Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Ambon (Fides Service) - In the eastern Indonesian provinces of Moluccas and Sulawesi there is rising tension and people fear civil conflict between Muslim communities and Protestant Christian communities may break out again as it did in 1999 and 2002.
At that time conflict was started by fundamentalist Muslims from outside and provocateurs who wanted to destabilise the country. According to local Catholic sources recent tragic attacks are worrying signs that violence may start again: the beheading of three Christian school girls in Poso (Sulawesi), the murder of a Christian girl hacked to death with a hachete in Palu (Sulawesi); also in Palu an armed attack on a Christian couple as they left a church.
The civil authorities condemned the violence and called on people to remain calm, not to respond to violence with violence but to let the security forces operate and justice take its course. The local police are convinced these crimes were carried out by criminal gangs aiming to trigger conflict. More security forces have been deployed in Poso e Palu, to prevent attacks but tension remains high.
In the nearby Moluccas Islands there is fear of terrorism for the approaching Christian feasts of Christmas and New Year. In Ambon and Ternate civil authorities have taken extra security measures and increased the number of road blocks to control people arriving in the Moluccas and detect any possible terrorists. The police are still hunting for Muhammad Attamimi suspected of supplying arms and explosives to the island. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 22/11/2005 Righe: 25 Parole: 251)
