10 feared dead, UN agencies ablaze... mayhem in Ambon this time around was sparked by a pro-independence rally

By Robert Go

JAKARTA - The local offices of United Nations agencies were set ablaze and as many as 10 people are feared dead after violence erupted in Indonesia's Maluku Islands yesterday.

The day marked the anniversary of a failed independence bid by a Christian separatist group more than 50 years ago.

The latest troubles were triggered as pro-independence activists held a rally in the provincial capital of Ambon to commemorate the proclamation of the Republic of South Maluku on April 25, 1950.

Police officers, backed by soldiers, tried to disperse the crowd and then fired warning shots into the air.

Things took a turn for the worse when a group of Muslim youths, possibly linked to militant groups based in Central Java, started hurling rocks at demonstrators.

Witnesses reported hearing gunshots and at least one explosion in the centre of Ambon.

UN workers in the region have confirmed that their offices and vehicles were attacked and set on fire and that staff had sought shelter at two hotels in the city.

In addition to UN offices, a newly built elementary school and an Indonesian government economic-agency office were also torched by the rioters.

Reports are also coming in that mobs attacked housing complexes set aside for sheltering refugees who had fled earlier episodes of violence in the region.

Two bodies with bullet wounds were delivered to Ambon's Al-Fatah hospital.

The Associated Press news agency said that one of its local reporters had seen two men hacked to death, their bodies left lying in the street after the attack by a gang of about 50 people wielding swords and sticks.

At least 50 people have also been taken to local hospitals for treatment for their injuries.

ElShinta radio reported that police had arrested 20 pro-independence activists for questioning.

The authorities have also seized separatist flags that fluttered around Ambon.

Governor Karel A Ralahalu said: 'We are encouraging the people to exercise self-restraint. More conflict and violence would only harm the local population.'

Yesterday's violence represented the biggest setback yet to a period of sustained peace that has reigned in the region since Muslim and Christian groups signed the Malino peace agreement in February 2002.

About 5,000 people lost their lives in sectarian conflict that took place between 1999 and the Malino signing in 2002.

In recent years, both the Indonesian government and foreign donors have spent millions of dollars in recovery and rehabilitation programmes.

Foreign consultants working in the region said much progress had been made towards reconciling differences between Maluku's Muslims and Christians.

And the government has lifted the emergency status imposed on the province last September.

But observers spoke of the existence of several militant groups in the region.

The authorities say they have kicked out many militants, including elements belonging to Laskar Jihad, a radical Java-based Muslim group that has conducted paramilitary operations against Christians.

In February, police officials in Jakarta said they were sending an extra 1,200 personnel to Maluku ahead of the April legislative election and would keep them there until the end of this year.