http://www.ofm.org/3/just/JUSamb1.html
Maybe this description is not so complete and far from being perfect. Anyhow it is the outline of the background of the problem in Indonesia. The fall of Soehartoe’s regime has been a chance for the people to get back their freedom which was shackled during 32 years. Indonesian people have enjoyed an "euphoria" in which they can express whatever they want to express: their frustration, dissatisfaction, the problem which were pressed to the unconscious world before, now are coming up to the surfaces. The racial problems which were marked up as a Taboo during the regime of Soeharto has raised up and threaten the unity and could be the cause of the disintegration of the nation. The conflict in Ambon can happen everywhere or in every part of Indonesia.
The "casus belli" of the conflict in Ambon.
The bloody conflict in Ambon began in January 19th 1999. It was triggered by the so called case: Batu Merah Incident. It was a personal conflict between Yopie (Ambonese) and Usman (Makasar). We have two versions of the case. According to the first version (MUI Facts finding Team and Partai Keadilan): Yopie asked money forcefully from Usman, a taxi driver. Usman refused to give him money and it caused Yopie to be angry with Usman and hit him. Usman fled to Kampung Batu Merah. Then the people from Kampung Batu Merah and Kampung Aboru got into conflict, attacted each other.The second version (PGI – Indonesian Christian Churches Union): the conflict was initiated by the personal conflict between Usman and Yopie. Usman a hold-up man asked money from Yopie and Yopie refused it. Yopie is a city bus driver.
Although these two version are different or contradictory to one another, one thing is right, that there was a personal conflict. The next question is : who blew up this personal conflict, so it has become a social, racial and even a religious conflict, which caused too much victims? There are some analysis to answer the question. Some said that there were some provocateurs came from Jakarta to Ambon. Those provocateurs involved in the Ketapang conflict Jakarta in November last year. They went home to Ambon and succeeded to blow up the conflict in Ambon. Some said that there are some persons in Jakarta who paid the provocaterus to make riots everywhere in Indonesia. A conflict in Ambon is one of that scenario. So it said that the conflict in Ambon was "a business" of some important persons in Jakarta. Some name have been mentioned, such as Soeharto, the Indonesian ex-president, who still has many followers and has caused many racial conflicts in Indonesia, since his resignation last year.
It is difficult to justify the analysis but we can conclude that the social situation in Indonesia has become like a "dry grasses" which could be burnt any time. The racial or religious conflicts are only the external expressions of the internal social and political problems that caused the great crisis in Indonesia. The crisis has been too extended and deepened so it is difficult to resolve it. The economic crisis ha caused a great number of unemployed people. This social condition could be "soft cushion" for conflicts which use religion and racial as their tools at hands.
