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Refugees Claim Spice Islands Deaths By Irwan Firdaus Associated Press Writer Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2000; 2:41 p.m. EST AMBON, Indonesia -- Refugees fleeing violence between Christian and Muslim militias in Indonesia's eastern islands said hundreds of people were killed in fighting Tuesday and Wednesday. More than 10,000 people have reportedly been forced to flee their homes, and official estimates say about 500 people have been killed in the past 10 days. Unconfirmed reports put that much higher. Refugees say thousands of soldiers have poured in to try to quell the fighting on both Halmahera and Seram islands, about 1,600 miles east of the capital Jakarta. Famiya Rerefy, 25, said many towns on Halmahera were nearly deserted. She fled to Ambon, the capital of Maluku province, after Christian mobs set fire to her house. "I had to flee," she said. "Even with the soldiers there, I didn't feel safe." The official Antara news agency said thousands of refugees fled Wednesday, many of whom claimed hundreds of people had been killed in the past 24 hours. Parliamentary speaker Amien Rais told reporters in Jakarta that Christian militias were "ethnically cleansing" Muslims in Maluku and North Maluku provinces, formerly known as the Spice Islands. Maluku military chief Max Tamaela confirmed the clashes on Halmahera island but denied reports of mass killings. "Don't believe the rumors of a massacre," he told The Associated Press. "It was just normal fighting between the two sides." While the military struggles to regain control of the outer islands, soldiers in Ambon continued a massive sweep of the port town searching for homemade weapons. Although the violence there had subsided, there were still occasional killings. On Wednesday, residents found the headless body of a police sergeant in a city suburb, police said. Indonesia's armed forces chief Adm. Widodo said there were 12 battalions of soldiers and marines in the two provinces and the military was ready to send more if the fighting continued. The violence has contributed to the first serious rifts within the administration of new President Abdurrahman Wahid. Analysts warn that if the conflict is not contained, sectarian clashes may soon spread to other regions in the nation. In Jakarta, 3,000 Muslim demonstrators threatened on Wednesday to declare a holy war against Indonesia's Christian minority unless the fighting is immediately stopped. And the Vatican's envoy to Indonesia, Renzo Frepini, met with Wahid on Wednesday to demand the government put an immediate stop to the fighting, said a presidential palace official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Meanwhile, Minister for Political Affairs and Security Gen. Wiranto said Wednesday that Indonesia may soon dismantle laws institutionalizing discrimination against the ethnic Chinese minority. The Chinese, who are mainly Christians or Buddhists, make up a tiny fraction of Indonesia's 210 million people. They are, however, prominent in business and industry and are often the target of popular resentment. Chinese-owned businesses have regularly been targeted in times of anti-government unrest. Since the early 1950s, ethnic Chinese have been forced to adopt Indonesian-sounding names before being granted citizenship. Other laws made it illegal to teach Chinese language in schools and banned the use of Chinese text. © Copyright 2000 The Associated Press
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