Tonight the Rev Sammy Titaley, Moderator of the Protestant Church in Maluku, pleaded for our prayers and our support. Speaking on the phone from Ambon, Sammy told me about this day, 23 June 2000.

It has been a day of pitched battles and mindless destruction only to be interrupted in the hot afternoon by a heavy downpour of rain. Rain is like a gift from heaven in Ambon because people stop shooting when the clouds open. There is lull in the violence and everyone breathes a sigh of relief.

Many people feel Ambon is now facing its biggest trial ever. Firearms and ammunition have been stockpiled. Container loads of guns have been smuggled in and ammunition warehouses have been ransacked. Muslim Jihad fighters are here in their thousands on a mission to rid the place of Christians while the Christians are prepared to stand their ground.

Today the police headquarters were attacked and the deputy chief of the Police Mobile Brigade was shot dead along with three other members of the security forces. The police hospital was destroyed and the police barracks were burnt down along with the chapel.

Churches continue to be targeted with Sinar Kasih Church in Perigi Lima, Efrata Church in Tantui and Santo Mikel church all being burned. A local Christian newspaper has been threatened while the editor is in hiding.

During the mid-morning Universitas Kristen Indonesia-Maluku (UKIM) (Christian University) was set on fire. Eye witnesses saw people dressed like "ninjas" enter the complex. These thugs were backed-up by armed military gun-ships as they systematically attacked and burned the campus. Nearly every building, including staff houses, were destroyed by fire. Only the library survived.

Christians are terrified of these thugs. They are also terrified of the Muslim Jihad warriors who threaten to "cleanse" the area. The terror continues with the presence of huge amounts of firearms and ammunition in Ambon. The city is a very dangerous place. Even the army and the police are at odds with one another. People are pleading for international peacekeepers to be sent. Something has to be done to bring an end to the chaos.

Muslims and Christians live in a city now divided strictly along sectarian lines. They live in a city than can no longer offer any security. Some Christians believe the only alternative is to press for an independent state of Maluku. Others are committed to restoring unity in a now hostile city. Whatever the outlook, Christians and Muslims in Ambon face a terrible future as no-one knows if they will survive this dreadful tragedy.

The situation is similar to Dili, East Timor, during September 1999 when pro-Jakarta militia went on the rampage. Yet things are actually worse because Ambon is on threshold of a terrible civil war. The violence is out of control and there is no end in sight.

Rev Sammy Titaley asked us to pray. He asked us to pray for peace. He asked us to pray for adequate security and an end to the conflict. On Sunday Sammy will join Rev Agustinus Aesh (Moderator of the Evangelical Christian Church in Halmahera), Bishop Mandagi (Catholic Bishop of Ambon) and the Papal Nuncio in Jakarta on an inter-church mission to Geneva to meet with Mrs Mary Robinson (UN Human Rights Commissioner). They will raise issues with Mrs Robinson and discuss ways of ending the violence in their homeland.

This has been a dreadful week in the Maluku Islands. On Monday 156 men, women and children were massacred in Duma Village on Halmahera Island by Muslim Jihad fighters. Women and children have been kidnapped. Attempted reprisals have taken place while snipers in Ambon continue to gun down innocent victims. What will happen next?

No-one knows how many people died in Ambon today and no-one knows how many people will die tonight. Please pray that this madness will stop.

Material supplied by:
Rev John Barr
Secretary for Indonesia
Uniting Church National Assembly
Email jbarr@nat.uca.org.au