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This Sunday, 20 February, as Presbyterians in Ireland join with the international Christian community in a worldwide day of prayer and fasting for the situation in the Malukus, reliable reports reaching Presbyterian Headquarters in Belfast indicate that unless there is an urgent peace agreement and ceasefire then the 150,000 strong Christian community on the Indonesian island of Halmahera will be 'wiped out'.
This stark warning comes from Belfast born and now Brisbane based Professor James Haire who has just returned home to Australia on 13 February following a fourteen day visit to the Malukus. Prevented from going to Halmahera, the closest he could get was to the nearby island of Manado where he met local church leaders including Rev Agustinus Aesh, Moderator of the Halmahera Church. Haire, a former missionary in Halmahera for thirteen years and now President elect of the Uniting Church in Australia says, 'All civil administration has broken down and the situation in Halmahera is chaotic. Of the 150,000 Christians on the island, hundreds have been killed and over half are now refugees or displaced from their homes. Most have either fled the island or moved to the northern peninsula leaving the rest of Halmahera under Muslim control and where anything Christian including family homes, churches, schools and hospitals has been destroyed.'
There has been sporadic violence throughout the Malukus, situated in Eastern Indonesia and formerly known as the Spice Islands, since January of last year with at least 2000 people killed and tens of thousands displaced from their homes. This has escalated seriously in the last six weeks as it appears Muslim extremists have embarked on a Jihad aimed at driving all Christians out of these islands which have been their homes for centuries. Mainly affected are the islands of Ambon, Halmahera and Seram.
'Initially the Indonesian Military turned a blind eye to the Muslim extremists in their burning and looting', continues Haire. 'However it is reported in the last week that while they have acted to stop Christians from being killed, they have not been able to stop the burning and looting. The Muslim militia, which is becoming stronger as recruits arrive from other islands, says it wants to control the whole of Halmahera and is unlikely to be stopped by a weak Indonesian military presence.'
Professor Haire also reports that there are no Christians left on the islands of Bacan, Tidore and Ternate, where there has been a Christian community for five centuries. 'Ternate had a Christian population of over 15,000 but they have now either been killed or fled to another island, Sulawesi. All the churches, schools and other institutions including hospitals established by Christians on Ternate have been completely destroyed and it is reported that the bodies of Christians have been dumped near a missionary home originally built by the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and now destroyed.'
'We have been responding to calls from Christian Leaders in the Malukus pleading for help,' explained Rev Terry McMullan, executive secretary of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland's Overseas Board. 'We are continuing to appealing to United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson and both the British and Irish Governments to exert whatever pressure they can on the Indonesian Government. At Mrs Robinson's request we submitted eyewitness reports of human rights violations in the Malukus to her and these have now been forwarded to the UN's Special Rapporteur on religious intolerance who will decide whether to file a complaint with the Indonesian Government.'
Following his return to the country on February 13, Indonesian President Abdurahman Wahid has called for a Peace Conference to be held in Bali in the near future. It is unclear whether this will happen but leading the protestant delegation at any conference would be Rev Agustinus Aesh, who recently escaped with his life from Halmahera. He is a man with a price on his head and is still uncertain about the safety of his wife and family whom he has not seen since December 20.
Aesh, who within the last few days has returned to Halmahera, has been asked to bring with him leaders of the Christian militia formed to protect their community. However he is unsure that the militant protestants would allow their commanders to go to Bali since it may only be a ploy to remove them from Halmahera. 'As Christians we are in the minority and if there is not a ceasefire and a peace agreement, then Christianity will be wiped out in Halmahera,' says Aesh.
Issued by Stephen Lynas, Presbyterian Information Services. Info@PresbyterianIreland.org
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