SUMMARY
The outbreak of sectarian violence between the Christians (Indonesia) and Muslims (Indonesia) on the Maluku Islands can be traced to a relatively minor event, a dispute between a Christian bus driver and a Muslim passenger in the Batumerah bus terminal of Ambon town on 19 January 1999. As news of the dispute spread around the lower-class neighborhoods of town, this seemingly isolated dispute turned into a series of sectarian clashes that in turn spiraled out of control. This was precipitated by the fact that 19 January 1999, the date of the outbreak of violence, marked a major Islamic holiday (Eid Al-Fitr).
Further, the context within the Maluku Islands was conducive to the outbreak of violence. As the events unfolded, Indonesia was ravaged by extremely serious economic and political crises. As such, by late 1998, Indonesia turned out to be the worst affected country in the East Asian recession. This prompted the downfall of Suharto's three-decades-long administration leaving the country in a significant power vacuum. This allowed for the surfacing of various resentments within the Christian and Muslim communities, previously hidden from sight. Accusations by Muslims that Christians were trying to secede from Indonesia (as attempted previously in the 1950s) and create a separate, Christian Mollucan state were prevalent. Similarly, both sides widely accused each other of trying to destroy the delicate ethnic balance of the Islands, either through organized migration or various forms of forced conversions. Moreover, the presence of various religion-based patronage networks at the elite-level further triggered significant discontent - as Muslims found it difficult to enter a mainly Protestant local administration.
The unfolding of events was extremely rapid. Violent riots quickly spread outside Ambon city to engulf the entire Ambon Island by early February 1999. Furthermore, the level of violence and dissolution of authority increased as violence spread out. All attempts by the authorities to intervene proved futile - multiple reports pointing out that significant numbers of members of the local security forces simply chose to join the rioters. Further, the poor infrastructure of the Islands further limited the strength of the authorities. By August 1999, the conflict spread out to North Maluku, further increasing in violence as it unfolded. The inefficiency of the authorities was noted a number of times, claims existing that more deaths were the result of the police intervention than attributable to the rioters themselves.
Tactics on both sides were relatively similar. Extremely violent riots in towns or villages inhabited by both groups became common occurrences, in some areas taking place even on a daily basis. This pushed what were once diversified communities into tightly controlled enclaves of either Christians or Muslims. Other common tactics employed by both groups were assaults by armed gangs on villages inhabited by those of opposing faith, especially in the latter part of the conflict.
While fire was a common weapon - setting religious buildings, stores and houses on fire were commonly used tactics, both sides had access to more sophisticated weapons, such as firearms. Further, numerous reports exist that both sides had access to various police supplies, such as military-grade weapons and uniforms. The intensity of the conflict was so severe, that large parts of Ambon city, including the university campus, were fully destroyed.
By early 2000, a Javanese paramilitary Islamic fundamentalist group, Laskar Jihad, moved to Ambon and engaged in further violence against the Christians (see Lakshar- Civilians). This further led to the escalation of sectarian violence throughout the Maluku Islands in 2000. A state of emergency was imposed by the Government of Indonesia in June 2000, allowing the military to intervene and impose military police authority and curfews. While this reduced the number of clashes, a resolution was not reached until February 2002, when a number of Muslim and Christian groups signed an agreement (locally known as Malino II) with the Government of Indonesia to end the conflict and re-establish rule of law.
The non-state conflict between the Christians (Indonesia) and Muslims (Indonesia) of Indonesia is first included in UCDP data in 1999. In January that year riots in Ambon town, in the Maluku Islands, resulted in more than 25 battle-related deaths.
