DISPLACED PEOPLE IN THE MOLUCCAS

About World Refugee Day 2008

 

Thousands of refugees gather at a mosque in Ambon

Nine years later: Maluku refugees still waiting for rights

The Jakarta Post January 29, 2008

M. Azis Tunny, The Jakarta Post, Ambon

It has already been nine years since the social conflict in Maluku broke out on Jan. 19, 1999, but thousands of people displaced by the strife are still waiting in uncertainty over when they will obtain their rights.

"Maluku refugees should be recorded as the longest-displaced people in their own country by the MURI Indonesian Records Museum," quipped Maluku Refugees Coalition head Pieter Pattiwaelapia during a recent discussion titled Reflections of Nine Years of Living in Refuge in Ambon.

Participants in the discussion, organized by the Maluku Media Center, included the Maluku Refugees Coalition, the Maluku chapter of the National Commission on Human Rights, refugee coordinators and representatives, non-governmental organizations and journalists.

Participants alleged the government had not addressed the refugee issue since 2001. The latest data issued by the Maluku provincial administration early this year indicated a remaining 12,080 refugee families who had yet to obtain their rights.

Pattiwaelapia said it was ironic the refugee issue in Maluku had yet to be settled, considering the huge funds contributed to the cause by both the central government and overseas organizations.

The long-standing refugee problem, he said, was due to the lack of valid data on the number of refugees each year. He said the refugee management mechanism had also created an opportunity to misuse funds.

In 2005 the Maluku administration announced the number of deprived refugees at 12,315. In the same year the central government assisted a number of refugee families using state funds, as well in 2006 and 2007, when those who were recorded in the government's list were provided with their rights.

"The number should have significantly dropped, but the latest data showed as many as 12,080 families remain, indicating that only 235 families have been assisted after three years in which more than Rp 300 billion (approximately US$33.3 million) of refugee funds were exhausted for the purpose," said Pattiwaelapia.

One of the impacts of the conflict is territorial segregation based on religion. Besides returning to their places of origin, most of the refugees were included in the relocation program, thus hampering the reintegration and reconciliation process among communities.

One of the seven points agreed upon in the Malino peace agreement, signed in South Sulawesi in 2002, stipulates refugees must be returned to their places of origin without coercion and should be given their civil rights back in phases.

"The Malino peace pact did not specify anything about refugee relocation like what the government is doing right now. The government should also restore their civil rights. However, the reality is contrary to the peace pact. Civil rights issues are still uncertain and could spark renewed conflict," he said.

In a number of former strife areas, civil rights issues pertaining to land, farm and building ownership are still capable of sparking new conflicts, he said, citing one example in the land dispute between residents in Laala and Ariate in 2007, in which dozens of residents were injured.

Refugee coordinator of Keramat Jaya village Rahman said some of the homes of around 300 refugee families who fled the village during the conflict were still intact but had been seized and occupied by other people.

"They don't want to give up our homes. The government mediating team at one point brought us together, but later left and let us deal with the problem with the occupiers. The problem has not been settled so far," he said.

The head of the Maluku chapter of the National Commission on Human Rights, Octovianus Lawalatta, said the government refugee management program was still conditional in nature, and that it had gauged progress only on the number of houses being rebuilt, how much building material had been distributed or how many refugees had received their rights.

"The government has not been wholehearted in addressing issues created by the conflict, such as civil rights, trauma healing, infrastructure restoration and economic empowerment," he said.

The peace pact stated the government would assist people in post-trauma healing, social and economic rehabilitation and providing public services, such as education, health, houses of worship and housing.

"Besides civil rights, the government should also guarantee people's basic rights by providing clean water, health care and education. A number of houses built for refugees outside Ambon, such as on Seram and Buru islands, are not fit for human settlement but, if I may say, are more appropriate for animals," said Lawalatta.

Human Rights Watch World report 2002

Indonesia had another turbulent year, marked by a power struggle in Jakarta and an escalation in regional conflicts. The War in Aceh and an outbreak of communal violence in West Kalimantan produced the most civilian casualties, but conflicts in the Moluccas, Central Sulawesi, and Papua continued to simmer. By October, the number of displaced persons remained well over one million, half of them from the Moluccas.

Major causes of displacement

February 2004

One of the major causes of displacement is the Indonesian government's policy of transmigration, which gave land and economic incentives to relocate people to less-populated areas. Due to existing tensions over previous displacement, land ownership and other land-use issues, this policy has greatly exacerbated tensions between Christians and Muslims in the Maluku Islands and Sulewezi, and between settlers and the indigenous Madurese in West Kalimantan. On the Maluku Islands, there are currently 466,409 IDPs (166,318 on North Maluku and 300,091 on Maluku). In Sulewezi, the 240,000 IDPs include about 78,000 from Central Sulewezi and about 47,800 from North Sulewezi. West Kalimantan has 58,544 IDPs, 28,000 of whom are in camps.

Updated

February 2004

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Ambon's refugees are no better off after six years

The Jakarta Post June 15, 2007

M. Azis Tunny, The Jakarta Post, Ambon

For the people displaced by the Ambon conflict, the nightmare is far from over.Over the three years of fighting, their houses were torched, possessions stolen and family members killed.

Thousands of people were driven from their villages, most of whom have still not received the assistance the government promised them and say they have been led on a wild goose chase in meeting the requirements to obtain aid.

Western Seram refugee coordinator La Ali Wabula said he and 1,500 other displaced families did not know where to turn next.

A series of meetings, including ones with Maluku Vice Governor M.A. Latuconsina and Maluku Social Services Office head Fenno Tahalele, had been unproductive, he said.

"Most of us have been refugees for eight years now, ever since the conflict broke out in 1999, but we still haven't received our rights from the government," Wabula told The Jakarta Post in Ambon.

He said refugees in western Seram were spread over a number of locations, including Waitibu, Wralohi, Siompu, Kalibaru, Nurue and Kamal villages, as well as throughout Maluku regency and in Ambon city.

The issue has been compounded by a lack of funding and solid data on the number of refugees.

The Maluku Social Services Office says that there are currently 9,755 refugee families, or 48,775 people, but this has not been verified. Maluku Governor Karel Albert Ralahalu said that there was not solid data available on the number of refugees in Maluku that had not received aid.

He said the data at the social servicesoffice was a combination of the refugee numbers submitted by regencies and municipalities but needed to be verified.

He said that if the number of refugees was verified in the next two months, his administration would set aside money from the provincial, regency and municipal budgets for the refugees.

"We have all agreed to it, including the legislature. A team will validate and verify the data once more in order to determine the exact figure," said Ralahalu.

Following the central government's decision to stop allocating refugee funds in 2008, the provincial administration, together with regency and municipal administrations, decided to use a budget sharing program to fund work.

Of the eight regions in Maluku, five accommodate the remaining refugees -- Ambon city, Central Maluku, Buru, Western Seram and Aru Islands regencies.

The Maluku provincial administration officially handed over the authority of handling the refugee program to municipal and regency administrations as of June 11.

However, a number of groups have urged that refugee command posts established by the provincial administration be audited.

"State auditors must audit the command posts before disbanding them to account for the use of refugee funds to the public, because there are no official accounts on the amount of refugee funds channeled to Maluku so far," said Maluku Refugees Coalition chairman Pieter Pattiwaelapia.

The head of the Ambon chapter of the Muslim Students Union, Bobby Tianotak, concurred, saying that the humanitarian problem that was triggered by sectarian riots would have been resolved long ago had the refugee handling program been done in an honest and transparent manner.

"It's very unfortunate the humanitarian problem has otherwise benefited some people seeking profits. The relevant institutions, like the Corruption Eradication Commission and the prosecutor's office, should be proactive in investigating whether or not refugee funds have been used as they should, especially by the social office and refugee command posts," said Tianotak.

The government is unsure of the total amount of money already sent to Maluku, but it is likely to amount to more that Rp 1 trillion (approximately US$111 million).

Maluku legislature Vice Speaker Sudarmo, said irresponsible persons were responsible for the protracted refugee issues and that residents had falsely claimed to be refugees and some refugees had received more aid than others, while corrupt civil servants had also taken money meant for aid.

"The law must be upheld. Whoever is wrong and is proven to have misappropriated refugee funds must be punished," said Sudarmo.

Maluku victims press claims for compensation

The Jakarta Post 9 May 2007

M. Azis Tunny , The Jakarta Post, Ambon

Claims from at least 8,000 families displaced by years of sectarian violence in Maluku remain unsettled because funds provided by the central government and other sources have been used by the provincial administration.

Due to the absence of clear-cut settlement procedures, the Maluku Social Services Office is visited daily by groups of displaced people still uncertain about their futures.

Even though they have identity cards and documents to support their claims, there is no guarantee that their rights will be fulfilled.

Wa Ija, a refugee from Halong village in Baguala district, Ambon, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday he had registered his family house as his place of origin, but there had been no response from social services.

"If feel like I have been fooled. Every time I come here (to the social services office), I am advised to come back the next day, even though I have already submitted all the paperwork required for refugees," he said.

Ambon was ravaged by sectarian violence between Muslims and Christians in January 1999. The violence largely ended in 2002, following the signing of the Malino peace treaty.

Farida La Mima, a refugee from Passo village in Baguala district was displaced during the conflict. However, her rights as a refugee were refused after another refugee claimed compensation entitled to her through a false ID card. She was powerless and the police did not take any action.

"I've reported the case twice to the police, but have had no response," said Farida, who now lives with relatives.

Head of the social services office, Feno Tahalele, said compensation claims were processed by his office staff in cooperation with other village offices. He denied knowledge of the ID falsification, claiming that it was the village offices that knew more about the refugees from the village.

"We provide assistance based on refugees registered at the village," he said.

Problems are increasing, Tahalele said, because his office has run out of funds to assist the displaced.

Maluku Governor Karel Albert Ralahalu admitted the funds provided to assist displaced people had run out.

"The responsibility lies with both the provincial and regency administration. We will work together to settle the problem," Ralahalu said.

He said the post for displaced Maluku people, chaired by an assistant to the provincial administration, Rahman Soumena, would soon be dissolved as it was considered redundant with the existence of the social services office.