Indonesia: Overcoming Murder and Chaos in Maluku

Brussels  |   19 Dec 2000

Intercommunal violence in Indonesia’s Maluku region has left over 5,000 dead and displaced roughly 500,000 more. It is on the rise again, with the likelihood of more clashes during the Christian and Moslem religious holidays at the end of December if steps are not taken to protect communities and constrain fighters. 

In a new report on Indonesia, the International Crisis Group (ICG) takes a close look at this conflict, increasing in intensity and marked by a series of overlapping demands for justice, revenge, land and power, which, although having more complex origins, has divided Malukan society along religious lines with consequences that may extend beyond the Maluku region. 

Today the main source of continuing bloodshed, acknowledged by President Abdurrahman Wahid’s government in Jakarta, is the Java-based radical Moslem organisation Laskar Jihad. This group has turned intermittent fighting between two communities in Maluku into a campaign of “religious cleansing”, and its leaders have vowed they will not leave until their work is done.

Lacking an effective security force, the Wahid government has allowed the killing in the Maluku region to simmer for almost two years without formulating a clear strategy to overcome the violence. ICG’s report argues that one element in such a strategy must be the removal of the Laskar Jihad from the region – but this will not be enough. It is essential that the security forces be capable of protecting both communities, and particularly that the removal of Laskar Jihad not be followed by renewed attacks by Christian militias on Moslems. 

“The main conclusion of this report is that peace cannot be restored until both Moslems and Christians feel their own personal security is guaranteed,” said Gareth Evans, ICG President. 

“As long as the two communities have no confidence in the capacity of the state apparatus to protect them, they will continue to rely on their own militias and the violence is likely to continue. It is crucial that the government regain control of its police and military forces in Maluku and that these forces act in a neutral way between the rival communities”.