17:58:34

Rioting/

looting

Interview

My house was burnt at 5 o’clock in the morning.  I never had in my heart or  mind or head that the Muslim people  would be attacked by the Christians.  I never imagined that. Honestly. All Muslim, never thinks about that.

17:59:21

Interview

But that is the big question about it was, why it happened.  We do nothing for Christian people.

.

17:5924

Pan of Bay

Ambon, capital of the fabled Spice Islands that once provided the world with high prized nutmeg and clove.  A place of tranquillity and tolerance between the majority Christian and Muslim.

17:5939

Bay

But the peaceful past has been shattered

The road of Ambon to airport is littered with the scars of religious violence.

It is dangerous to travel without armed guards

17:59:54

In the last 2 months an estimated  3000 houses torched.  200 people have died and there  are real fears that fighting could flair up at any time.

For a generation President Surhato kept tight control over religiously diverse Indonesia.

18:00:11

The power vacuum in his absence could be the reason places like Ambon are falling apart.

The question is whether what happening here signals a deadly breakdown between religions

18:0025

The village of Ben Ten Attas is the latest flashpoint.  We arrived to find the smouldering houses of Muslims

Revenge according to Christians is from Muslim bomb attacks.

They are evil. They want to start an Islamic state. They want to change the province into an Islamic country.

18:00:57:

These Christians have assembled a crude but deadly arsenal of weapons

Across a no man's land of burnt out houses are their rivals the Muslims.

The Muslims are suspicious of all outsiders.  We are told we can't enter their stronghold.

18:01:17

For generations followers of the 2 faiths have lived side by side.  Now neighbours have become sworn enemies.

Looting

Without notice the rampage begins again.

There are innocent victims on both sides

Kitchy Palapasey is a Christian living with her 5 children on the Muslim side of the village.  She knows it's time to get out before her house becomes a target for revenge.

18:02:05

Interview

I would prefer to leave rather than die. I have nothing here. I had a small business but it stopped because of the rioting.

These are Muslim refugees who have already fled to Ambon's grand mosque.  There are almost 3500 people living here.  Many originally come from the island of Sulawesi, settling on Ambon as transmigrants during the 1980's.

18:02:

They were promised a place of harmony not a place of hate and revenge.

All these people are homeless,their houses are being burned. We are here without jobs, without money, and there are many children to take care of. It’s difficult.

There is desperation at the Ambon docks as thousands try to flee.  The simple solution for these people is to return to Soloacy.  Their meagre possessions are dragged up the side.  The last reminders of their ordeal.

Interview

I can forgive but never forget.  Maybe for three or four generations.

Interview

I hope that we can resolve it and we can live in reconciliation and we can live together in harmony again. I hope that.

18:03:36

The arrival of three thousand fresh troops has had little effect in stopping the violence.  In Ambon city, Marines patrol the worst affected neighbours, those where revenge attacks have taken place and where violence is ready to boil over again.

17:03:59

Presenter

This church behind me is full of refugees.  People who fled the violence.  This is the no man's land, which separates them from their muslim neighbours.  The devastation here is almost complete.

17:04:11

Singing

Those who have fled to the downtown Silo church have had their lives turned upside down.  On 2 consecutive nights the church was bombed as fighting raged on the street outside.  As the death toll rises, Ambonese society is becoming increasingly divided.

The majority Christian community has been accused of ethnic cleansing of declaring a holy war.

17:04:40

Unless the government and its troops can halt the violence there are fears that a nation in social and political turmoil could simply blow apart.

The message is loud and clear to President Habibe as he heads towards crucial general elections in 3 months time.

Perhaps only Ambon's religious leaders can call a halt to the carnage.

Mark Bolling:

In the village of [Benteng Atas], Christian youths are on a rampage. This is revenge they say, for a Muslim bomb attack. For generations, followers of the two faiths have lived side by side. Now neighbours have become sworn enemies.

These were Muslim houses. The Christians admit setting them alight, but only after they were driven from their own dwellings.

Speaker 2:

[Foreign Language]

Speaker 3:

They burnt our houses and threw bombs so what can we do?

Mark Bolling:

On the Island of [Ambon], almost two months of fighting has claimed 200 lives. Despite the arrival of 3,000 troops, the battle continues, the burning of churches and mosques only adding to the outrage.

As the anger and desire for revenge grows, men from both sides have assembled a crude but deadly arsenal of weapons from whatever they can find. This old man is the last line of defence in the village church in Benteng Atas. On a nearby hill, a mosque has become a Muslim fortress.

This is the religious battle line. The Christians on this side are armed and ready. But they know if they cross this point, in their own village, they could be shot or speared by the Muslims.

Speaker 4:

[Foreign Language]

Mark Bolling:

It's impossible to visit the Muslim stronghold. There's suspicion of outsiders. People are still recovering from the shock of this latest attack.

At Ambon's grand mosque, there are more than 3,000 refugees from burnt out villages. Their spiritual leader is calling for calm and praying for peace.

Speaker 5:

I never have in my mind or in my heart or in my head, that the Muslim people will be attacked by the Christian. I never imagined that before.

Mark Bolling:

Christian leaders are looking for reconciliation.

Speaker 6:

We must try. We must try and try to forgive our let us say, brother, sister, Muslim sister, Muslim brothers.

Mark Bolling:

There's desperation at the dock. Thousands are fleeing Ambon. These mainly Muslim immigrants from the Island of [Suluwesi] tried to make Ambon their home. Now, as their meagre possessions are dragged up the side, they make their escape.

Mark Bolling, ABC News, Ambon.