Indonesia: Christian Peace Activist Cautiously Optimistic
Mar 04 2008
Postings >> Indonesia

A key Christian peace activist is 'cautiously optimistic' about Poso's progress in laying to rest painful memories of the recent past.

Rev Rinaldy Damanik says there is still a long way to go in breaking down barriers between Christians and Muslims - but progress has been made.

His comments coincide with a new report from the International Crisis Group (ICG) which observes that Sulawesi police have identified the perpetrators of all sectarian crimes committed since the 2001 Malino peace accord. Most suspects have been tried and convicted, says Compass Direct.

Christians and Muslims are beginning to socialise again but the thaw in tensions is gradual. Christian children still tend to look on Muslims as 'bad people', according to Rev Damanik.

The ICG report goes as far as to say it believes that the Poso subdivision of Islamist terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) has been disbanded. JI has been implicated in several atrocities, including the beheadings of four Christian schoolgirls in Poso in 2005.

Rev Damanik is not convinced that JI is defunct. The funeral of a JI member who died in January was well attended, he said. But he hopes that government-funded education and training projects will help disaffected young Muslims - and Christians - renounce violence.
 
Rev Damanik was a key signatory of the Malino peace accord which ended three years of inter-religious violence in Central Sulawesi province. He spent 17 months in jail (2003-2004) after being convicted of disputed charges of possessing firearms.

'People in Poso rarely talk about their grievances in public,' he told Compass Direct. 'But when I talk to people in private, I can still see sadness. We need to look to the future.'

• Praise God for progress in efforts to build bridges between Muslims and Christians in Poso.
• Thank God for Rev Rinaldy Damanik, who has paid a high price for his persistence.