Prangtip Daorueng, Jakarta – The arrival of an Islamic militia group in Indonesia's restive province of West Papua is sowing fear among residents about sectarian conflict like that seen in other provinces before – and community leaders want its members out sooner than later.
Fearing violence similar to that seen previously in Sulawesi and Maluku, Papua religious communities, ranging from Christian churches to Muslim groups, are demanding that authorities put pressure on the Laskar Jihad group to leave. At the same however, rights activists say the group is not likely to leave the province, formerly known as Irian Jaya, that easily.
The group is reported to have sent members from the nearby province of Maluku by ship to the regions of Sorong, Manokwari, Nabire and Fak Fak in West Papua.
Laskar Jihad was created at the end of 1999 by Muslim radicals in Java as a response to the massacre of 400 Muslims by Christians in North Maluku, the mired in communal conflict. Led by a 38-year-old religious teacher named Ja'far Umar Thahib, the group claims to have 10,000 members, of whom 2,000 have received military training.
In an interview with the English-language daily "The Jakarta Post" on April 11, Laskar Jihad spokesman Ayip Syafruddin confirmed that members were in West Papua to expand the organization's wings – and have set up six regency branches there.
But, learning from the experience of Maluku, where the Muslim-Christian conflict was stoked by the Laskar Jihad that said it had gone for missionary work, local leaders and citizens are working to counter the group's moves.
The Laskar Jihad began to upset Papuans when it began distributing VCD cassettes depicting sectarian fighting in Maluku islands, says Muhammad Thaha al-Hamid, secretary general of the pro-independence Papua Presidium Council.
Despite the group's claim that its activities related only to religion and charity, reports from the West Papuan capital of Jayapura show otherwise, says an official with a human rights group based in Jakarta.
He says Laskar Jihad members have begun inflammatory preaching that pits Muslims and Christians, and distributing leaflets with the same message. "As far as we know, the group has taken part in Friday prayers at the mosques. The preaching goes like this, 'We [Muslim] are the majority of Indonesia. We must struggle for Muslims in Indonesia," he said.
"Never in history have Christians and Muslims in West Papua fought each other. That's why both Christian and Muslim religious leaders there said outsiders like the Laskar Jihad must leave Papua," he added.
Apart from Laskar Jihad trying to upset long-held religious harmony in West Papua, some also fear the introduction of a religious angle into demands for independence by some groups there – a factor that would serious security implications.
John Rumbiak, chairman of the Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy (ELSHAM), told a seminar in March that Christians are already being accused by security forces as being behind the separatist movement, which has been around for decades.
"Now, the security forces have also made accusations that Christian groups are merely hiding behind the veil of human rights while they are actually waging a separatist movement," he pointed out. Calls to oppose "Christian separatism" are heard more and more often, he added.
As a result, many fear that the seeds of conflict between Muslims and Christians have been planted deeply and could one day result in violence if provoked. Likewise, some see this all as being motivated by Jakarta.
According to a report by the Geneva-based International Crisis Group (ICG), a Laskar Jihad leader said that its members were trained under the guidance of members of the Indonesian armed forces in their private capacities.
In early 2000, Laskar Jihad leader Ja'far had openly said that 3,000 members would leave Java for Maluku to carry out "missionary activities" for Maluku victims. Later reports said that the group had launched attacks against Christians with the support of military units.
In July 2000, Indonesian Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said, "The dispatch of Laskar Jihad and any other forces has reached almost 10,000 people in the last three months and they have become the main reason for the ongoing ground conflict."'
A peace process is now underway in Maluku and the presence of the Laskar Jihad has decreased, but Christian leaders still see it as an obstacle in the peace process.
Many are understandably worried about Laskar Jihad's presence in resource-rich West Papua, a former Dutch colony that has been in tension with the central government in Jakarta for decades.
Rights activists say West Papua is known to have one of the worst areas in terms of human rights abuses in Indonesia, apart from Aceh and Maluku. They say most abuses have been blamed on Indonesian armed forces, since Jakarta formally annexed the province in 1969.
West Papua's tensions with Jakarta also come from the presence of the military, the transmigration policy of the Suharto government and the revenues that it brings to the central government without getting adequate benefits in return.
An attempt by President Megawati Sukarnoputri to ease tensions by applying the special autonomy bill to West Papua in January – which gave a bigger share of revenues to the province – was rejected by both the local political body and the separatist group Free Papua Movement, known by its Indonesian acronym OPM.
Tensions also grew with the mysterious murder of charismatic leader Theys Hiyo Elouy last year. Latest reports on the investigation say Theys' kidnapping and murder were carried out by seven military men from the Army's Special Forces, or Kopassus.
In an interview early this month with the Australian Broadcasting Corp, Papuan Pastor Martin Luther Wanma said that local Islamic leaders had assured him the Laskar Jihad are not a threat to Christians because they are there for missionary work.
But he pointed out that the group had established headquarters in Manokwari and are publishing an inflammatory newspaper called "Laskar Jihad Bulletin"."In this newspaper, they promote and provoke the Muslim people here to rise against the Christian community. It's the reason why the Christian society or Christian community here and Papua people here reject Laskar Jihad," Pastor Wanma said. "Before, they lived together and there is no problem, no problem, and they worked together, but now it's a new phenomena," he added.
A human rights activist in Jayapura cites reports that the group has started combat training in a camp in Fak Fak in West Papua, but says there has been no response to residents' request for action from security officials.
"It is very unclear what the meaning of the Laskar Jihad group is both for Indonesia and Papua. But for us they are a threat, and people are now very scared," he said.