Dockside at Ambon Harbour | Music/Fighting/crying
| Srarts:01:00:00:00 |
| Williams: Ambon Harbour, 50,000 Muslims flee a murderous assault by Christians.
| 00:28 |
| But these are the lucky ones. For those who didn't leave, attack would feed on attack, tolerance would be lost in vengeance.
| 00:44 |
| Dangerous new forces have been unleashed here that have sent shock waves across the Indonesian archipelago.
| 00:58 |
Riots |
| 01:10 |
| Williams: So what turned these peaceful islanders into brutal killers? | 01:18 |
| And why did half a millennium of peaceful religious co-existence explode in bloodshed?
| 01:30 |
| FX: Breaking glass
| 01:42 |
| Williams: Now as neighbour burns neighbour and friend turns murderous enemy, it seems this paradise was a hell waiting to happen. And the smallest spark would send it there.
| 01:44 |
Map Indonesia | FX: Breaking glass
| 02:00 |
Silo Church | Church singing
| 02:08 |
| Williams: Good Friday, the height of the Christian calendar, and members of Ambon City's Silo Church are mourning the death of Christ. But this Easter, they're also mourning the end of a way of life.
| 02:21 |
| Liang: Ambon used to be so tranquil and safe and peaceful... Now our city has been destroyed.
| 02:37 |
Armed patrol on street | Williams: Today, worship is safe only with armed patrols on the street.
| 02:47 |
Evan and Marthin Liang on roof | After preaching here for 20 years, Christian leader Marthin Liang is now no longer safe in his own church. And from Silo's roof, you can see why.
| 02:59 |
| Liang: There was a violent clash here that ended with out Muslim brothers throwing burning objects at us - causing a huge fire.
| 03:09 |
People standing in rubble | Williams: Pastor Liang's church is now right on the front line of Ambon's new religious divide. On the other side of these flattened houses are the Muslim neighbours who tried to burn down his church. The violence was local, and totally unexpected.
| 03:22 |
Liang
Super: Pastor MARTHIN LIANG Silo Church, Ambon City | Liang: It all came so suddenly - we are so sad. We just wonder why it occurred in such a peaceful environment.
| 03:41 |
| Williams: On the other side of the island's capital, Muslims are also counting the cost and wondering what happened. | 03:59 |
Evan with Yusuf | Yusuf Elly, chairman of Ambon's chamber of commerce, has spent his life as everyone's friend. That trust has now disappeared.
| 04:06 |
| Elly: I have many friends that are Christian people. We all live already just like brother and sister. And this crazy riots changes everything.
| 04:17 |
Troops in trucks | FX: Trucks
| 04:32 |
| Williams: Today the army is the only thing keeping the two sides apart. Being a soldier in paradise used to be easy. Days would go buy fighting off nothing more than boredom. Now they're on constant alert, deployed at a moment's notice to search their own kind for deadly weapons.
| 04:34 |
Court | So how did it come to this? Well, I you believe the police, this is the man who sparked Indonesia's worst sectarian violence. | 04:59 |
| It's an unbelievably petty dispute that's meant to have created such dreadful consequences. Jacob Yopy Leuhery, a Christian minivan driver, says he was squeezed for cash by two knife wielding Muslims.
| 05:12 |
Reinhard
Super: REINHARD TOUMAHUUL Jacob's Lawyer
| Reinhard: After giving the money to avoid more trouble ‘Yopy' went home to get a machete and chased Salim. Salim fled towards the (Muslim) village of Batu Merah, screaming a Christian is trying to kill him. That's how the supposed religious conflict started.
| 05:29 |
Onlookers in court | Williams: Jacob's Christian friends don't like his chances in a Muslim court. It's almost certain he'll be found guilty. What's not clear is why it led to this.
| 05:58 |
Riots/houses on fire | Williams: Ambon at the height of its worst religious violence, completely out of control. | 06:22 |
| As attacks spread, so did the rumours. | 06:31 |
| Christians accuse Muslims of trying to swamp them and take over with masses of migrants.
| 06:39 |
| Muslims believe that Christians are trying to force them out to create a Christian homeland.
| 06:47 |
| Both sides accuse the other of using mysterious provocateurs. And many believe the flames of religious hatred were fanned here by forces looking for political gain. | 06:58 |
| The real reasons for such ferocity will probably never be known. But what is certain is that outnumbered police and troops can, or choose to do little when violence erupts.
| 07:10 |
| Woman: My friends are caught on the roof of a house... What are you going to do? We are not animals!
| 07:23 |
| Policeman: Do something about her - just leave ... leave.
| 07:30 |
Riot footage | Williams: As the violence continued the next morning revealed more victims which led to more attacks. | 07:39 |
| Generals had trouble keeping discipline.
| 07:52 |
Soldiers | Soldier: Shoot them... ah... take firm action against them, Sir...
General: Shoot on the spot!
Soldier: Shoot on the spot!
General: The orders were to shoot on the spot!
Soldier: Yes sir. | 07:56 |
Wounded people | Williams: But it was already too late. People could do nothing but bring in their wounded. And these are the lucky ones, almost 200 died in carnage that did not spare the children.
| 08:08 |
| Aina Saimima saw her two nephews butchered by Christians.
| 08:29 |
| Saimima: After prayer he came out and they cut his head off -- then sliced the front of his body with the sign of the Cross. They basically chopped him up. Oh my God, my poor child died...I'm so sad... I'm really sad, sir.
| 08:35 |
General in car | General: Everyone is ordered to stay indoors. You are prohibited form attacking anyone.
| 09:04 |
| Williams: Finally reinforced, the army took control with tough measures.
| 09:11 |
| General: All weapons should be confiscated. If you refuse to surrender your weapons you'll be shot. We have orders to shoot on the spot, so please co-operate.
| 09:17 |
Yusuf and Evan in car | Williams: But even this wasn't enough.
| 09:30 |
| Elly: If you see the riots began, everyone not trust each other again.
| 09:34 |
| Williams: Yusuf Elly has an extraordinary story of survival.
| 09:39 |
| Elly: This is my house...
| 09:47 |
| Williams: One man's battle to save his family and his home.
| 09:49 |
Super: YUSUF ELLY Muslim Leader | Elly: Yes, they come from the backyard there and they burn my house here.
| 09:53 |
| Williams: A big mob?
| 09:57 |
| Elly: Yes. More than 400 people.
| 09:59 |
| Williams: Without any army protection, this civic leader took the law into his own hands. He dressed for Jihad, took up his sword, and faced the mob.
| 10:00 |
| Elly: I lost my house, but I took four heads... and I'm fairly proud of that.
| 10:11 |
| Williams: Four heads?
| 10:18 |
| Elly: Yes.
| 10:19 |
| Williams: So you killed four people?
| 10:20 |
| Elly: No, I don't kill people. I just take their head.
| 10:21 |
| Williams: You just took their head?
| 10:24 |
| Elly: Yes, I not kill them.
| 10:25 |
| Williams: Took their head?
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| Elly: Yes, take their heads away from their body. I not kill people. They want to kill me, and I take their head.
| 10:28 |
View of Ambon | Music
| 10:37 |
| Williams: Ambon is an abundant tropical paradise. Centuries ago, Europe came here looking for spices - cloves, nutmeg and mace. They brought with them the Christian faith.
| 10:48 |
Flautists in church | Those Christians managed to mix harmonious with the Muslims due to an unique Ambonese system of village alliances set up to avoid violence.
| 11:05 |
Super: FREDDIE LATUPAPUA Church Elder | Latupapua: Up here we depend on each other for support and share our lives - both Christians and Muslims.
| 11:16 |
| Williams: Those old ways might survive up here at the Face of God church.
| 11:28 |
| But elsewhere in the island, the alliance system has gone forever.
| 1:37 |
| Thirty minutes north of Ambon City, at this village, Muslim gangs burned out the Christians. The result, a new religious no man's land. Not surprisingly, it's tense and still dangerous. The army insists on an escort. Captain Sirait has been deployed from Jakarta to try to work out what happened.
| 11:45 |
Evan and Sirait in car | Sirait: There are certain individuals - or even maybe groups of people who want this country to be in constant chaos.
| 12:09 |
| Williams: What do you think started this whole problem? Was it organise, or was it just a small fight? What led to such horrible killing?
| 12:19 |
| Sirait: Maybe they are enemies of the government... or maybe they want to take over important positions.
| 12:28 |
| Williams: Travelling further north, it's not long before you hit spectacular coastline.
| 12:41 |
| Music
| 12:49 |
Coastline | Williams: It was here, almost 500 years ago, that Christians and Muslims first carved up the spice trade. | 12:54 |
| The first Europeans were the Portuguese. In 1580, they built a fort and a church, St. Jacob's, the oldest in South East Asia. Now the church has been leveled and not one Christian is left here.
| 13:04 |
Evan with Mohammed | Mohammed: I am very, very sad, because the tolerance we maintained for 400 years, it just finished - in thirty minutes.
| 13:21 |
| Williams: Why did it finish?
| 13:33 |
| Mohammed: I don't know why.
| 13:34 |
Evan and Mohammed walk through Hila | Williams: In historic Hila, Mohammed Lating is the official town guide. He says Muslims want the Christians to return, but privately admits his people led the purge. And when other locals see an outsider, the message is clear.
| 13:36 |
| Guys on bus: Go home! Go home! Go home!
| 13:55 |
| Mohammed: We try to forgive each other, so we hope by this way God will forgive us, because there are so many sins we have done before.
| 13:59 |
Soldiers | Williams: Okay, well thank you very much.
| 14:11 |
| Soldier: Okay. Thank you. What's your name?
Williams: William... From Australia.
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| Soldier: ABC?
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| Williams: ABC, yeah.
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| Williams: The job of keeping the lid on Ambon is no easy task.
| 14:19 |
| Soldier: Because my boss he doesn't like you taking picture here.
| 14:24 |
| Williams: Authorities are suspicious of everyone, including us.
| 14:28 |
Evan's arrest | Williams: So did we do something wrong?
| 14:34 |
| Williams: We were accused of inciting violence when we'd inadvertently filmed an official's house.
| 14:36 |
| Williams: They're suspicious of us, but many of these troops are also strangers to Ambon, and the locals are suspicious of them.
| 14:46 |
| On the streets they're supposed to keep an impartial peace. But with Muslims and Christians in their ranks, they're accused of taking sides.
| 14:57 |
| Budi: We don't want to be here too long - as soon as possible we will do our best to bring about peace.
| 15:09 |
Troops | Williams: But peace is desperately fragile. And these men must know that when they leave the bloodshed is likely to return.
| 15:19 |
| Music
| 15:28 |
Evan in car | Williams: Are these guys on the lookout... Salaam Alikhum... Were they Christians living here before?
| 15:37 |
Kids on street | Williams: To understand why peace can never really return to this place, another journey. The scenes along the way are painfully familiar. The mood of the people intense and suspicious.
| 15:54 |
| Among the victors, a mocking arrogance. Through this, we're on our way to a simple ceremony that should offer some hope.
| 15:13 |
| Singing
| 16:27 |
Maranyatha Church | Williams: It's now Easter Monday and the Maranyatha Church is celebrating the resurrection of Christ. The roof is gone, but the faith it seems, still holds.
| 16:33 |
| Ribka Kalaiputin is just thanking God that she and her baby are still alive. | 16:49 |
| As the Muslims descended she just managed to snatch up her three month old and flee to the forest.
| 16:57 |
Ribka with baby at baptism | Ribka: They were throwing rocks and as they were burning our houses, they were yelling.
| 17:04 |
| Williams: Today she's baptising tiny Chrisya with the sign of everlasting life.
| 17:15 |
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| Williams: But in Ambon these days it's a sign that could be tomorrow's death sentence.
| 17:31 |
Baby | Ribka: Of course I'm still afraid, but where else can we go? We just have to stay here even if we're terrified.
| 17:38 |
Troops on street at night | Singing
| 17:53 |
| Williams: For Ambon this has been an Easter like no other.
| 17:59 |
| Singing
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| Man: This was an unfortunate incident but Easter is a time when Christians should not be afraid to celebrate the resurrection of Christ.
| 18:10 |
| Williams: At such a volatile time, Indonesian authorities knew they had to have a strong presence to keep the peace. And they succeeded. But it was at a heavy price elsewhere.
| 18:24 |
Ambon dock | At Ambon's main dock, the overnight ferry brings more tales of terror from other islands. As the fires of unrest break out across the archipelago, waves of refugees are being forced to cross a sea of uncertainty.
| 18:45 |
| Passenger: It looks like the troops there are minimal -- the mob is much bigger.
| 19:03 |
| Williams: Many on this boat are Christians fleeing a Muslim purge. Some who went to rescue their families had to leave without them, not knowing if they're dead or alive.
| 19:12 |
Passenger | Passenger: The Muslims came armed with knives and arrows... so when we arrived only those who felt safe could get off. For Christians it was serious, meaning I couldn't even get off the boat. | 19:27 |
| Williams: The migration policies that pushed these disparate people together are now forcing them apart.
| 19:58 |
| There are 1,300 islands in the archipelago - and as the old older crumbles the ties that bind them together as Indonesia are under strain like never before.
| 20:06 |
ENDS:01:20:23:00
Reporter EVAN WILLIAMS
Camera TIM DEAGAL
Editor STUART MILLER
Research DINA ANTONIO
REZA TUASIKA