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Following inter communal strife and an estimated 5,000 killings since Christmas, western governments are being urged to give desperately needed medical aid to the Malakan Islands in Eastern Indonesia.
Tension in the Malakus, formerly know as the Spice Islands, is still extremely high between Christian and Islamic communities. One report from a church based in Halmahera speaks of many murdered Christians, with 2,112 deaths within one Presbyterian denomination in the area.
Decomposing bodies of victims are reported to be lying on the beaches, while outbreaks of cholera and typhoid are posing a huge risk to the population.
One leading Protestant church leader, Rev Augustina Aesh, met with the Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid in Jakarta and has received assurances that a process of reconciliation will be facilitated by the Indonesian authorities. Rev Aesh also asked that local media refrain from broadcasting inaccurate allegations regarding the alleged role of Christians in the conflict.
Rev Aesh has been the target of Islamic extremists in Jakarta. His wife and children had been forced to flee into a jungle for several days to evade capture by Islamic militants, some of whom have attempted to wage a 'jihad' against Christians.
Leading calls on behalf of suffering Christians in the Malakus has been Rev Professor James Haire, incoming President of the Uniting Church in Australia. Rev Haire was formerly a missionary of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, having worked in the former Spice Islands between 1972 and 1985. He comments;
"Now is the time for reconciliation between Christians and Muslims in the Malaku islands. We must all support that. The Indononesian President has been most positive towards Rev Ausgustinus Aesh. Medical and humanitarian aid to the whole community in the Maluku Islands is now urgently needed."
The Presbyterian Church in Ireland has contacted UN Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson expressing concerns. Along with other Christian organisations the Church has also lobbied MPs and officials at the Foreign Office, Whitehall and the Department of Foreign Affairs, Dublin.
Issued by Martin McNeely, Presbyterian Information Services. Info@PresbyterianIreland.org
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