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TNI chief warns against Ambon jihad

NU Online  ·  Ahad, 18 September 2011 | 05:57 WIB

Jakarta, NU Online
The country’s military commander warned on Sunday against anyone going to Ambon to wage jihad, echoing a call by the country’s highest Islamic authority following deadly clashes there last week.

Speaking in Jakarta at an event to mark the 66th anniversary of the Indonesian Military (TNI), Adm. Agus Suhartono said although the security forces could not forbid anyone from traveling to the Maluku capital, they were on high alert for anyone suspected of heading there to incite more violence.

“We ask everyone going to Ambon to respect the peace and refrain from disrupting the situation there,” he was quoted by the Jakarta Globe as saying.

“We’re staying on high alert for intruders. The situation is under control for now, but if we find anything suspicious we will act on it.”

The city was the scene of a violent clash on Sept. 11, in which eight people were killed, 67 were injured and more than 100 were forced to flee their homes.

The recent clash in Ambon was sparked by rumors that spiraled out of control after a motorcycle taxi driver was involved in a fatal traffic accident.

The driver, who was Muslim, died from his injuries before he could reach the hospital, but a viral text message fueled false reports that he had been tortured and killed by Christians. That prompted a violent clash between two groups, one of which is believed to have included the deceased’s family, after his funeral last Sunday.

In the wake of the violence, more provocative text messages began circulating in East Java urging Muslims to go to Ambon to wage jihad, or holy war.

That prompted the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) to caution Islamic organizations against allowing their members to heed the call.

“We guarantee no Muslim organizations will be provoked to go to Ambon,” Abdussomad Bukhori, the head of the East Java branch of the MUI, said on Friday.

“We have to sit down together and discuss the situation.”

In response to the message, authorities have carried out a series of searches for weapons carried by ferry passengers heading to Ambon from East Java.

In North Maluku, religious leaders held talks on Sunday to discuss how to prevent the unrest in Ambon from spreading north, as it did during the sectarian violence that engulfed the region from 1999 to 2002, leaving thousands dead.

Muhammad Abusama, head of the Interreligious Communication Forum (FKUB) in North Maluku’s South Halmahera district, said the religious and community leaders at the talks had concluded that the Ambon violence “has not affected the people of South Halmahera.”

He added that the FKUB would nevertheless work to improve relations between different religious groups in the district.

Rusdan T. Haruna, the South Halmahera deputy district head, said his administration would also discuss the issue with religious groups and security forces.

“However, North Maluku is different from Maluku, and I’m convinced that the people of Halmahera are mature enough not to be provoked by what happened in Ambon,” he said.

Lt. Col. Anggara Sitompul, the head of the 1509 Babullah Bacan-Sula Military Command in South Halmahera, said the security situation there was calm. (dar)