continuation of The players behind the Maluku madness
Pattimura Military commander, since they were both stationed in Ambon before the Pattimura Military Command was revived under Suaidy Marasabessy, a Muslim Ambonese officer close to Wiranto.
Currently, two other interest groups are allegedly involved in maintaining the violence in Maluku. The first group are radical Muslims who oppose Gus Dur's presidency and are allegedly financially backed by a former finance minister under Soeharto.
The second group consists of Indonesian business conglomerates who benefit from the troubles in Maluku to escape from their obligations to pay trillions of rupiah of debt to Indonesian banks.
The first group reportedly sent the Laskar Jihad to Maluku. The bulk of these fighters are naive villagers who believe in the existence of an international Christian plot to dismantle the Indonesian Republic, which, in their eyes, began with the liberation of East Timor.
They are assisted by soldiers and deserters from the Indonesian Military and police. It is alleged the second group consists of several conglomerates
which have close links to the Soeharto family.
With officers loyal to Wiranto deeply entrenched in the armed forces, Gus Dur and his deputy have their hands and feet tied in trying to end the violence in Maluku.
In fact, the ongoing violence is basically being maintained by their opponents, who continue to play political football with the lives of the Maluku people. It has been said that every time Soeharto or Wiranto are interrogated, a new wave of violence flares up in Maluku.
Therefore, Australia and the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should seriously lobby friendly nations without predominantly Muslim and/or Christian populations, such as India, Thailand, South Korea and Japan, to play a more active role in ending the violence in Maluku.
Australian military cooperation with Indonesia should be postponed until the Indonesian Military can prove its impartiality in domestic disputes such as in Maluku. A trade embargo with Indonesian companies which benefit from the violence in Maluku is also recommended.
Certainly, Australian military cooperation with Indonesia should not be normalized as long as the perpetrators of human rights violations in East Timor are not taken to court and are allowed to foment unrest in Maluku and other parts of the Indonesian archipelago.
Dr George J. Aditjondro teaches at the department of sociology and anthropology at the University of Newcastle in Australia. He specializes in the cultures of Papua, Maluku, Timor and Flores. He carried out extensive interviews with sources in Jakarta, Maluku, Germany and Australia regarding the unrest in Maluku.****
Currently, two other interest groups are allegedly involved in maintaining the violence in Maluku. The first group are radical Muslims who oppose Gus Dur's presidency and are allegedly financially backed by a former finance minister under Soeharto.
The second group consists of Indonesian business conglomerates who benefit from the troubles in Maluku to escape from their obligations to pay trillions of rupiah of debt to Indonesian banks.
The first group reportedly sent the Laskar Jihad to Maluku. The bulk of these fighters are naive villagers who believe in the existence of an international Christian plot to dismantle the Indonesian Republic, which, in their eyes, began with the liberation of East Timor.
They are assisted by soldiers and deserters from the Indonesian Military and police. It is alleged the second group consists of several conglomerates
which have close links to the Soeharto family.
With officers loyal to Wiranto deeply entrenched in the armed forces, Gus Dur and his deputy have their hands and feet tied in trying to end the violence in Maluku.
In fact, the ongoing violence is basically being maintained by their opponents, who continue to play political football with the lives of the Maluku people. It has been said that every time Soeharto or Wiranto are interrogated, a new wave of violence flares up in Maluku.
Therefore, Australia and the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should seriously lobby friendly nations without predominantly Muslim and/or Christian populations, such as India, Thailand, South Korea and Japan, to play a more active role in ending the violence in Maluku.
Australian military cooperation with Indonesia should be postponed until the Indonesian Military can prove its impartiality in domestic disputes such as in Maluku. A trade embargo with Indonesian companies which benefit from the violence in Maluku is also recommended.
Certainly, Australian military cooperation with Indonesia should not be normalized as long as the perpetrators of human rights violations in East Timor are not taken to court and are allowed to foment unrest in Maluku and other parts of the Indonesian archipelago.
Dr George J. Aditjondro teaches at the department of sociology and anthropology at the University of Newcastle in Australia. He specializes in the cultures of Papua, Maluku, Timor and Flores. He carried out extensive interviews with sources in Jakarta, Maluku, Germany and Australia regarding the unrest in Maluku.****
