Grace Nirang, Jakarta – The streets of Indonesia's strife-torn city of Ambon were deserted on Sunday after another day of violence but Islamic militants warned tensions could flare again following the arrest of their leader.
Police on Saturday detained Jafar Umar Thalib, the portly commander of the militant Laskar Jihad group, in connection with violence last weekend in Ambon in which at least 12 people died.
Speculation of the impending arrest saw Muslim protestors clash with police earlier on Saturday. Two people were reported killed and Christians took shelter in police stations.
A spokesman for Laskar Jihad said Thalib's arrest was due to US pressure on the world's most populous Muslim nation to crack down on terrorism. "This [arrest] is a big design of the United States and its allies," spokesman Ayip Syarifuddin told Reuters. "The government has taken a big risk with the arrest and it will just make things more complicated," he added.
Laskar Jihad has become the face of militant Indonesian Islam after sending thousands of men to the Moluccan islands in 1999. Since then it is estimated more than 5,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which is centred on Ambon, the island chain's capital 2,300 km east of Jakarta.
The group denies claims it has ties to international terrorism and says its mission is to protect Muslims.
People frightened
Ambon police said there was no sign of unrest in the city on Sunday but people were frightened.
"The tension last night was quite high and many Christians fled to police stations and churches to seek shelter," police officer Marty Latuperisa told Reuters by telephone. "The city is under control today but it is very quiet with no economic activity," she added.
In the lead-up to the arrest, several thousand Muslim protesters armed with Molotov cocktails went into a Christian area, where troops fired warning shots and tear gas to disperse them. Local media reported two people died and around a dozen people were injured in the violence which raises more doubts over a fragile peace pact signed in February.
The Moluccas remain under a civil emergency status – one level down from martial law – despite the pact. It allows security forces to search houses, detain suspects and clamp down on media they classify as provocative.
Long time coming
Thalib should have been arrested long ago, said University of Indonesia sociologist Thamrin Amal Tomagola. "This should have been done a long time ago ... there have been many actions taken by Laskar Jihad all this time that could have been categorised as criminal yet the government has not done anything to stop them," he told Reuters.
Political analyst Andi Mallarangeng said the conflict was two-sided and urged police to apprehend all key provocateurs. "The move should not stop here, the authorities should also take action on other groups," Mallarangeng said. "But I hope the [arrest] move came purely from our own will and not because we were asked by foreign parties," he added.
The Moluccan islands, once known as the spice islands, is one of several separatist, communal or religious flashpoints across the vast Indonesian archipelago. Much of the violence has surfaced since autocrat Suharto was ousted in 1998 after more than three decades in power.