P3
THESE ARE THE MOLUCCAN ISLANDS
The so-called "Maluku conflict", in which the people of the Maluku islands have been embroiled in a "civil war" between Muslims and Christians, has lasted from 19-1-199 until 11-2-2002. This conflict has probably cost over 20.000 lives and around 500.000 people have fled. In this period the right of self-determination - the RMS ideal - got an extra impulse by the establishment of the "Front for Sovereignty of the Moluccas" (FKM) on December 18, 2000 in Ambon.
In 2004, the hoisting of the flags in honour of the 54th birthday of the Proclamation of the free Republic of the South Moluccas has led to a second row of riots in Ambon. The Indonesian army (TNI) killed 40 demonstrators and imprisoned tens of FKM/RMS political activists.
More recently, pro independence activists have attracted international attention when they danced and unfurled the RMS flag in front of president Susilo Bambang Yudhojono in Ambon on the 29th of June 2007.
POVERTY
Although the Moluccan Islands are blessed with a abundance of natural resources, the mayority of the Moluccan people still live under the poverty level. The poverty level in Maluku Province has increase substantially since 2004. The current poverty level is at approx. 60%, an increase of ~30% since 2004. The "civil war" that took place in Maluku between 1999 to 2003 has a devastating impact on the Moluccan people and has thrown back the economic development of the Moluccan Islands for many decades . #
In 2004, the hoisting of the flags in honour of the 54th birthday of the Proclamation of the free Republic of the South Moluccas has led to a second row of riots in Ambon. The Indonesian army (TNI) killed 40 demonstrators and imprisoned tens of FKM/RMS political activists.
More recently, pro independence activists have attracted international attention when they danced and unfurled the RMS flag in front of president Susilo Bambang Yudhojono in Ambon on the 29th of June 2007.
POVERTY
Although the Moluccan Islands are blessed with a abundance of natural resources, the mayority of the Moluccan people still live under the poverty level. The poverty level in Maluku Province has increase substantially since 2004. The current poverty level is at approx. 60%, an increase of ~30% since 2004. The "civil war" that took place in Maluku between 1999 to 2003 has a devastating impact on the Moluccan people and has thrown back the economic development of the Moluccan Islands for many decades . #