a 14-year-old Muslim pedestrian was struck by a Christian driver.<ref>{{cite news|date=29 December 1999|title=55 Are Killed in Religious Clashes in Indonesia|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/29/world/55-are-killed-in-religious-clashes-in-indonesia.html?src=pm|newspaper=New York Times|access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref> The intense fighting heralded the widespread use of firearms and home-made bombs by civilian gangs, and claimed at least 68 lives and caused the destruction of the symbolic Silo Church in Ambon City on 26 December.<ref name="icgmaluku">{{cite web|date=19 December 2000|title=Indonesia: Chaos and murder in Maluku|url=https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:uj8YEfRJcqoJ:kms1.isn.ethz.ch/serviceengine/Files/ISN/28310/ipublicationdocument_singledocument/07d0d94d-a633-404b-88ff-dbb92ff7be37/en/010_indonesia_murder_maluku.pdf+icg+asia+report+no.10&hl=en&gl=au&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESj9AVpNBi1jCpCunT5YnYIbqaea_KKIFvbItoK654ZbYZ9wq6bugDH-5AKjqGjsgX211OYzQLTkOvyRnLNkkCeuAyth4YBqZZf63cLp5o1nkcIKgjwXz--B66-B6XQJfxAwPdGl&sig=AHIEtbS7CNEd-OgTqeMWcChocJGzJtAw1w|work=Asia Report No. 10|publisher=International Crisis Group|access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref><ref name="pdi600">{{cite news|date=5 January 2000|title=Death toll in sect clashes rises to 600|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7oc1AAAAIBAJ&pg=2037,22455718&dq=halmahera&hl=en|newspaper=Philippine Daily Inquirer|agency=AFP|access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref> Unverified Christian sources state the Silo Church was attacked during a night prayer session by Muslim militants and the security forces were [[complicit]] with the attackers; 39 Christians defending the building suffered bullet wounds, mostly from military weapons, and a local [[fire engine]] that had arrived to save the structure was fired upon also.<ref>{{cite web|date=7 January 2000|title=Eyewitness Report of Atrocities in Ambon: Thousands Fleeing to Mountains for Safety|url=http://www.domini.org/openbook/ind20000107.htm|work=Project Open Book|publisher=The Domini Project|access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref> |
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The December confrontations saw the first specific targeting of security forces personnel, claiming the lives of at least 3 members.<ref name="nstsniper">{{cite news|date=31 December 1999|title=More than 300 killed in Moluccas|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=x-BOAAAAIBAJ&pg=6605,5655429&dq=halmahera&hl=en|newspaper=New Straits Times|access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref> Sustained sniper fire was recorded originating from buildings nearby the demarcation line separating the two communities in [[Ambon City]] and buildings in the commercial district were shelled by [[Alvis Saladin|Saladin-class armored vehicles]] of the [[Indonesian Army]] to suppress the sniper fire.<ref name="nstsniper" /> Further sniper fire targeting ships ferrying displaced people across Ambon Bay to [[Pattimura Airport]] was also reported,<ref name="nstsniper" /> while other witnesses described security forces both launching [[Mortar (weapon)|mortar attacks]] and sustained fire with [[automatic weapons]] against specific suburbs in Ambon City, mostly by individual troops acting in a partisan manner.<ref name="icgmaluku" /> Some of the sniper fire has been attributed to Christian [[Brigade Mobil (Indonesia)|Brimob]] personnel, angered by the destruction of the Silo church, attacking Muslim targets.<ref name="icgambon04">{{cite web|date=17 May 2004|title=Indonesia: Violence erupts once again in Ambon|url=http://www.internal-displacement.org/8025708F004CE90B/(httpDocuments)/F1BCD5B35EF6BB03802570B7005942C1/$file/indonesia_violence_erupts_again_in_ambon.pdf|work=Asia briefing: Jakarta/Brussels|publisher=International Crisis Group|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501232115/http://www.internal-displacement.org/8025708F004CE90B/(httpDocuments)/F1BCD5B35EF6BB03802570B7005942C1/$file/indonesia_violence_erupts_again_in_ambon.pdf|archive-date=1 May 2011|access-date=11 April 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> |
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Responsibility for security in [[Maluku (province)|Maluku]] province was officially given to the [[Indonesian military]] on 29 December 1999, allowing for the army to conduct broader searches and apprehend suspects.<ref name="pdi600" /> |
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==== Violence on Seram and Buru Islands ==== |
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Up to 42 people were killed on neighbouring [[Seram Island]] over three days during a raid by Muslim militias on the predominantly Christian town of Alang Asaudi on 3 December, and government forces were criticized for not preventing such a high number of casualties.<ref>{{cite news|date=6 December 1999|title=Maluku clashes leave 31 dead|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=a_1OAAAAIBAJ&pg=6792,4086231&dq=seram&hl=en|newspaper=New Straits Times|agency=AFP|access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref> On 4 January 2000, at least 17 were killed by live ammunition as police opened fire on clashing mobs in Masohi, a port town on Ceram Island, where several hundred houses were also destroyed by arson. A significant number of units were transferred from Ambon the weeks prior to contain the violence, but were largely ineffective in preventing further attacks on property.<ref name="nytseram">{{cite news|date=5 January 2000|title=Troops Kill 17 in Indonesia As Christians Fight Muslims|url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10810FB3D5F0C768CDDA80894D8404482|newspaper=New York Times|access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref> |
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[[Buru Island]] saw a period of extreme violence between rival groups around Christmas and [[Ramadan]], claiming at least 43 lives on 23 December alone.<ref name="nstburu">{{cite news|date=24 December 1999|title=Carnage on Buru Island as mobs ignore police plea|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=weBOAAAAIBAJ&pg=6453,1954056&dq=buru&hl=en|newspaper=New Straits Times|agency=Associated Press|access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref> A total of 165 are believed to have been killed over several weeks,<ref name="pdi600" /> including 117 Christians,<ref name="braith156" /> and around 250 houses were destroyed by arson during island-wide fighting started by a scuffle outside a [[plywood]] factory.<ref name="indyireland">{{cite news|last=Dutter|first=Barbie|date=28 December 1999|title=Over 160 killed as violence hits Spice Islands|url=http://www.independent.ie/world-news/over-160-killed-as-violence-hits-spice-islands-388743.html|newspaper=The Independent|access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref> Intervention by [[security forces]] during the violence on the island was initially minimal<ref name="nstburu" /> and significant number of Buru residents were reported missing in the weeks after the December violence, most taking refuge in the densely forested interior of the island, and the Indonesian military distributed leaflets urging them to return to their villages.<ref>{{cite news|date=14 January 2000|title=Leaflet drop to coax refugees out of the jungle|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=elZIAAAAIBAJ&pg=6626,95826&dq=buru&hl=en|newspaper=New Straits Times|agency=Reuters|access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref> Incidents of [[forced conversion]] and atrocities such as [[forced circumcision]] and the murder of entire families who resisted conversion caused the almost complete displacement of the Christian population of [[Buru]] by mid-2000, following the destruction of 17 [[Catholic]] and an unknown number of Protestant churches.<ref name="braith156" /> |
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Following the Malino agreement, bombing attacks with more powerful explosives became more common in Maluku province. Two of the more significant attacks included the detonation of an [[improvised explosive device]] at a stadium in Ambon City that claimed the lives of 4 young women on 4 September 2002,<ref>{{cite news|date=6 September 2002|title=Death toll from explosion in Indonesia's Ambon rises to four|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-09/06/content_552416.htm|newspaper=Xinhua Online|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030119033933/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-09/06/content_552416.htm|archive-date=19 January 2003|access-date=15 April 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> and the detonation of a bomb that had been thrown into a crowd gathered outside an Ambon City hotel and [[karaoke bar]], which killed 4 and wounded 58, on 3 April 2002.<ref>{{cite news|date=5 April 2002|title=Three suspects named in Ambon bombing|url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2002/04/05/three-suspects-named-ambon-bombing.html|newspaper=The Jakarta Post|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121009161900/http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2002/04/05/three-suspects-named-ambon-bombing.html|archive-date=9 October 2012|access-date=15 April 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> |
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== Timeline of conflict in North Maluku == |
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=== Initial confrontations === |
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[[North Maluku]] had been largely peaceful until 18 August 1999, inauguration of the new Malifut sub-district provoked the destruction of two Pagu mixed-faith villages on the same day. Several people were killed as [[Kao, Indonesia|Kao]] residents of both faiths and [[Makian|Makianese]] Muslim migrants fought for three days, and the majority of sources state that the violence had started with the invasion of Sosol, one of the two villages destroyed by the Makianese gang.<ref name="north2" /><ref name="braith200">{{harvnb|Braithwaite|Dunn|2010|pp=200–201}}</ref> A team of leaders was tasked with securing peace by the regional government, however no modifications were made to the [[redistricting]] decision and tension remained.<ref name="braith200" /> |
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==== Further attacks in Malifut ==== |
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On 24 October, the Makianese allegedly attacked again deeper into Kao lands, though this is disputed by some Makianese, and in counter-attack a 5,000-strong movement of Kao burnt down all 16 of the Makianese villages in the contested Malifut subdistrict.<ref name="north2" /><ref name="braith200" /> The mixed-faith Kao stressed the non-religious nature of the two battles and took liberties to avoid desecrating any mosques or schools; only 3 people were killed in the fighting, however there was massive destruction to Makianese property and anywhere up to 16,000 Makianese, almost all of those in the subdistrict, fled to [[Ternate]] and other areas.<ref name="north2" /><ref name="sidelternate2" /><ref name="braith200" /><ref name="digatlas">{{cite web|last=Cribb|first=Robert|title=Scenes of religious conflict in northern Halmahera|url=http://www.indonesianhistory.info/map/halmut.html|work=Digital atlas of Indonesian history|access-date=4 April 2011}}</ref> |
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==== November riots in Tidore and Ternate ==== |
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A large number of displaced Makianese had also fled to Tidore, an island with a significant Muslim majority.<ref name="north2" /> In the following weeks a fake letter detailing plans for the forced removal of Makianese from [[Halmahera]] with alleged input from the local Protestant institutions was distributed in the Muslim communities of Ternate and [[Tidore]], inflaming tensions and pressuring local officials to seek an explanation from Christian leaders.<ref name="north2" /><ref name="nils">{{cite journal|last=Bubandt|first=Nils|date=August 2009|title=From the enemy's point of view: Violence, Empathy, and the Ethnography of Fakes|journal=Cultural Anthropology|volume=23|issue=3|pages=553–588|doi=10.1111/j.1548-1360.2009.01040.x}}</ref><ref name="braith202">{{harvnb|Braithwaite|Dunn|2010|pp=202–203}}</ref> In hindsight the document was an act of blatant provocation likely forged by Makianese bureaucrats, however on 3 November the Reverend Riskotta was viciously murdered by a Muslim mob in Tidore while attending a meeting to discuss concerns with the officials, having been escorted there by police.<ref name="north2" /><ref name="braith202" /> No other Christian leaders had attended out of fear for their safety, and immediately after the Reverend's murder the gathered crowd turned on local Christian people and property, killing 8 more people, and burning 3 churches and some 260 houses in an island wide riot.<ref name="north2" /><ref name="jaktidore">{{cite news|date=8 November 1999|title=Tension prevails in Ternate after weekend unrest|url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/1999/11/08/tension-prevails-ternate-after-weekend-unrest.html|newspaper=The Jakarta Post|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121009110021/http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/1999/11/08/tension-prevails-ternate-after-weekend-unrest.html|archive-date=9 October 2012|access-date=4 April 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> |
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On 6 November, a several-hundred strong Muslim gang, led by local Makianese political elite and thought to be mostly Makianese refugees, raged through Ternate attacking the Christian minority there also.<ref name="braith202" /> The police forces of Ternate were only able to guard their own institutions from attack, yet the traditional guards of the [[Sultan]] of Ternate, mostly composed of local Ternate Muslims, were particularly effective at protecting the local Christian population from attack.<ref name="north2" /><ref name="braith214">{{harvnb|Braithwaite|Dunn|2010|p=214}}</ref> The Sultan's guard had both established secure perimeters around areas of the city, including the mostly [[Chinese Indonesians|Chinese-owned]] business district, and physically stood between the mobs and possible victims in some cases and were later commended for preventing a potential massacre.<ref name="north2" /><ref name="braith214" /> At least 4 people died, however, and the Indonesian Navy later evacuated the several thousand Christian residents of both islands to [[Bintung]] and [[Manado]] in [[North Sulawesi]].<ref name="north2" /><ref name="jaktidore" /> |
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==== Tension in central Halmahera ==== |
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In the days following the Ternate riots, Muslim provocateurs are alleged to have directed attacks against Christian civilians in the sub-districts of [[Payahe]] and [[West Gane]], both home to significant populations of [[Makian|Makianese]].<ref name="wilson104">{{harvnb|Wilson|2008|p=104}}</ref> There were Christian casualties in Lola village, including the death of a pastor. Several thousand residents were displaced to [[Tobelo]] in northern [[Halmahera]].<ref name="north2" /><ref name="wilson104" /> The targeting of churches for destruction and rumors that a number of children were killed by the Makianese fighters, along with descriptions of the security forces' inability to protect local Christians in Tidore and Ternate, prompted [[Halmahera]] residents to construct homemade weapons to defend themselves.<ref name="north2" /><ref name="wilson105106">{{harvnb|Wilson|2008|pp=105–106}}</ref> Distrust by Christians was mostly directed at Makianese and Ternate migrants in [[Tobelo]], as was aired to a political delegation including the Sultan of Ternate and the interim governor sent to Tobelo on 7 December,<ref name="wilson105106" /><ref>{{harvnb|Braithwaite|Dunn|2010|p=203}}</ref> however rumors of a "bloody Christmas" or "bloody Ramadan" to purge the opposing faith from Halmahera were spread through both communities and intensified the feeling that further violence was inevitable.<ref name="north2" /> |
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=== Post-Christmas violence in Halmahera === |
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* 26 December 1999: A clash between Christian and Muslim groups in Gosoma, Tobelo, triggered a wave of violence in the area. Muslims fled from Tobelo to Soasio, while Christians took refuge in the GMIH church. |
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* 27 December 1999: Muslim mobs attacked the GMIH church and the Christian village of Pune. Armed men from both sides gathered near the mosques and churches in Soatobaru and Dokulamo. A homemade bazooka blast sparked a riot in Soatobaru in the late afternoon. Violence erupted in Tobelo, the largest town in North Halmahera, between Muslims and Christians. Muslim militias, known as Pasukan Merah (Red Force), attacked Christian villages and suburbs, while Christian militias, led by Sakeus Odara, counterattacked and destroyed Muslim properties. By the next morning, most Muslims in Tobelo retreated to the main mosque, Mesjid Raya, which was surrounded by the military and protected from the Christian attackers. |
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* 28 December 1999: In Ternate, the capital of North Maluku province, a minor incident involving a car driver and members of the Pasukan Kuning (Yellow Force), a pro-Sultanate Muslim militia, escalated into a violent clash between Muslims and Christians in the central city. The Pasukan Kuning were supported by Makians and Tidores, while the Christians were joined by a new militia called Pasukan Putih (White Force). The Pasukan Putih managed to push the Pasukan Kuning back to the Sultan's palace, where a ceasefire was brokered by the Sultan of Tidore. A Catholic school was burned down during the fighting. |
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* 29 December 1999: Christian militias continued their offensive in North Halmahera, targeting Muslim villages in Gorua and Papilo. They also launched a coordinated attack on Togoliua, where many Muslims had taken refuge in the Mesjid Al Islah mosque. The mosque was bombed and collapsed, killing many of the civilians inside. |
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* January 2000: The Sultan of Tidore was removed as governor of North Maluku. The Pasukan Putih militia rebranded itself as Pasukan Jihad (Jihad Force) and recruited thousands of fighters from Ternate and Tidore, under the leadership of Abu Bakar Wahid. They planned to launch a major offensive against the Christian areas in North Halmahera. |
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* 8 January 2000: The Pasukan Jihad left Tidore for Sidangoli, a coastal town in North Halmahera. They were met by resistance from the Kao people, a Christian ethnic group, who had mobilized in the village of Dum Dum. |
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* 22 January 2000: The Pasukan Jihad and the Kao clashed in the Tabobo area, west of Malifut. The Pasukan Jihad prevailed. |
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* February-March 2000: The Pasukan Jihad and the Christians engaged in frequent skirmishes in Galela and Jailolo sub-districts. The Pasukan Jihad received reinforcements from Ternate and Tidore, while the Christians relied on local militias and some military support. |
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* 5 March 2000: The Pasukan Jihad attacked the villages of Makete and Soatobaru, but was repelled by the Duma militia, a Christian group from Galela. |
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* 25 May 2000: The Pasukan Jihad attacked Mamua, a Christian village near Tobelo, but was again repelled by the Duma militia. |
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* 29 May 2000: The Pasukan Jihad launched a final assault on Duma, but failed to capture it. |
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* June 2000: Pasukan Jihad captured Duma, but failed to regain Toboleo or Malifut. The governmnet declared a state of emergency which ended the fighting. |
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== Impact of the conflict == |
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=== Child soldiers === |
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During the conflict several thousand child soldiers fought, unofficially, in the civilian militia of both sides; a significant number of the children that fought were either orphaned or displaced by earlier fighting, and felt an obligation to take up arms willingly to protect or avenge their family and religion.<ref name="braith158">{{harvnb|Braithwaite|Dunn|2010|p=158}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Singer|first=P. W.|title=Child Soldiers: The New Faces of War|url=http://www.aft.org/newspubs/periodicals/ae/winter0506/singer.cfm|work=American Educator, Winter 05-06|publisher=American Federation of Teachers|access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref><ref name="lachild">{{cite news|last=Paddock|first=Richard C.|date=14 March 2001|title='My Job Is to Throw Bombs and Burn Houses,' Moluccan Boy Says|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2001/mar/14/news/mn-37618|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref> Referred colloquially to as ''"pasukan agas"'' after a [[sandfly]], around two to four thousand children aged as young as seven are believed to have taken part in the violence,<ref name="braith158" /> mostly boys armed with petrol bombs and directed to burn down property of the opposite side or given homemade bombs that were thrown at rival militia members and security forces.<ref name="lachild" /> Older minors perpetrated armed assaults against rival forces or civilian targets, while both elementary and secondary school children helped construct the homemade weapons that were predominant in the first year of the conflict.<ref name="lachild" /> |
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== Lihat pula == |
== Lihat pula == |
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Revisi terkini sejak 21 Agustus 2024 05.53
| Konflik sektarian Kepulauan Maluku | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Pasukan militer Indonesia mengevakuasi pengungsi dari Ambon selama konflik tahun 1999. | |||||||
| Tanggal | 14 Januari 1999 – 13 Februari 2002 | ||||||
| Lokasi | Kepulauan Maluku (dengan gangguan yang sangat serius di pulau Ambon dan Halmahera) | ||||||
| Sebab | Ketegangan etnis dan agama, transmigrasi | ||||||
| Metode | Akuisisi teritorial, kerusuhan, pogrom, pemboman, protes, pengusiran | ||||||
| Hasil | Piagam Malino II | ||||||
| Pihak terlibat | |||||||
| |||||||
| Tokoh utama | |||||||
| |||||||
| Jumlah | |||||||
| |||||||
| Jumlah korban | |||||||
| Korban jiwa | 5.000 terbunuh[1] | ||||||
Bagian dari seri mengenai |
|---|
| Sejarah Indonesia |
 |
| Garis waktu |
 Portal Indonesia |
Konflik sektarian Kepulauan Maluku adalah konflik etnis-politik yang melibatkan kelompok agama di Kepulauan Maluku, Indonesia, khususnya Pulau Ambon dan Pulau Halmahera. Konflik ini bermula pada era Reformasi awal 1999 hingga penandatanganan Piagam Malino II tanggal 13 Februari 2002.
Penyebab utama konflik ini adalah ketidakstabilan politik dan ekonomi secara umum di Indonesia setelah Soeharto tumbang dan rupiah mengalami devaluasi selama dan seusai krisis ekonomi di Asia Tenggara.[2] Rencana pemekaran provinsi Maluku menjadi Maluku dan Maluku Utara semakin memperuncing permasalahan politik daerah yang sudah ada.[3][4] Karena permasalahan politik tersebut menyangkut agama, perseteruan terjadi antara umat Kristen dan Islam pada Januari 1999. Perseteruan ini dengan cepat berubah menjadi pertempuran dan tindak kekerasan terhadap warga sipil oleh kedua belah pihak.[5] Dua pihak utama yang terlibat konflik ini adalah kelompok milisi agama dari kedua pihak,[6] termasuk kelompok Islamis bernama Laskar Jihad,[7] kelompok Kristen Dari Manado bernama Brigade Manguni dan Angkatan Bersenjata Republik Indonesia.[8]
Lihat pula
[sunting | sunting sumber]
Catatan kaki
[sunting | sunting sumber]- ^ "Saling bunuh, saling bakar sampai... 'sayang kamu semua': Mantan tentara anak Islam dan Kristen Ambon". BBC. 27 Februari 2018. Diakses tanggal 31 Januari 2022.
- ^ Bertrand 2004, hlm. 122
- ^ Duncan, Christopher R. (October 2005). "The Other Maluku: Chronologies of Conflict in North Maluku". Indonesia. Southeast Asia Program Publications at Cornell University. 80: 53–80. JSTOR 3351319.
- ^ Bertrand 2004, hlm. 129–131
- ^ Hedman 2008, hlm. 50
- ^ Sidel 2007, hlm. 181
- ^ Sidel 2007, hlm. 184
- ^ Bertrand 2004, hlm. 133
Daftar pustaka
[sunting | sunting sumber]- Bertrand, Jacques (2004). Nationalism and ethnic conflict in Indonesia. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-52441-5.
- Braithwaite, John; Leah Dunn (2010). "3. Maluku and North Maluku". Anomie and Violence: Non-truth and reconciliation in Indonesian peacebuilding (PDF). The Australian National University. hlm. 147–243. ISBN 978-1-921666-22-3. Diarsipkan dari versi asli (PDF) tanggal 2012-03-29. Diakses tanggal 2016-12-28.
- Duncan, Christopher R. (2013). Violence and Vengeance: Religious Conflict and Its Aftermath in Eastern Indonesia. Cornell University Press.
- Goss, Jon (2000). "Understanding the Maluku Wars: Overview of Sources of Communal Conflict and Prospects for Peace" (PDF). Cakalele (dalam bahasa English). Honolulu: University of Hawaii, Center for Southeast Asian Studies. 11: 7–39. ISSN 1053-2285. Diakses tanggal 22 November 2016.
- Hedman, Eva-Lotta E. (2008). Conflict, violence, and displacement in indonesia. Cornell South East Asia Program Publications. hlm. 29–231. ISBN 978-0-87727-775-0.
- Lindsey, Timothy (2008). "Adat law, conflict and reconciliation: the Kei Islands, Southeast Maluku". Indonesia, law and society. Federation Press. hlm. 115–146.
- Sidel, John Thayer (2007). Riots, pogroms, jihad: religious violence in Indonesia. NUS Press. ISBN 9971-69-357-7.
- van Klinken, Geert Arend (2007). Communal violence and democratization in Indonesia: small town wars. Taylor & Francis. hlm. 88–124. ISBN 0-203-96511-6.
- Wilson, Chris (2008). Ethno-religious violence in Indonesia: from soil to God. Routledge. ISBN 0-203-92898-9.
| Keluarga |
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← Didahului: Soeharto
Digantikan: Abdurrahman Wahid → | ||||||||||||
Kategori:
- Era pasca-Soeharto
- Konflik etnis di Indonesia
- Kekerasan berlandaskan agama di Indonesia
- Indonesia dalam tahun 1999
- Indonesia dalam tahun 2000
- Indonesia dalam tahun 2001
- Indonesia dalam tahun 2002
- Kepulauan Maluku
- Serangan terhadap tempat ibadah
- Kekristenan dan kekerasan
- Islam dan kekerasan
- Penghancuran gereja oleh Muslim
- Kekerasan sektarian