Laskar Jihad is one of the most importantrnstumbling l^locks. ” Thex arc still around,rnbut how man, where the arc, vc don’trnknow,” sas Boehm.rnThc- were likel’ inol’ed in an attackrnin late Februar- on the western part ofrnthe island of Seram, in which a Christianrnillage was sacked for the third time.rn”There was hardiv anthing left to bernbnnied, but thc did so,” obscres Boehm.rnNaturalh’, Christians demand the Jihad’srnremoal. “Without I^askar Jihad, we canrnhae reconciliation,” argues I’Vgus Wattimcna,rnthe head of a local Chrishan mili-rnHa.rnIn contrast, Haddi Soulisa defends thernJihad: I’heN “come to help Muslims,” hernsaid, and “not onK for war.” ‘1 hev bringrndoctors, help repair burned houses, andrnmore. His response is disingenuous, butrnit reflects genuine fear widiin the Mu.slimrncommunity Eeu Agus understandsrnthe Akislim reluctance to see Jihad forcesrnlea e. Shll, Agus, a Baptist in a long linernof Baptists, sees no reason to tru,st the otherrnside. “Christians and Muslims arerntalking about reconciliation. Oka, butrnthe Muslims fight and shoot Christians.rnUntil toda, we don’t beliec the meanrnit.”rnI’here is no Chrishan cqui alcnt of diernJihad, “no people from outside,” sasrnBoehm. histcad, “in matter of war therernarc Christian militias,” which are “onl’rnlocal, organized spontancoush to resist.”rnTheir presence is ob ions: The’ have arnwell-fortified camp on a major road downrnfrom a militan base.rnDuring die worst of the conflict, /gus,rnwho looks a bit like an aging biker, foughtrn^hlslims eer’ daw He claims he actedrnonh” when Christians were under attack.rn”We don’t hae desire for war with Mu.slims,rnbut onh to protect oiir area. If Muslimsrncome for war, we w ill fight.” But, hernadds, “wc don’t want to fight again.”rnHis militia relies primariK- on homemadernweapons, supplemented b’ purchasesrnwhen possible, hi fact, lie solicitedrnfunds from his three ‘isitors to helprnliiui bu’ guns: “Oiil to protect Christians.rnNot to go to war. We must bernreadw We need help, moiie.”rnMuslims understandabK’ ha”c a differentrniew of his aetixities, and diere liaxernbeen Christian as well as Muslim atrocities.rnBut the bulk of the blame falls onrnthe Muslim side. While Boehm doesn’trnclaim all Christians hae been in thernright, he argues: “Christians haven’t donernaiw attacking oer the last half-vear. On-rn1 the Muslims. The Cliristians .sav thernlia’c had enough.”rnUnfortunateh, explains Pa,storl”?oehm, tlicrncommunities “are C|uitc divided [anionglrnthcmsehes.” hislini fiictions lune squabbledrnviolcntlv. Some favor reconciliation,rnand some don’t. Thus, it is “hard tornmake peace w ith the Muslims, since onernagrees, but one sa”s no,” sa}’s Boehm.rnHaddi Soulisa acknowledges the problem,rnbut contends that it is “the same.rnChristian and Muslim, all the same.rnManv, iiiaiiN’ want to make reconciliation.rnManv groups say no [to| reconciliahonrnbecause there has been conflict for arnlong time, with too much damage done.”rnVew Christians or Muslims credit therncentral government. Haddi Soulisa isrndisiiiissie: Jakarta “does nothing. Nothing,”rnhe spits out. The authorities arerncorrupt and dishonest; there is no rule ofrnUnv. jAgus doesn’t believe Jakarta can orrnwill sol e the problem. “We need peacekeepingrnfrom the U.N. to come to Ambonrnto promote real reconciliation.”rnFew had put much hope in formerrnPresident Wahid Abdurrahnian, whosernhold on both rcalih’ and power grew incrcasinglvrntenuous oer the past ear. “Irnthink we can trust Cus Dur to have goodrnintcnhons,” said Boehm. “But there arernthose in the niilitar who regret that thevrnlost control of die government.” Vcrrncommon among Christians with whomrnlc spoken is die belief that a arieU ofrnforces are using religious tensions to underminernthe central goernment andrnpromote Islamic rule.rnMan Christians want the armv tornleave the Moluccas; the}’ rememberrnits interention on behalf of Muslims.rnThev, like Agus, disclaim an desire forrnrevenge. Wlien asked if Christians wouldrngo on a rampage without the militarx’ present,rnFather Boehm replied: “I don’trnknow. I don’t think so. I think ChristiansrnIiae sincere aspirations to come tornpeace. But 1 don’t know what the grassrootsrndiink after so much suffering.”rnDespite sporadic outbursts, “the situationrnhas calmed down. Refugees havernstarted to come back.” sa s Boehm. A returningrndoctor and his wife and toddlerrnshared mv flight into Ambon.rn’I’heu Barlola seemed moxed b hisrntime with Haddi Soulisa, who in turnrnpointed at Barlola during our meeting:rn”I here is reconciliation here.” Yet Hiernstreet barricades stand for a reason: “If arnChrishan goes into a Muslim neighborhood,rnhe will get beat up,” contendedrnBoehm. Most cabs, parhculaHy the plentifulrnpedicabs, shck to their own sectionrnof town. Speedboats are the preferredrnmode of transportation to aoid hostilernsections of town.rnBarlola notes that the Chrishan communit-rnwas busv last vcar, signing petitionsrnand mailing letters asking for outsidernhelp. Most Christians wanted foreignrnpeacekeepers or, Fiiling diat, evacuahon.rnIndeed, mv mcchng w ith Chrishan leadersrnlast July was filled w ith demands thatrnthe international community in generalrn—and the United States in parheular—rndo something, though there was littlernagreement on M’hat it should do. Most, atrnleast, wanted Washington to pressure therncentral government to discipline militar-rnforces that were backing the Muslims.rnJakarta naturallv resisted aiiv outsiderninvolvement, and Muslims were cxeiirnless cnthnsia.shc. Haddi Soulisa was politernbut blunt when it came to the UnitedrnStates. No, he didn’t believe an’ outsiderngovernment could help: “‘Flic U.S.rnshouldn’t police the w orld. Cive us timernfor Indonesia to make it by ourselves.rnDeiiiocrac, Indonesian democracv, notrnbv aiiv couiitr}’ imposing it on Indonesia.”rnBut Indonesian democracv may notrnsur’ivc. ‘Flic current respite in Ambonrnina- onh” be temporan. “Now we are inrnround five or mabe round six. We finishrnone, hae reconciliation, then it startsrnagain,” observes Barlola. Fhe next boutrncould come at aii time, and there w ill bernmore deaths, more destruction, morernrefugees, more promises from Jakarta,rnand more hand-wringing from abroad.rn”Don’t forget us,” pleads Agus. “Wernare a brotherhood. Go back to America,rnand tell Christians diat thev must help usrnhere.” But am help will be too late forrn,gus, who was shot and killed shortK’ afterrnI interviewed him. And tiiere’s preciousrnlittle America can do for anyonernelse. The U.S. goxernment can’t invade;rnAmerican Christians can’t run guns.rnI’hat lea es relief groups like CFI to try tornhelp clean up tlic mess.rnDoug Bandoiv k a senior fellow at thernCc/to Institute and fanner speeial assistantrnto President Reagan.rnLooking for a good video?rnCheck outrnGeorge McCartney’srnreviews from ourrnhack i.s.suc.s online arrnwww. ChroniclesMa^azmc.or^rnNOVEMBER 2001/J5rnrnrn