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With Muslims and Christians in
favour of peace, it's left to troops, traders and radical groups
to fuel a conflict to profit themselves, insiders say
By Marianne
Kearney
STRAITS TIMES INDONESIA BUREAU
JAKARTA - Corruption, not religion,
is to blame for the continuing violence in the Maluku islands,
according to observers.
Troops stationed in the strife-torn
province are among those who have a hand in prolonging the
conflict by selling their weapons and their services to rival
Muslim and Christian groups, they say.
Certain other groups such as
traders and radical groups also wanted to keep the tensions alive,
said observers who noted that both Muslim and Christian
communities widely supported a peaceful solution.
'It looks like a religious conflict
but actually it is not. The core problems are economic and
political,' said Mr Tamrin Tomagola, a Moluccan sociologist who
runs a group advocating peace on the island chain.
Two months ago, religious leaders
signed a government-brokered peace deal to end the three-year-old
conflict but it was shattered after a series of explosions and an
attack on a Christian village in which at least 14 people were
killed late last month.
According to Mr Tamrin, the troops
stationed in Ambon often supplement their meagre pay by selling
weapons and hiring themselves to provide security for businesses.
They were not necessarily backed by
higher-level military commanders, he added, noting that the flow
of weapons to both sides in the conflict was 'quite abundant'.
The troops may also have been
offering training and support to groups such as the militant
Laskar Jihad, say other observers.
They point out that Laskar Jihad
members who attacked a Christian village last month, were seen
arriving in military trucks.
Several hundred soldiers and
policemen, who deserted their duties more than six months ago to
join a radical group, were also fuelling the violence, said Mr
Tamrin.
Ms Sidney Jones, director of
international think-tank International Crisis Group, said police
and the military stationed in Ambon were deeply involved in almost
every sector of Ambon's economy.
They have not just been running
protection rackets for businesses but also trading in basic
supplies for the island, she said.
Speedboat operators, for instance,
provide an alternative route around the island so that Christians
can avoid travelling through Muslim areas, or visa versa.
There are also several businesses
selling smuggled goods who may be backing militant groups in Ambon.
'A lot of economic activity such as
land-rights, trade and the spice trade are being controlled by
certain groups,' said one aid worker.
Aid workers and Mr Tamrin also
suspect that some radical groups had opposed the peace treaty
because they feared that the flow of aid from both international
organisations and local religious outfits might dry up if the
conflict ended.
Top security minister Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono announced yesterday that a single command for
the military and the police would be established to help
authorities in the province, which is currently under a state of
civilian emergency.
It will be headed by a
major-general who will be seconded by a police lieutenant-general
to ensure proper coordination, he said.
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